World

U.S. Is World's Leading Arms Dealer

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 20, 2000 / 9:46 PM EDT / CBS

A new survey of the global military situation finds the United States sold almost half the weapons traded internationally in 1999, increasing its share of the market even as total arms sales fell slightly.

That in a year in which 100,000 people were killed in armed conflict.

The report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies also finds that an increasing number of deployments is taxing America's military.

"The armed forces of the U.S. and Western European countries are over-stretched because of commitments in the Balkans, Africa and Asia after a period during which military personnel have been sharply reduced," the report reads. "While U.S. defense spending has increased, NATO European defence spending (other than in the UK) continues to decline."

The annual report says that arms trade fell from a 1998 level of $58 billion to $53.4 billion in 1999.

Just over 49 percent of the arms traded internationally in 1999 came from the United States, up from 47.6 percent the year before. Britain sold 18.7 percent of the world's arms, France 12.4 percent, and Russia 6.6 percent—an increase from 4.6 percent in 1998 for the former Soviet Union.

On the receiving end, the Middle East topped all other markets in weapons bought, with Saudi Arabia leading the pack with purchases worth $6.1 billion.

The total military budgets of all countries remained fairly steady, at $809 billion—with no decreases in military spending seen anywhere but Western Europe.

As countries bought and sold the weapons of war, the United Nations made a greater commitment to enforcing peace. The U.N. currently has 14 missions involving 28,900 troops from 38 countries, compared to 9,000 troops last year.

That is not, however, the most ever deployed: from 1993-95, the U.N. had 70,000 troops on duty around the world.

The report identifies challenges facing particular countries and regions, strategic alliances and war-fighting in general.

"The signs in 1999 that the long-term decline in U.S. defense spending was coming to an end were confirmed in 2000, with more funds being allocated for, in particular, qualitative improvements in personnel and readiness," the report said, but added that the new funding was badly needed to correct serious deficiencies.

Defense Dollars

the presidential campaign, with Republican nominee George W. Bush criticizing the Clinton administration for neglecting the armed forces.

The Institute cites differences between America and Europe on construction of a U.S. National Missile Defense as a major problem for NATO.

It also casts doubt on the European Union's plan for raising a 60,000-member military force, since even the U.N. has a hard time getting troops for peacekeeping missions from EU countries.

Continuing strife in Nagorno Karabakh, Georgia and Cyprus, as well as increased activity by dissident Irish Republican Army factions and Basque separatists, threatened Europe's security, the report said.

In Russia, a high-level policy decision "to give priority to improving the conventional forces," was a step forward, but the ongoing war in Chechnya drained Moscow's armed forces.

Elsewhere, wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Angola threatened the security of the larger region, the report said.

"Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for nearly two-thirds of the 100,000 people worldwide killed as a direct result of armed conflict over the year," the report said.

In Asia, the Institute hailed warming relations between North and South Korea as a major step toward stability, but warned, "Indonesia's internal-security situation has continued to deteriorate."

India and Pakistan did not increase their nuclear capabilities much during the year, while Islamic insurgencies and violent drug trade in central Asian countries like Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan threatened to spread.

China, meanwhile, seemed preoccupied by domestic concerns like the Falun Gong and gaining membership in the World Trade Organization.

On the battlefield, as in other areas of modern life, it appears the digital divide is widening.

While applauding technological advances in weapons that allow for coordinated command and control, the report states that, "The technical challenges of the digitized battlefield are immense and may prove too expensive for all but the wealthiest countries."

By JARRETT MURPHY