'Am trying really hard to convince myself that what I am reading in the papers from the U.S. is not what it says. Arms deal with Saudi Arabia, and compensatory arms deals with Egypt and Isreal, worth $13 billion to Egypt and $30 billion to Isreal. Great! A rerun of the cold war days. The question to ask is what is expected of these countries to do with the arms?
If I remember well the cause of all the warring going on in the Arab world and the middle east is the sale of arms by both the U.S. and the then U.S.S.R. The U.S. claimed it was in the interest of the world to arm the Iraqis against the Iranians, then she thought it was in her interest to arm the Talibans against the U.S.S.R incursion into Afganistan. And then it became necessary to arm the Isrealis against the threat from the Arab world. It has now become necessary to arm some Arabs against another set of Arabs. The underlying factor being that the arms will be used to kill fellow humans, most of them children, a good percentage of them women, another good percentage innocent men looking for means of livelihood for themselves and their family.
The motive? Monetary profit. And who is the biggest beneficiary? The U.S. Granted it is only a puny minority of the U.S. population, but a dangerous minority.
One little bit that bothers me is why the U.S. thinks she is in the best position to decide whether or not people should kill one another and who should be killed at a particular time and place. What if the U.S. seeing the perculiar advantage she has in having a strong say in world affairs took the other option of making friends and creating bridges of understanding among nations rather than arming them against each other? I understand there is little money in this peace option but I know as a fact that American citizens are also being killed by the weapons sold to these countries or given to them by way of grant or aid as she wants to describe it. You don't aid a man when you give him a gun. You're abetting the murder of one or more persons or even the person you've given the gun to.
Americans have a gun culture but why can't you see this as a barbaric culture? Look at what it does to the kids on the streets and elementary or grade schools in America. Wake up! the world is not as dangerous as you're making it look just for the sake of profit in money. It is possible you may never live long enough to spend the money. If there is peace the world over there is no limit to the money that can be made.
Let us for once drop the need for bullet proof vests and jeeps, the need to hire assassins or body guards. Let us explore the possiblity of making friends among nations, it surely will bring long lasting prosperity and all the talk about terrorism will be a forgotten issue. I believe the terrorists want a good life too and will readily give in their guns to have a good family with whom they could sit on the lawn outside their home on weekends.
I love my family and i have a very stong feeling every other person does as well.
The arms deals? let us put them away. They are killer contracts. Improve the lot of humans don't kill the human race. Roaches might inherit the planet. A nightmare of a thought but that is what we are encouraging.
Keep pressing for no arms among humans.
abbah r. agor-agalanga
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