Whoever says violence and economy growth do not go hand in hand would be either completely naive or brought up in a jungle.
Here’s an excellent article which not only tell us how the US has been paying nations to buy weapons from them, but also gives you an idea of how well oiled the whole “supply arms which can be used later to justify use of more arms against them” framework is. Check out the familiar story below :
- Enter into a zone where 2 neighbours are fighting, supply one with arms and financial aid ( which is used by the receiver to buy more arms to continue the struggle in hope of winning ).
- If the receiver is well oiled (yes “oiled”) then you grow your contracting business to keep the money spinning, else you now have a say in their foreign strategy by way of bullying and arm twisting.
- If your ally does win, then you crown yourself as the conflict solver. Else, you supply even more arms to covertly continue to stoke the tinder till they result in another theatre of conflict.
- If the ally goes rogue, even more reason to come on your own to clean the mess with an aim of “stabilizing” the peace equilibrium in the region.
We have seen repeat of this in various parts of world with unfailing accuracy which has become now a “Bhasmasura’s hand” for the world’s largest weapons industry. As they say in India, no effort of yours goes unrewarded; depending on the intention. All the years of ensuring that every nation stays at the shooting edge of weapon technologies, US has armed pretty much the world and accumulated $$$ which every weapon maker will be proud of. But the tide seems to be turning.
How else do you understand, escalation and threats of action against the state of IRAN which was couple of decades ago the friendly nation to which fighter jets and other armaments were provided readily. The same story has been played for a long time now in Af-Pak region.
Now how does it work in growing your economy is pretty interesting. For the unwashed masses, more sales and big contract means, more manufacturing jobs and more employment, which can never be wrong for any economy. More money inbound definitely would mean more buying power. But, is the money really helping their economy or being channeled by the corporations to keep their business running through various means, whether ethical or not.
Not many people are aware of the way the generous aid which the US offers to strife-ridden countries like Pakistan is used. A little search of the official documents reveals the discomforting truth of the money being supplied for humanitarian use being used to secure more ammunition and defense systems which are top priority for a nation struggling to keep its old enemies at bay and new ones from threatening it. This means that US basically has its aid money being returned to itself for its arms sale, so much for the aid. This tactic has assured the continuous flow of arms for a long time. This also means that the taxpayers dollars are used to keep other nations armed, in the end, the Lockheeds and the Boeings are the ones laughing away to the bank at the taxpayer’s expense.
US had the money and power to buy allies with its weapons and/or financial aid due to its technological advantage and rising manufacturing efficiency which was incomparable anywhere in the world except the Russians who axed their own future with the dissolution of the USSR.
With the emergence of locale specific militant activities which sometimes have been targeted US itself has forced them to promote peace and vindicate their stand by slowing down the arms export which till the Cold war era was a justification for its own protection.
However, with the recent economic crisis, measures are being taken at various fronts to identify how to increase jobs, and the recent news of selling $60 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia could not have come at a better time. Its time to start doing the same thing which was being done till recently at a higher pace, but does it truly help the economy if the money that comes in through these sale goes out as aid which usually is never paid back and finally ends up in the corporate coffers.
After all being the “Lord of the War” does come with its own benefits, even if you sometimes are shot at with your own ammunition.
