|
It is very encouraging to note that InterAction has decided to make this topic a central part of its programme. It might be of interest to you to note arms spending and consider how we can work for peace when many governments spend huge sums of money on the weapons of war.
Arms Spending
A recent report noted that for the sixth consecutive year spending on arms had risen. For the first time since the end of the Cold War the spending on arms topped 1 trillion dollars. The amount spent on aid during the same period was $78.6billion.
The US was the largest spender on arms with a 12% year-on year increase US$ 655 billion. America’s spending on aid is now 4.1% of its arms expenditure, though to be fair private giving via various sources is always considerably more than the Federal Budget.
One has to cast doubt on the political will in the US to actually increase aid in real terms by the sums that some NGO’s are calling ( some want as much as US$ 50 billion annually).
It is interesting, though some may say depressing to look at the spending on arms of the richest members of the G8 club.
Country and their Aid and Arms spending
CanadaU$ 2.5bn US$ 10.6bn
FranceU$ 8.5bn US$ 46.2bn
GermanyU$ 7.5bn US$ 33.9bn
ItalyU$42.5bn US$ 27.8bn
JapanU$ 8.9bn US$ 42.4bn
RussiaNA US$ 19.4bn
United Kingdom U$ .79bn US$ 47.4bn
United States U$ 19.00 bn US$ 455bn
From these seven powerful member countries come the world’s 10 biggest arms dealers and in 2004 they sold US$ 24bn worth of arms and half of this sum went to ‘developing countries’. A closer look, and this was conducted by the Congressional Research Service shows that in 2003 five members of the G8 – US, UK, France, Germany and Russia – were responsible for 89% of arms sales to ‘developing countries’. In the recent Commission for Africa Report it notes that ‘the cost of arms sales and the conflicts they help to sustain have a massive and disastrous effect on the possibility of sustained development.’ One has to wonder if the G8 members are serious in their intensions to address poverty in Africa if they continue to finance research in arms, offer export underwriting and subsidies to arms manufacturers.
It is disturbing to note that current arms’ spending is still not at the highest level it reached during the climax of the Cold War. It is still beneath its height of 1987-88 but it has risen considerably since 1998. The US and its ‘war on terror’ now spends nearly half of the total spent on arms and accounts for more than the next 32 biggest spenders. On current trends the US will top US$502bn by 2010. The main recipients of the arms will be China (Peoples’ Republic) and India. The south Asia region recorded the biggest increase in spending in 2003 and this was largely due to the 19% increase in arms spending recorded by India.
Some rather sad data.
John
|
