The fruits of 'process': Middle East imports even more arms
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, August 23, 2000
WASHINGTON -- The Middle East peace process has not made a dent on
the arms race in the region, U.S. officials said.
A State Department report said arms exports continue to rise and that the Middle East remains a leading purchaser of
Western, particularly U.S., weapons, Middle East Newsline reported.
Overall, the report, entitled "World Military Expenditures and Arms
Transfers 1998," asserted that military spending amounted to $842 billion,
an increase of two percent between 1996 and 1997, the last year of the
tally. Developing countries spent a $232 billion in 1997.
"This may represent the beginning of an upturn in the world trend,
following a 1995-96 low that had fallen 60 percent from the 1987 peak
level," the report said.
U.S. officials said the trend has continued into 1999. A Congressional
Research Service report said total arms sales increased last year to its
highest mark since 1996, at $30.3 billion. The report also showed that U.S.
arms sales increased for the third year in a row in 1999, to $11.8 billion.
The report said that from 1995-1997, the Middle East was the main arms
importer, with $53.1 billion, or 38 percent of total weapons imports. The
Middle East was followed East Asia with $35.5 billion and Western European
with $25.8 percent.
The leading weapons importer was Saudi Arabia $13.7 billion, followed by
Egypt, $5.3 billion; Kuwait, $5 billion; Turkey $4.9 billion and the United
Arab Emirates with $3.8 billion.
The Middle East also spent the highest ratio of government funding for
military expenditures -- 22.7 percent. Seven of the biggest spenders in
military weapons per capita included Israel, with $1,690, Saudi Arabia,
$1,050; Kuwait, $1,500; United Arab Emirates, $1,020; Bahrain, $880; and
Oman, $790. Qatar was also on the list but no figure was given.
Washington was the world's top weapons exporter from 1995-97 and
one-third of those arms went to the Middle East. Most of the weapons went to
Egypt, Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
U.S. officials also expressed concern that weapons sold to one country
were appearing in another. "Many weapons purchased legally for security
needs in one conflict turn up being used for illicit purposes in another,"
State Department foreign affairs specialist Herbert Calhoun said.
The State Department report said the United States supplied 55 percent
of weapons to countries around the world. Second on the list was Britain,
with 13 percent of the world's arm exports.
The U.S. arms role has increased in 2000, U.S. officials said. Lockheed
Martin sold 80 F-16
fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates in a $6.4 billion deal.
The State Department report listed the top 10 military spenders as the
United States, with $276 billion; Britain, $35 billion; China $75 billion;
Germany $33 billion; Russia $42 billion; Italy $23 billion; France, $42
billion; Saudi Arabia $22 billion; Japan $41 billion; South Korea $15
billion.
Iran and Turkey were also listed as having two of the ten largest armies
in the world. Turkey's military was reported at 822,000 and Iran at 575,000.
In first place was China with 2.6 million and the United States with 1.5
million.