The U.S. government's recent announcement of its providing a large batch of advanced weapons to Arabian allies and Israel has caused wide concern. What will be the impact of this U.S. act on the Middle East, a region already in disorder? For a long time, as many countries believe, Washington has been creating terror and split in this region so as to gain opportunities to sell weapons there, and the U.S. arms sale plan would intensify Middle East disturbance.
In the world pattern of weaponry trade, the U.S. annual exports have been averaging 40 percent of world total since 1991. The sales stood between 10 to 13 billion U.S. dollars since 2001, and even hit a record of 15 billion dollars in 2006. The U.S. leads the world in sales of munitions as a whole, ground-to-air missiles and warships. As a matter of fact, on the proliferation of both conventional weapons and those of mass destruction including missiles as well as nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, the U.S. has always been the evil creator lurking behind.
The U.S. means of armament promotion can also be lauded world top, which feature the "creation of need" where there is no need. Americans have continuously fanned up comparison among nations so each of them are eager to buy more advanced weapons than those the U.S. sold to its neighbors, so that one's own security is guaranteed. Such a vicious circle resulted in nations' dependence on U.S. arms, and consequently billions of dollars flew their way to the wallets of U.S. arms dealers each year.
Asia has become in recently years the world largest arms import market, almost taking half of global imports from 2001 to 2004, and a large part of them were sold to the Middle East. The national defense expenditure of Middle East countries stood at 52 billion dollars in 2003, up 20 percent from 2002, and rose to 55 billion dollars in 2007, of which most were spent on arms purchase and the U.S. is the major supplier.
However, the ample-equipped Middle East countries failed to enjoy the sense of security brought by new weapons, as the U.S. claimed, and people there still live in the shadow of war, with lives engulfed by flames every day.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, among every five ethnic conflicts ever happened worldwide four have related sides equipped with U.S. arms. The weapon export of the U.S., it seems, has brought more war and death rather than peace and security. Isn't it that the U.S. should reflect on itself earnestly?
By People's Daily Online</I>
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