Issues Under Fire: A World At War and It's Heating Up

Issues Under Fire: A World At War and It's Heating Up

The world is heating up, but this podcast and post are not about climate change. Sure,  reputable scientists have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that mankind's activities are negatively impacting the world's weather patterns. I'm a believer. Global warming temperatures are melting the ice caps, which is raising the sea levels, that are flooding coastal communities. Mega hurricanes, massive wildfires, and prolonged droughts are all related to a planet lighting itself on fire. But, long before we earthlings grill ourselves, we'll kill ourselves. And I think I know how. Here's my theory.

Based upon a cursory examination of a recent rash of stories concerning arms sales, I began taking notes. I can't say why, because arms sales, both between nation states or rogue arms dealers just trying to make a quick euro, is nothing new. They make movies about the shadowy side of the arms sales business all the time. Some are action-packed and star-studded. So, what's my problem? Why the sudden interest? Aren't guns, bullets, and bombs just products to be produced and sold to the highest bidder like anything else? And since demand is growing, international arms sales are booming. It all makes sense. Except for the demand part.

The growing demand for weapons of all types around the world is alarming. And if not, it should be. Anybody with a budget is buying everything from guns, tanks, and fighter jets, to stockpiles of chemical weapons. Nations big and small are now living in fear of being attacked by their neighbors. Why" I can't say, but with diplomacy on the wane, it seems the entire world is preparing for a fight. Nations who feel threatened by more advanced and lethal adversaries are investing in missile defense systems. Smaller countries are buying whatever they can afford, as well. Don't think for one minute, the "developing world" market is being overlooked. Poorer countries are some of the best customers. Their conflicts may be smaller in size and scope, but they never end.  

The United States has been at the forefront of encouraging NATO members to ramp up defense spending. So, to lead by example, the lion's share of America's $1.3 trillion 2018 budget went to the military. And a significant percentage of the DoD's $700 billion-plus slice of that budget will be spent on developing new lethal technologies. These technologies are to "protect" America, American allies and American interests around the world. But once developed, that lethal tech will be made available to anyone with the money to pay. And perhaps that's the problem that triggered my interest. Many of these weapons are being sold to those with horrible reputations for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

The United States has been selling weapons to Saudi Arabia for decades. And even though the Saudis have been called out on the world stage for committing what can only be described as genocide in Yemen, the flow of U.S. made precision-guided munitions continues unabated to Riyad. Let's face it, the U.S. is home-base for the world's biggest arms companies. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, United Technologies and L-3 Technologies lead the world in providing the instruments of death and destruction. So, I suppose we have these weapons manufacturers, among others, to thank for the tools used in continuing the unmitigated violence the world is growing to accept more and more every day. 

However, it'd be unfair to lay the blame entirely at the feet of the United States. The Russians, the French, the Brits, the Chinese and even the Israelis are big-time merchants of massacres and misery. In fact, the Israelis are the primary source of weapons for Myanmar (Burma). In the face of unprecedented rape and murder in the ethnic cleansing of its defenseless Rohingya Muslim minority, Israel not only continues to sell Myanmar all the weapons they can buy but also will train that nation's special forces in tactics to eradicate the Rohingya more efficiently for an additional fee. 

Bottom line: Whether the fears of humankind are real, imagined or by someone's evil design, the world is on a killing spree. And because hate, intolerance and religious persecution have been stoked to all-time highs, the profitable business model of arms dealing has been replicated worldwide. So, for those who fear humankind will eventually destroy the planet, they can take comfort in the probability that humankind will destroy itself first. Podcast below.