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NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Sunday, April 5, 2015

The world in terms of Russian and US arms exports


Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
Russia Offers Egypt Fighter Jets, Helicopters, Weapons

The Military-Industrial Complex

  • Weapons of death are big business for both the U.S. and Russia.  Both countries pump "samples" to rebels and nations around the world through intelligence agencies like the CIA and with direct sales.
  • If you think the endless wars around the world happen on their own then you also believe in unicorns and leprechauns.  The U.S., Russia and other nations arrange for "foreign aid" and loans so their arms can be purchased often to fight a group armed in the same manner by the other side.  Follow the money trail.


(Business Insider)  -  As crises balloon around the world, Russia and the US increasingly find themselves at odds. Tensions between the two countries have reached levels not seen since the Cold War and experts have warned that Putin is involved in an "existential struggle" against the West. 
Against this backdrop, the nations around the world finds themselves increasingly divided over where they purchase their arms and whose orbit they are in. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the US sold $10.2 billion worth of equipment worldwide compared to Russia's $5.98 billion in 2014. 
Predictably, the US is the main weapons supplier of Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. Saudi Arabia was the largest importer of US arms, buying almost $1.2 billion worth of equipment alone.
Russia largely supplied weaponry to the BRIC nations, as well as to select countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia that have spottier human-rights records such as Sudan, Belarus, and Iran. Moscow's largest export market in 2014 was Vietnam, which purchased almost $1 billion worth of arms.
Thirteen countries bought weaponry from both the US and Russia. In 2014, India was the largest arms importer in the world, having purchased $4.2 billion worth of equipment. New Delhi purchased $2.1 billion of equipment from Moscow and $1.1 billion from the US. 
Interestingly, the one country that bucks the predicted trend of arms imports is EU and NATO member Hungary. Budapest purchased $7 million worth of equipment from Russia in 2014. The country has become increasingly pro-Russian in recent years, and Putin has called Hungary one of Russia's most valuable trade partners





"We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations. 
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This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. 
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In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. .
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We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

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General Dwight Eisenhower
President of the United States
Republican 

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