26.Jan.2011 60 Years Of American Arms Exports To The Muslim World
I thought it would be worthwhile to append some numbers to yesterday’s post about America’s short-sighted practice of arming certain authoritarian rulers.
What follows are the official Defense Department totals of overseas arms sales agreements from 1950 through 2009. These are mainly big weapons deals between the US government and the governments of other countries; small arms sales are not included.
The table offers a simple comparison of worldwide arms sales during that time, and sales to what the Pentagon calls “the Near East and South Asia.” This super-region corresponds roughly with the Islamic world, as shown by the maps here, minus a few key countries such as Turkey and Indonesia. (The full list of countries is at the end of this post.)
The comparison reveals that in almost every year since 1970, nearly one-half of US weapons exports have gone to an area containing roughly one-fifth of the world’s population.
Few of those people have the power to choose their leaders, in no small part because their leaders are so heavily armed. Is it any wonder America’s self-image as a beacon of freedom is so out of whack with its perception abroad?
Lest you think Israel and India might be skewing the figures: Those two countries account for $31.1 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively, of the total $230 billion in arms sales in the super-region. Which leaves $198 billion for the remaining collection of monarchies, despotisms and nominal democracies.
Eventually, I’d like to create some interactive maps using the country-by-country arms trade data. But since the source document is over 500 pages of oddly formatted, spreadsheet-unfriendly text, that project may require some financial support.
US Arms Agreements Sales Since 1950
| Years | Worldwide Arms Sales | Near East / South Asia Arms Sales | Percent of Total |
| 1950-69 | $10,927,010,000 | $1,845,957,000 | 16.90% |
| 1970 | $1,066,506,000 | $390,339,000 | 36.60% |
| 1971 | $1,381,569,000 | $688,432,000 | 49.80% |
| 1972 | $2,822,129,000 | $1,136,085,000 | 40.30% |
| 1973 | $5,737,497,000 | $4,408,280,000 | 76.80% |
| 1974 | $9,495,009,000 | $7,794,253,000 | 82.10% |
| 1975 | $13,219,489,000 | $6,268,995,000 | 47.40% |
| 1976 | $13,312,951,000 | $10,277,753,000 | 77.20% |
| 1977 | $5,899,625,000 | $3,569,889,000 | 60.50% |
| 1978 | $6,941,098,000 | $3,656,085,000 | 52.70% |
| 1979 | $11,487,271,000 | $7,425,356,000 | 64.60% |
| 1980 | $13,599,651,000 | $7,226,200,000 | 53.10% |
| 1981 | $6,876,942,000 | $2,722,834,000 | 39.60% |
| 1982 | $14,669,278,000 | $7,541,769,000 | 51.40% |
| 1983 | $13,782,542,000 | $4,756,426,000 | 34.50% |
| 1984 | $12,068,435,000 | $4,156,398,000 | 34.40% |
| 1985 | $10,771,803,000 | $4,284,441,000 | 39.80% |
| 1986 | $5,954,236,000 | $1,764,805,000 | 29.60% |
| 1987 | $5,884,901,000 | $1,862,730,000 | 31.70% |
| 1988 | $10,567,946,000 | $6,612,466,000 | 62.60% |
| 1989 | $8,624,991,000 | $4,976,744,000 | 57.70% |
| 1990 | $14,514,451,000 | $8,713,841,000 | 60.00% |
| 1991 | $17,084,891,000 | $11,592,612,000 | 67.90% |
| 1992 | $12,036,173,000 | $2,583,135,000 | 21.50% |
| 1993 | $28,186,376,000 | $14,093,629,000 | 50.00% |
| 1994 | $12,233,098,000 | $4,525,293,000 | 37.00% |
| 1995 | $8,165,906,000 | $2,265,602,000 | 27.70% |
| 1996 | $8,973,430,000 | $3,769,953,000 | 42.00% |
| 1997 | $7,930,116,000 | $2,080,566,000 | 26.20% |
| 1998 | $8,746,786,000 | $4,464,798,000 | 51.00% |
| 1999 | $11,132,224,000 | $5,402,354,000 | 48.50% |
| 2000 | $10,968,282,000 | $3,879,519,000 | 35.40% |
| 2001 | $12,544,915,000 | $5,722,676,000 | 45.60% |
| 2002 | $11,821,419,000 | $4,910,371,000 | 41.50% |
| 2003 | $12,924,620,000 | $3,267,472,000 | 25.30% |
| 2004 | $14,081,196,000 | $6,503,776,000 | 46.20% |
| 2005 | $9,791,951,000 | $3,874,279,000 | 39.60% |
| 2006 | $18,078,995,000 | $7,561,074,000 | 41.80% |
| 2007 | $18,878,229,000 | $7,455,340,000 | 39.50% |
| 2008 | $28,963,266,000 | $17,706,338,000 | 61.10% |
| 2009 | $31,682,369,000 | $16,702,040,000 | 52.70% |
| TOTAL | $483,829,574,000 | $230,440,906,000 | 47.60% |
Source: US Department of Defense.
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