Victor Bout, arms dealer, about to be judged by bigger arms dealer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Viktor_Bout_Extradited_to_US.jpg

Victor Bout is about to go to trial.  If you haven't heard of him - to be brief - he was a competitor in the global death industry.


""Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children… This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.'
~ Dwight Eisenhower, U.S. President"  read more here

Arms Trade Stats

Global Distribution of Arms and Ammunition Exports

Source: International Trade Centre; http://www.intracen.org

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Weapons Imports and Exports

Source: Control Arms Campaign; http://www.controlarms.org

"Bout denies any wrongdoing, portraying himself as a legitimate businessman who ran a cargo airline and did not participate in arms dealing. But experts say his trial will peel away the shadowy world of illicit arms trading that has fueled global conflicts in some of the most desperate and war-torn countries, from the Middle East to Africa."

Read more
I'm with Bout.  After all - if I am to point a finger at him - I've got to think of the four fingers pointing back at the very government I support with my tax dollars.  They are a big player in the arms industry.

"Wall Street Journal) - WASHINGTON -- Iraq has finalized a deal to buy advanced US fighter jets, the first step toward building a modern postwar air force, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Iraq has yet to publicly announce completion of the deal to buy 18 F-16s, but officials in Washington said an initial payment of $1.5 billion has been received.

Read more here

Video below:  I suppose Saddam is reading the menu?  I wonder what's on the menu?  Maybe Aspartame?  Maybe .......

listen to the lyrics....is this supposed to be a bad guy the song is about?  Sounds like my government!


Let's be honest here folks - the secret is out - war is big business.  All Vic did was compete for business - and must have done a helluva' job since his competitors thought him a big enough threat to their profits to rein in.


But maybe there is more to it than that - speculating here...maybe he needs to keep quiet about previous dealings with his competition?  Maybe there were occasions for him to team up with a competitor on a business deal that later (now) might be viewed as an embarrassment.


One thing is for sure - I'll never know the truth.  If I were a former business associate of Victor's, and I were an American, I'd pay him the hush money, make a deal, and keep him out of the news for awhile.