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Hey, it keeps the economy going!
Ed Weick
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Copyright
© 2002 The International Herald Tribune | www.iht.com
| U.S.
again leads world in international weapons sales
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Thom Shanker NYT
Thursday, September 25, 2003 |
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WASHINGTON The United States maintained its
dominance in the international arms market last year, especially in
sales to developing nations, according to a new congressional
report.
The United States was the leader in total worldwide
sales in 2002, with about $13.3 billion, or 45.5 percent, of global
conventional weapons deals, a rise from $12.1 billion in 2001.
Of that, $8.6 billion was to developing nations, or about
48.6 percent of conventional arms deals concluded with developing
nations last year, according to the report. Russia was second in
sales to the developing world last year, with $5 billion, followed
by France with $1 billion.
While the report focuses on sales
and deliveries of conventional weapons from the industrialized world
to poorer nations, it also offers a glimpse into such issues as
missile proliferation by North Korea and foreign weapons transfers
to Iraq.
The new report, "Conventional Arms Transfers to
Developing Nations, 1995-2002," was sent to the House and Senate
this week by the Congressional Research Service, an arm of the
Library of Congress. The annual study, written by Richard Grimmett,
a specialist in national defense at the research service, is
considered the most authoritative resource available to the public
on worldwide weapons sales.
From 1999 to 2002, there were no
deliveries of surface-to-surface missiles to the Middle East from
arms makers in the United States, Russia, China or Europe, the
report said. But the study says 60 surface-to-surface missiles were
delivered to the Middle East by nations in the category "All
Others," which includes such suppliers as Israel, South Africa and
North Korea.
United States officials, both military and
civilian, said on Wednesday that North Korea was the source of the
surface-to-surface missile deliveries listed in the report, and of
10 antiship missiles delivered to the Middle East in that period.
President George W. Bush has increased public pressure on
North Korea and Iran over their nuclear programs, and the
administration is organizing a number of joint military exercises to
train for the interdiction of shipments.
But difficulties in
halting North Korea's missile trade were evident in December, when a
North Korean cargo vessel that was not flying a flag was halted off
the Horn of Africa by two Spanish warships. A search revealed 15
hidden Scud missiles.
But the vessel was eventually allowed
to sail on with the missiles to its destination in Yemen after
officials conceded that neither North Korea nor Yemen had violated
any treaties. North Korea is also suspected of selling missile
technology to Iran and others, Pentagon officials said.
The
study says that none of the major arms makers delivered weapons to
Iraq from 1999 to 2002 - or at least not in amounts of more than $50
million, the lowest sales amount included in the study. But a
category of nations labeled "All Other European," which includes
formerly Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe, delivered
about $100 million worth of weapons to Iraq from 1999 to 2002,
although the report does not specify the source.
Ukraine is
believed to have sold an advanced Kolchuga radar system to Iraq,
Pentagon officials said. Arms deals with developing nations in 2002
totaled $17.7 billion, more than the $16.2 billion for 2001 but the
second-lowest total for the years 1995 to 2002. (The report measures
sales and deliveries in dollar totals adjusted for inflation, called
"constant 2002 dollars.")
The New York Times
Copyright © 2002 The International Herald Tribune
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