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U.S. Remains Leader in Global Arms Sales, Report Says
September 25, 2003
By THOM SHANKER
WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 - The United States maintained its
dominance in the international arms market last year,
especially in sales to developing nations, according to a
new Congressional report.
The United States was the leader in total worldwide sales
in 2002, with about $13.3 billion, or 45.5 percent of
global conventional weapons deals, a rise from $12.1
billion in 2001. Of that, $8.6 billion was to developing
nations, or about 48.6 percent of conventional arms deals
concluded with developing nations last year, according to
the report.
Russia was second in sales to the developing world last
year, with $5 billion, followed by France with $1 billion.
While the report focuses on sales and deliveries of
conventional weapons from the industrialized world to
poorer nations, it also offers a glimpse into such issues
as missile proliferation by North Korea and foreign weapons
transfers to Iraq.
The new report, "Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing
Nations, 1995-2002," was sent to the House and Senate this
week by the Congressional Research Service, an arm of the
Library of Congress. The annual study, written by Richard
F. Grimmett, a specialist in national defense at the
research service, is considered the most authoritative
resource available to the public on worldwide weapons
sales.
From 1999 to 2002, there were no deliveries of
surface-to-surface missiles to the Middle East from arms
makers in the United States, Russia, China or Europe, the
report said.
But the study says 60 surface-to-surface missiles were
delivered to the Middle East by nations in the category
"All Others," which includes such suppliers as Israel,
South Africa and North Korea.
United States officials, both military and civilian, said
today that North Korea was the source of the
surface-to-surface missile deliveries listed in the report,
and of 10 anti-ship missiles delivered to the Middle East
in that period.
President Bush has increased public pressure on North Korea
and Iran over their nuclear programs, and the
administration is organizing a number of joint military
exercises to train for the interdiction of possible
shipments. The goal of these exercises is to make it more
difficult to transmit components of chemical, biological
and nuclear weapons - and the missiles to deliver them.
But difficulties in halting North Korea's missile trade
were evident in December, when a North Korean cargo vessel
that was not flying a flag was halted off the Horn of
Africa by two Spanish warships.
A search revealed 15 Scud missiles hidden beneath the
cargo. But the vessel was eventually allowed to sail on
with the missiles to its destination in Yemen after
officials conceded that neither North Korea nor Yemen had
violated any treaties.
In addition to the shipment to Yemen, North Korea is
suspected of selling missile technology to Iran and others,
Pentagon officials said.
The study says that none of the major arms makers delivered
weapons to Iraq from 1999 to 2002 - or at least not in
amounts of more than $50 million, the lowest sales amount
included in the study.
But a category of nations labeled "All Other European,"
which includes formerly Communist states in Central and
Eastern Europe, delivered about $100 million worth of
weapons to Iraq from 1999 to 2002, although the report does
not specify the source of the deliveries.
Ukraine is believed by American officials to have sold an
advanced Kolchuga radar system to Iraq, Pentagon officials
said.
Arms deals with developing nations in 2002 totaled $17.7
billion, more than the $16.2 billion for 2001 but the
second-lowest total for the years 1995 to 2002. (The report
measures sales and deliveries in dollar totals adjusted for
inflation, called "constant 2002 dollars.")
"Many developing nations have curtailed their expenditures
on weaponry primarily due to their limited financial
resources," Mr. Grimmett wrote in the report. "To meet
their military requirements, in current circumstances, a
number of developing nations have placed a greater emphasis
on upgrading existing weapons systems while deferring
purchases of new and costlier ones."
Total arms transfer agreements reached nearly $29.2 billion
in 2002, a decrease from 2001 and the second year in a row
that total arms sales dropped, according to the study.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/25/international/25ARMS.html?ex=1065519333&ei=1&en=c2c89a9dc5a443b0
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