We sell over $217 billion of arms to countries around the world every year and then we’re shocked when armed conflict breaks out around the globe. What a fucking joke. Spreading democracy at the point of a gun. The military industrial complex is alive and well. Eisenhower is spinning in his grave.
You will find more statistics at Statista
According to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, sales of the globe’s top 100 arms manufacturers amounted to just over $400 billion in 2014. The United States accounted for 54.4 percent of the world’s arms sales in 2014, followed by the United Kingdom and Russia. Seven out of the world’s top ten largest arms producing companies are American. Lockheed Martin leads the way, according to the report, with 2014 arms sales totaling $37.5 billion.
But…but..
Think of the JOBS!!
And don’t forget to thank Lockheed et al for their service!
People with guns are more likely to have voting rights.
If you can vote, its because of a gun…and a man willing to use it. 🙂
The US government is not selling arms to people. They are selling them to other governments. 🙁
I hope everyone we are selling these arms to have passed their background checks! 🙂
ISIS is a government now thanks to BHO and their Caliph is their President.
All the while intensely trying to remove weapons from us…
The US government is happy to sell over 50% of the worlds arms to other governments and these arms will eventually filter down to the people these governments serve. All the while the US government works round the clock to try and figure out how to take the arms away from the people they are serving.
What am I missing here?
I wonder what the breakdown is for small arms (i.e., weapons used by an individual infantry person) vs. tanks, planes, etc.
The majority of the sales are probably very expensive high tech weapons like planes, missile and anti missile systems, etc.
I think small arms might not be as impressive in numbers. I see more AK style weapons and soviet style RPG’s scattered around the world than AR type of weapons and LAWS rockets in all the news video I see.
There are over 650 million firearms in circulation worldwide.
That’s one firearm for every ten people on the planet.
The world’s five largest gunrunner’s by size of trade are:
1/ USA
2/ UK
3/ Russia
4/ France
5/ China
Note:
They are also the five permanent members of the U.N. security council. Go figure?
I am starting to think that all the talk about guns
being restricted or banned or confiscated is a propaganda
campaign to agitate the people. We know that “gun crimes”
are perpetrated mainly by criminals against other criminals.
And we have the book on who’s who demographically.
The “bring it on” folks are just idiots. There are times when
it is better to keep quiet and carry on. Opsec anyone?
Most of the sales are to dictatorships like Saudi Arabia, and the only way they filter down to the common people is lead first.
Just as with the Marshall Plan after WW2, US “aid” only embedded very leftist, socialist, centrally-planned ruling systems across the parts of Europe that weren’t GIVEN to the then worst mass-murderer of all history, Stalin, in the agreement reached at Potsdam.
If you think the USA’s sale of weapons is about the USA exporting freedom, you’re too short for this ride.
@Suzanna,
You nailed it. This is why lots of people think the NRA is America’s leading gun banning organization.
If you worked for the NRA, what would be better for job security: a political regime that had no overt or covert interest in gun bans, or one that was crowing about bans 24/7?
The NRA needs people like Obama like podiatrists need fashionable high-heeled shoes.
Wel of course we’re arming the world!
The Military/Industrial Complex of Eisenhowers’ famed warning is alive and well and has been for 75 years. It continues to grow, sucking as much tax money from ‘Muricans as possible and then start digging into the pockets of anyone else with any “money” to spend.
It is still a growth industry, has Congress in its’ pocket, licenses anything it can sneak past the Pentagon to sell to friend and foe alike.
It’s all about M-O-N-E-Y, spread around as thickly as possible and still make obscene profits.
It will continue until the market is saturated and since weapons are blown up and worn out -== that will never happen. Technology makes a weapon obsolete in 18 months at most and then the next generation just has to had by the generals — the old shit sold on the black market to “insurgents”, “militants” and such trash.
MA