Middle East War Adds to Surge in International Arms Sales

[PatrickforB]

Source: New York Times

The push to supply more weapons to Israel comes as American military contractors are already struggling to keep up with demand to resupply Ukraine in its war against Russia and help other U.S. allies in Europe like Poland bolster their own defenses.

Billions of dollars in orders are pending from allies in Asia, driven by the perception of a rising threat from China.

Worldwide military spending last year — on weapons, personnel and other costs — hit $2.2 trillion, the highest level in inflation-adjusted dollars since at least the end of the Cold War, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which prepares an annual tally.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/us/politics/israel-gaza-global-arms-sales.html?unlocked_article_code=L8NEuu3EFMn2txkDBsksVXKtvdVDBOcGukQfga5I1ZVcYGb9BztPwZx19ZSa2zFSw-s7Lw6JVFWwttVj1JGxuSwXjcMLs4mhkgMG0zyQouACkjFj_bD7IPrnLN7lUrshjpBD-OV9MjU6m1cyzzZ3pOoIDY8-dWTloIhVV3_AdDK9XSlnVlSfyjSKNXI14lWopQFA4V2Oq3cVMrc2MJsQbaR_AtYpqcRiCmkHDNnGD50ysrIpUk4yCDfojHjV3IodwAXkFjEA2TevHaKdzZT_gWv8ltz5dsS30fmVEURhKEiGy0AM4g0f7eaX0h8xuGyZx1fBJ3GPmtC3KNpYBI77zWr5i74wEfAEesAN&smid=url-share

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Whoops! Here comes PatrickforB again, with the same old cui bono schtick!

But you know what? Wall Street is going to do great, and so are arms manufacturers.

That is a big part of who benefits. God knows, no one else benefits from war.

[2naSalit]

1. Also a more rapid decline of the biosphere.

Saddle up folks, it's gonna be gettin' deep pretty soon.

[Evolve Dammit]

2. Is that why certain folks are investing in weapons manufacturers? It is the way after all.

[PatrickforB]

9. Yeah, when Obama was elected, my son had just graduated from college and was day trading.

He saw all the 'Obama's gonna take ur gunz' propaganda, invested and did make some good profit. This was sad to me because so many hate groups sprang up in that time.

[Evolve Dammit]

13. that is when it started. Guns and ammo sales soared. Gun nuts would be at Cabella's when shipment

arrived and clean it out.

[IronLionZion]

3. Great, just what the world needs, more weapons

and then go looking for an excuse to use it.

[paleotn]

5. In Ukraine perhaps? They seem to have a need for weapons.

Just saying.

As long as there are people like Vlad Putin, there will be a need for weapons and I don't see Homo sapiens suddenly reforming anytime soon. Seems we forget that side of the equation.

[PatrickforB]

10. Nobody's forgetting anything. This is just a variable of which we should keep aware.

Please be advised that once a war has begun, there really is no choice about sending weapons or not.

But what about prior to that war beginning? Could anything have been done policy-wise to have prevented the Hamas terror attacks in the first place? Putin's evil invasion of Ukraine? That is what I am talking about, and have been all along.

[paleotn]

12. Sorry, but some people cannot be reasoned with.

And you thank your personal god we have a sizable arsenal to keep them at bay. I'm Dem, some would even call me a liberal, certainly on social issues, but I'm also a staunch realist.

[PatrickforB]

15. I hear you. Greed, envy, wrath, pride, lust, gluttony, escapism...these are the old

Deadly Sins, and are definitely baked into our power structure.

Remember the old movie Fight Club? Our whole society is geared around spending money we don't have on stuff we don't need. Madison Avenue advertising makes us feel less than we should be if we don't have this or that product.

The bronze bull celebrates Wall Street greed, and appeared mysteriously in December 1989. No permits or anything. It just appeared on a snowy December morning. Later it was moved to its current location, and I believe it is the actual 'God' this country worships. If you've read the Sermon on the Mount, it certainly isn't Jesus Christ. Or Brahman. Or Krishna. Or Allah. Nope. We worship profits.

A few greedy people are so prideful they are absolutely sure they are better than everyone else because they have more wealth and power. They have bought politicians and court justices, playing on their lust for power and vainglory.

When erstwhile middle class working schmucks like us get angry, wrath rears its head through fascist movements like MAGA, which promise people they will get what they want without actually giving it to them. And if all else fails, then the 'dogs of war' are loosed.

But hey, we have plenty of addictive behaviors we can engage in (sloth) to escape the meaninglessness of life - gaming, gambling, spectator sports, drugs, sex, porn and so on.

So yeah, this is what is real.

My problem is that I'm an idealist. See, if we don't grow up as a species and begin to plan around the needs of sapiens, as well as the needs of all other life on this planet, we're fucked. So, hey - the billionaire parasites are scared they will lose a few pennies, and so we allow eleven people a minute on this earth to starve to death, coral reefs to die, and continue as is, presiding over the greatest mass extinction since the dinosaurs died out. That's what I'm talking about.

I believe we need to rise above 'how things are' and work purposely toward how things should be. Silly me, I'd like the planet to be the same beautiful creation for my grandchildren as it has been for me. And their children, and theirs again. We are stewards over this creation and we are really, really fucking it up.

[paleotn]

4. I'd say a lot of folks benefited from the downfall of the Nazis.

Or should we have just let them have Europe? War being iky and all.

[PatrickforB]

7. Don't patronize me. And don't put words in my mouth. The article is what it is.

Lots of money will be made by arms manufacturers. That is a fact. That is all. I DID NOT SAY WE SHOULD NOT send weapons to Israel and Ukraine. I merely point out that there are those who are well aware that if war breaks out, they will make lots of money.

Next time you think about the doctrine of shareholder primacy - the doctrine stemming from the 1919 MI Supreme Court against Henry Ford in favor of the Dodge brothers - think about the fiduciary responsibility of these executives ONLY being to generate shareholder profits.

What if, instead, they had to hold the interests of workers, consumers and the environment equal to shareholder profits?

[paleotn]

11. "God knows, no one else benefits from war." Your words.

Actually, sometimes, a lot of people benefit from war. Sometimes it's a necessary evil. That's an unfortunate reality of life on earth. Best get use to it. I don't think nirvana is going to break out on this planet anytime soon.

But I do agree with you on corporate fiduciary responsibility.

[Elessar Zappa]

6. Well, I have no problem with Ukraine and Israel getting more weapons.

Both are under attack by orcs and need to defend themselves.

[PatrickforB]

8. Again, as I say above, I am not objecting to sending weapons to help Israel or Ukraine.

I'm merely pointing out that there are a number of C-suite officers in a number of publicly traded companies who are well aware that they will rake in lots of money in the event of any war. That is all.

[hueymahl]

14. Thank you for the article

The arms industry members are cheerleaders for most wars, its simply good for business. And there is strong evidence that we allow them to actively influence our elected leaders to be more agressive and hawkish, leading us into more conflicts that might otherwise be avoided with diplomacy.

Cold hard truths brought to you in part by Citizens United.