U.N. Arms Trade Treaty Supported By 60 Nations

The poorly regulated trade in arms has adverse humanitarian, human rights and development consequences. Photo: OCHA/ Jihan El Alaily

Nations Line Up To Sign U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, U.S. Not Yet -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Delegates from dozens of countries gathered in New York on Monday and signed the first treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade, but the United States was not among them.

On April 2, the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty that aims to keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers and criminals.

Argentina's foreign minister, Hector Timerman, was the first to put pen to paper when the signing ceremony opened at U.N. headquarters on Monday. There was a large round of applause after he affixed his signature to the document.

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More News On The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty

World’s first binding treaty on conventional arms trade opens for signature at UN -- UN News Centre
More Than 60 Countries Sign Arms Trade Treaty -- Defense News/AFP
First UN Arms Trade Treaty Signed -- Voice of America
Over 60 countries sign Arms Trade Treaty -- Bloomberg Businessweek/AP
60 countries sign UN global arms treaty -- Voice of Russia
UK signs deal to control global arms trade -- The Guardian
U.S. Fails to Join Allies in Signing UN Arms Trade Treaty -- Bloomberg Businessweek
U.S. wavers on arms trade treaty at the U.N. -- CBS
U.S. Delays Signing Arms Trade Treaty -- Wall Street Journal
Kerry says US will sign UN treaty on arms regulation despite lawmaker opposition -- FOX News
Brian Wood: A farewell to arms as 62 countries sign global Arms Trade Treaty -- The Independent
Why the U.S. isn't signing the U.N.'s global arms treaty -- Peter Weber, The Week

Who Is More Likely To Sell Guns To Dictators?

In constant 1990 U.S. dollars. Source: 2012 SIPRI Arms Transfers Database

Gun Runner No. 1 -- Joshua Keating, War & Ideas

One of the most infamous moments of the bloody uprising that followed Zimbabwe's disputed 2008 election was the so-called "ship of shame" -- a Chinese freighter discovered carrying small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars to Robert Mugabe's landlocked regime. Zimbabwe's neighbors denied the ship docking rights, but the incident only reinforced the perception that China has become the arms dealer of choice for Africa's most brutal thugs, whether aged tyrants like Mugabe or the genocidal dictatorship in Sudan.

But this image may not be entirely fair: When it comes to selling guns to shady regimes, the United States is still firmly No. 1.

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My Comment: And they put Viktor Bout in jail for doing far less.

Major U.S. Arms Deal Worth $10 Billion With Israel, Saudi Arabia, And

U.S. Arms Deal With Israel and 2 Arab Nations Is Near -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department is expected to finalize a $10 billion arms deal with Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates next week that will provide missiles, warplanes and troop transports to help them counter any future threat from Iran.

A weeklong visit to the region by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will culminate a year of secret negotiations on a deal that Congressional officials said will be second only to the $29.5 billion sale of F-15 aircraft to Saudi Arabia announced in 2010. But the delicate balancing act that was necessary in weighing the differing interests of each nation made it among the most complex ever negotiated.

While one goal was to ensure that Israel continues to field the most capable armed forces in the region to deter Iran and counter a range of threats, it was equally important to improve the capabilities of two important Arab military partners. Another challenge, senior administration officials said, was coming up with a package that could help Israel deal with various security challenges — but devised so it would not be viewed as an American endorsement of accelerated planning by Israel to strike alone at Tehran’s suspected nuclear facilities.

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Update: U.S. to Announce $10 Billion Arms Sale in Middle East -- Bloomberg

My Comment: Interestingly .... Iran has accused these same countries of trying to overthrow Syrian President Assad.

World Military Spending Drops In 2012

Table from National Defense

U.S. Defense Cuts Lead to First Drop In Global Arms Spending In 15 Years -- Time

With battles raging in Congress over the Pentagon’s proposed budget cuts, a new report says the gap in military spending between the U.S. and the rest of the world is narrowing, with Washington’s erstwhile foes—China and Russia—splurging on new weapons systems and several countries from Saudi Arabia to Algeria also spending billions on upgrading their arsenals, according to the yearly rankings of world military spending compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or Sipri. “There is a shift globally from the West to other countries,” says Elisabeth Sköns, Sipri’s Africa program director. “It is very much related to economic growth rates rather than security related factors.”

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More News On The First Drop In Global Arms Spending In 15 Years

World military spending dips in 2012, first fall since 1998 -- Reuters
Global Defense Spending Falls as U.S. Cuts Outpace China Growth -- Bloomberg
Global military spending dips in 2012 -- Sydney Morning Herald
Austerity hits global military spending -- Financial Times
Pentagon Budget Is Down, But U.S. Remains the World’s Biggest Military Spender -- National Defense
China and Russia's military spending rises -- Swedish Wire

WNU Editor: SIPRI's website is here.

Conflicting Reports On Egypt's Navy Seizing An Arms-Laden Ship In The Red Sea

Egypt Seizes Ship Carrying Arms, Questions Crew - Navy -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Egyptian navy forces seized a ship carrying heavy weapons as it entered Egyptian territorial waters in the Red Sea late on Wednesday, a military spokesman said on Thursday.

The Togolese-flagged ship, called COMR, was found 12 nautical miles north of Ras Muhammad in the Sinai Peninsula, general staff spokesman Ahmed Mohamed Ali said on his Facebook page.

"Inside they found a number of weapons and quantities of ammunition of various types," Ali said.

"The boat belongs to a private maritime security company which serves to secure ships passing through highly dangerous areas, especially in light of the spread of piracy in the southern Red Sea area and off the Somali coast," he added.

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More News On Egypt's Interception of An Arms Carrying Ship

Egypt's Navy Seizes Ship Carring Arms in Red Sea -- Bloomberg
Egypt navy intercepts arms-laden ship from Israel -- Global Post/AFP
Egypt captures arms sent from Israel -- Press TV (Iran)
Egypt seizes Iranian ship loaded with weapons -- Jerusalem Post/Reuters
Report: Egypt seizes Iranian weapons ship near Sinai -- YNet News

My Comment: Israeli press is saying that the cargo in this ship is Iranian .... everyone else is saying that it is Israeli. I guess we will have to wait a little while before finding out what is the truth.

UN's Arms Trade Treaty Blocked By Iran, North Korea, And Syria

Photo: United Nations

Iran, North Korea, Syria Block UN Arms Trade Treaty -- Reuters

* Draft treaty could go to UN General Assembly vote soon
* Iran's UN envoy says arms treaty has "many flaws"
* Delegates, rights groups blame U.S. for consensus requirement
* Oxfam: 3 countries hold world hostage on arms trade rules (Rewrites with treaty blocked, U.N. vote expected)

UNITED NATIONS, March 28 (Reuters) - Iran, Syria and North Korea on Friday prevented the adoption of the first international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade, complaining that it was flawed and failed to ban weapons sales to rebel groups.

To get around the blockade, a number governments called on Peter Woolcott of Australia, the president of the U.N. Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, to submit the draft treaty to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and request a swift vote on it in the General Assembly.

U.N. diplomats said the 193-nation General Assembly could put the draft treaty to a vote as early as Tuesday. Britain supported the call for an assembly vote on the draft very soon.

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More News On The UN Arms Trade Treaty

Iran, N. Korea, Syria block U.N. arms trade treaty -- USA Today/AP
UN Arms Trade Pact Stalls as Iran, N. Korea, Syria Object -- Bloomberg Businessweek
UN members fail to agree on arms treaty -- Al Jazeera
Iran, North Korea, Syria Block Adoption Of UN Arms Trade Treaty -- Radio Free Europe
Iran, DPRK, Syria block small arms treaty -- The Australian
Iran, North Korea block international arms trade treaty -- Al Arabiya
UN: Iran, North Korea and Syria cynically block lifesaving arms treaty -- Amnesty International

WNU Editor: India was also prepared to block the treaty.

Did The U.S. Senate Just Kill The UN Arms Trade Treaty?

Photo: Carl Fredrik Reutersward's 'Non Violence' sculpture outside the UN in New York. The Commentator

Senate Votes 53-46 To Stop US From Joining UN Arms Trade Treaty -- The Hill

In the last batch of amendment votes to the budget, the Senate voted on several foreign policy proposals.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced an amendment that would prevent the United States from entering into the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty in order to uphold the Second Amendment. His amendment passed on a 53-46 vote.

Republicans have been critical of President Obama’s decision to consider the treaty, although Obama has said he would not vote for anything that would violate the Second Amendment.

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My Comment: This certainly does not look promising for the UN Arms Trade Treaty.

China Is Now The World's Fifth Largest Arms Exporter

China's weapons exports grew 162 per cent between 2008-2012, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. (Credit: Reuters)

Report: China Replaces U.K. in Top 5 Arms Exporters -- Defense News/AFP

BEIJING — China has overtaken Britain to become the world’s fifth largest arms exporter with five percent of the global trade, its highest position since the Cold War, a Swedish think tank said Monday.

It is the first time Britain has not figured in the top five weapons suppliers since 1950, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute(SIPRI) said in a report. China’s arms exports in 2008-2012 grew by 162 percent compared with the previous five years, with 55 percent going to Pakistan “due to large outstanding and planned orders for combat aircraft, submarines and frigate.”

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More News On China Becoming The World' 5th Largest Arms Exporter

China defends arms trade regime following report ranking China as fifth largest exporter -- Washington Post/AP
China replaces Britain in world's top five arms exporters - report -- Reuters
China becomes world's fifth largest arms exporter -- AP
China Replaces U.K. in U.S.-Led Top-Five Arms-Export List -- Bloomberg Businessweek
China overtakes U.K. as fifth-largest arms exporter; U.S. still No. 1 -- Washington Times
China Edges Out U.K. As World's Fifth-Largest Arms Supplier -- NPR
China becomes the fifth largest global arms exporter -- Deutsche Welle
China now among top 5 arms exporters -- UPI
China becomes world’s 5th largest arms exporter -- Euronews
China Surges Past Britain To Become The Fifth Largest Arms Exporter In The World -- Business Insider/International Business Times
New SIPRI Report Highlights China’s Export Rise -- Defense News
China ranks 5th in arms exports -- Radio Australia
China is now the world's fifth-largest arms exporter -- Killer APPS/Foreign Policy

Asia Is Now Outspending Europe In Defense Spending

Asia's Defense Spending Overtakes Europe's: IISS -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Asia's defense spending overtook Europe's for the first time last year, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said on Thursday, reflecting China's military rise and shrinking European economies.

In its annual report on the world's militaries, it said China's defense spending in real terms rose 8.3 percent between 2011 and 2012, while in Asia as a whole, spending rose 4.94 percent last year.

At the same time, nominal defense spending among European NATO members had shrunk to around 2006 levels due to budget cuts, the IISS said in "The Military Balance 2013".

"Indeed, the increase in Asian spending has been so rapid, and the defense austerity pursued by European states so severe, that in 2012 nominal Asian spending ($287.4 billion) exceeded total official defense spending not just in NATO Europe, but across all of Europe, including spending by non-NATO European states," it said.

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Update #1: Asia spends more on defense than Europe -- Tokyo Times
Update #2: Asia outspends Europe on defence -- Voice of Russia

WNU Editor: The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) website is here.

Bribery Case Spotlights DoD’s Covert Effort To Obtain Foreign Weapons

Russian air-to-air missiles - an AA-11 Archer and an AA-8 Aphid - are displayed for then-Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center in Ohio, home of the Foreign Material Exploitation Lab. (Air Force)

Buying un-American: Bribery Case Spotlights DoD’s Covert Effort To Obtain Foreign Weapons -- Defense News

In the high-end suburb of University Park, 15 minutes east of downtown Sarasota, Fla., there’s a three-bedroom, single-story home within walking distance of the local country club. Attached three-car garage. Screened-in porch. Assessed value: $618,772.

Not the sort of place you’d go to buy a Soviet anti-aircraft system with four automatic 23mm cannons. But records indicate that a ZSU-23, a Russian-built air-defense system deployed by dozens of countries from Armenia to Zimbabwe, was indeed brokered for sale by a company registered at the home. The company is a small defense contracting firm named Atlas International Trading.

The customer in the transaction? That might come as the biggest surprise of all. It was the U.S. government.

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My Comment: And Victor Bout is in jail !?!?!?!

The Shift In Global Arms Trade

Previous Post: Global Arms Sales Drop For First Time Since 1990s


WNU Editor: A good video report from Al Jazeera on the global arms trade in 2012.

Iran Major Arms Supplier Of Kalashnikov Rifle Cartridges To Africe

Iranian-made cartridges recovered from the northern Ivory Coast, of a type found in several African countries. Via Conflict Armament Research

A Trail Of Bullet Casings Leads From Africa’s Wars Back To Iran -- New York Times

The first clues appeared in Kenya, Uganda and what is now South Sudan. A British arms researcher surveying ammunition used by government forces and civilian militias in 2006 found Kalashnikov rifle cartridges he had not seen before. The ammunition bore no factory code, suggesting that its manufacturer hoped to avoid detection.

Within two years other researchers were finding identical cartridges circulating through the ethnic violence in Darfur. Similar ammunition then turned up in 2009 in a stadium in Conakry, Guinea, where soldiers had fired on antigovernment protesters, killing more than 150.

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My Comment: Anything to make a buck and/or curry favor with an ally.

U.S. Arms Sales To Asia Set To Boom

Analysis: U.S. Arms Sales To Asia Set To Boom On Pacific "Pivot" -- Jim Wolf, Reuters

U.S. sales of warplanes, anti-missile systems and other costly weapons to China's and North Korea's neighbors appear set for significant growth amid regional security jitters.

Strengthening treaty allies and other security partners is central to the White House's "pivot" toward a Pacific region jolted by maritime territorial disputes in China's case, and missile and nuclear programs, in North Korea's.

The pivot "will result in growing opportunities for our industry to help equip our friends," said Fred Downey, vice president for national security at the Aerospace Industries Association, a trade group that includes top U.S. arms makers.

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My Comment: It has always been like this .... when the U.S. defense budget is cut, time to look for markets overseas. Fortunately for America's defense contractors .... China and North Korea are making it easy for them to sell their goods to South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, etc..

Russia Is The World's Second Largest Arms Exporter

Russian Weapons Popular In The World In 2012 -- Space Daily/Voice of Russia

In 2012, Russia concluded contracts on selling weapons for the total sum of $ 15 bln. Russian weapons are still popular in the world, much to the envy of some Western weapon producers.

Today, the position of a country on the world market of weapons is evidence of the development of science and technology in this country.

From this point of view, Russia's position today is much better than it was in the 1990s, when the military industry in Russia was experiencing a crisis after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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My Comment: This trend will probably continue. Russian arms are cheaper than American weapon systems, and the world is certainly not becoming a safer place.

Russia's Growing Arms Trade

Russian Arms Sales at $14 Bln in 2012. © RIA Novosti. Mikhail Klimentiev

Putin’s Arms Dealers Are Selling More Weapons to More Dirtbags Than Ever -- Danger Room

Vladimir Putin wants to build a big friggin’ army. But to pay for it, the Russian president has expanded the amount of Russian weapons sold around the globe, and he isn’t being all that discriminating about who he sells them to.

“Let’s talk about our results — they are positive,” Putin said on Monday while meeting with officials. “We are reaching a record level of weapons exports. Their total volume was above $14 billion.” That would be the highest ever for Moscow.

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More News On Russia's Growing Export Market In Arms Sales

Russian Arms Sales at $14 Bln in 2012 -- RIA Novosti
Russia military exports reached record $14bn in 2012 -- RT
Putin touts record Russian arms sales of $14 billion in 2012 -- Reuters
Russian arms sales hit $14B -- UPI
Russia Exports $14B in 2012 Arms Sales -- Ares/Aviation Week

The Booming German Arms Trade

‘Secret’ Arms Deals Provoke Germans -- International Herald Tribune

LONDON — There is at least one European export sector that continues to find a ready market around the world — weapons.

In the week in which the European Union received the Nobel Prize for Peace in Oslo, protestors in the Norwegian capital were not alone in pointing out the irony that its member states account for a third of global arms exports.

It is an irony that has a particular resonance in Germany right now, where the government’s decisions on a series of weapons deals have created unease among parliamentarians who complain they were kept in the dark.

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My Comment: Billions of Euros and tens of thousands of jobs are at stake (plus national security by keeping your industries busy) .... bottom line .... the Germans are not going to change policy.

Update: More on Germany's "risky" arms exports can be read here.

Citing Corruption, Iraq Scraps $4.2 Billion Arms Deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow October 10, 2012. REUTERS/Kirril Kudryavtsev/Pool

Iraq Cancels $4.2bn Russian Arms Deal Over 'Corruption' -- BBC

Iraq has cancelled a $4.2bn (£2.6bn) deal to buy arms from Russia because of concerns about "corruption", an Iraqi government advisor has said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has suspicions about corruption within his own team, his spokesman told the BBC.

The purchase - said to include attack helicopters and missiles - was only signed off in October.

Iraq has been rebuilding its armed forces since the end of US-led combat operations against insurgents.

One Russian military expert has suggested that the Iraqi authorities scuppered the Russian arms deal under pressure from Washington.

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More News On Iraq Canceling A $4.2bn Russian Arms Deal Over 'Corruption'

Iraq: $4.2 Bln Russian Arms Deal ‘Canceled’ -- RIA Novosti
Iraq Rethinks Russian Arms Deal -- Voice of America
Iraq cancels new arms deal with Russia -- CNN
Iraq scraps $4.2 bln Russian arms deal, cites graft -- Reuters
Iraq cancels $4.2bn Russia arms deal -- International News
Iraq cancels $4.2 bln Russian arms deal over suspected graft -- The Daily Star
Iraq scraps $4.2 billion arms deal with Russia -- Deutsche Welle

My Comment: Corruption in Russia and Iraq ..... say it ain't so.

The Politics Of Arms Sales

Arms Sales, Politics and “Frankenforces” -- Dr. Robert Farley, The Diplomat

One of the many ways in which the East Asian balance of power does not resemble the “classic” Cold War is in the structure of the arms trade. During the Cold War Soviet arms dominated the Eastern European market, as well as the markets of politically connected Soviet client states in the Middle East and Africa. Western supply was more varied, with the United States occupying a central position but French, British, German, and other arms suppliers sometime vying for the same customers as the Soviets (especially in the Middle East). Nevertheless, in the Cold War a commitment to an arms supplier often implied a geostrategic commitment to one superpower.

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My Comment: So .... the arms trade and international politics walk hand in hand .... why does this not surprise me.

Iraq Signs Massive Military Deal With Russia

Mi-28 attack helicopter. © RIA Novosti. Sergey Venyavsky

Iraq PM Confirms $4 Bln Arms Deal With Russia -- RIA Novosti

Russia will deliver attack helicopters and mobile air-defense systems to Iraq in arms deals worth $4.2 billion signed earlier this year, it was disclosed today during a visit to Moscow by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in which he met his counterpart Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Moscow will supply 30 Mil Mi-28NE night/all-weather capable attack helicopters, and 50 Pantsir-S1 gun-missile short-range air defense systems. The contracts, among the biggest ever signed between Iraq and Russia, were signed in April, July and August by Iraq's acting defense minister, according to documents released on Tuesday during al-Maliki's visit.

Vedomosti daily said the deal was Russia's largest arms deal since 2006.

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More News On Today's Russia - Iraq Arms Deal

Russia, Iraq agree to $4.3-billion military hardware deal -- RT
Iraq lands major weapons deal with Russia -- UPI
Iraq buys $4.2 billion in Russian weapons - document -- Reuters
Russia gets $4.2B arms deals with Iraq -- Salt Lake Tribune/Bloomberg
Russia seals $US4.2bn Iran arms deal -- SKY News
Russia to become Iraq's second-biggest arms supplier -- BBC
Iraq, Russia Sign Multi-Billion Dollar Arms Contracts -- Voice of America
Iraq to buy $4.2 billion worth of Russian weps -- Voice of Russia

My Comment: This deal will probably be the first of many.

The Fading U.S. Weapons Industry

Outgunned: assembling Rafale fighter jets near Bordeaux, France. (Reuters / Regis Duvignan)

Arms Away: How Washington Squandered Its Monopoly on Weapons Sales -- Jonathan Caverley and Ethan B. Kapstein, Foreign Affairs

Over the last two decades, the United States has enjoyed an unrivaled competitive advantage in the production and export of advanced conventional weaponry. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the breakup of the Warsaw Pact led to sharp reductions in Russian defense spending and a drop in Moscow's arms transfers to regional allies. Simultaneously, globalization rewarded firms with economies of scale, allowing U.S. defense contractors to capitalize on their size and on large orders from armed forces around the globe. The formula for success was simple: by producing a range of affordable yet sophisticated weapons, the Pentagon and its contractors would crush any rivals. Domination of the global arms trade, and the economic and geopolitical benefits that came with it, was the United States' to lose.

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My Comment: These writers rip into the F-35 program .... and for good cause. There is a lot of "red-meat" in this article as well as some astounding revelations .... if you are a subscriber to Foreign Affairs, read it all.