A recent analysis by The Intercept reveals that the United States, under President Joe Biden, has been arming some of the worst countries in the world. Through weapons sales, Uncles Sam and Joe have been facilitating the transfer of weapons of death to countries that actively oppress their people and kill their own citizens.
They say money makes the world go round. Still, I’d argue it’s bullets and bombs that keep the international order clipping along down the tracks. The cold hard truth is that the U.S. has fueled some of the worst conflicts in recent history, all while preaching peace and righteousness from the podium.
While administrations from both sides of the aisle have contributed to this environment of mayhem, the Biden administration has strived for the biggest numbers, all while spewing hypocrisy for the adoring progressives and our European freeloaders… er, I mean partners. Let’s take a look and see just how far and wide our machines of death span.
US to bolster weapons sales
The US State Department is seeking to expedite arms sales to its foreign allies and partners amid a new 'age of heightened strategic competition' and soaring global tensions
Read: https://t.co/8j1VRNypgw pic.twitter.com/J97osRjdds
— RT (@RT_com) May 19, 2023
The Intercept found that the United States sold to at least 57% of the world’s autocratic countries just in 2022. They found this information by comparing State Department data with the Regimes of the World database, which uncovered that the Biden administration sold weapons to 48 of the 84 countries defined as autocracies last year.
However, this estimate is probably low. The report The Intercept used from the State Department uses the term “various” often in its commercial arms sales database to describe the recipients.
Given that knowledge, roughly $11 billion of weapons sales are essentially undisclosed due to the vague labeling used by the State Department. With bookkeeping like that, it’s no wonder we have so many unaccounted-for assets… how convenient.
Interestingly within Uncle Joe’s first year of weapons sales, he surpassed President Trump’s highest year of weapons sales. At Trump’s peak, he sold $192 billion, while Biden sold $206 billion in just his first year.
You may think that, of course, the amount is higher; after all, we’ve been helping to fight the good fight against the Russians in Ukraine. But, on the contrary, the assistance provided to Ukraine has largely been in the form of grants and transfers from our Pentagon stockpile, not from sales.
So how does this system of weapons sales from the freest nation on Earth to the most oppressive go down?
✍️The Intercept: Weapons sales by the #US to other countries reached $206 bln in 2022 exceeding 6-year highs, with 57% of the receivers of US arms recognized as autocracies by the University of Gothenburg.
❓Is there anything Amb Brigety would like to comment on in this regard? pic.twitter.com/DdnLwAiP8I
— Russia in RSA 🇷🇺 (@EmbassyofRussia) May 18, 2023
There are two ways in which foreign countries buy weapons from the United States: Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) and Foreign Military Sales (FMS). A DCS sale happens between a foreign government and a company that makes weapons in the U.S.
An FMS sale happens between a foreign government that contacts the Department of Defense via their embassy to purchase U.S.-made weapons. Regardless of the method taken, the U.S. government must approve each sale before it is completed.
Through these two systems of purchase and sales, the United States has been the largest arms dealer since the Cold War, making up about 40% of all arms exports each year. However, this past year was an absolute banner for weapons sales, and all signs point to yet another big year, with sales rising to 49% from last fiscal year.
Last October, the Quincy Institution for Responsible Statecraft released a report detailing the increase in sales and that four defense contractors were the primary producers of those sales:
The report explained:
“The concentrated lobbying power of these companies – including a “revolving door” from the Pentagon’s arms sales agency and the leveraging of weapons export-related jobs into political influence – has been brought to bear in efforts to expand U.S. weapons exports to as many foreign clients as possible, often by helping to exaggerate threats.”
But I thought we were the good guys?
The US is a champion of democracy, freedom and human rights.
That's why 23% of its weapons sales goes to Saudi Arabia.
Chop up dissidents? Check.Hide from lawsuits over complicity in 9/11? Check.
Commit genocide in Yemen? Check.
— Max Le Blond (@Balgowallah) May 20, 2023
The increase in sales to autocracies goes counter to everything President Biden has preached, since his basement campaign to his State of the Union. During the election, in an attempt to attack President Trump, he pledged not to “check America’s values at the door” when it came to arms sales.
Since taking office, he even adjusted the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy that governs weapons sales to foreign governments to emphasize human rights over economic benefit as President Trump had dictated.
In various speeches, including the State of the Union, President Biden said:
Finally, in his National Security Strategy, the administration lays out:
“The most pressing strategic challenge facing our vision is from powers that layer authoritarian governance with a revisionist foreign policy.”
So how is it that President Biden has managed to sell more weapons to these governments we are in a fierce battle with? Is that his idea of tipping the “rules-based international order” scale”?
The State Dept announced a new “retooling” of the Foreign Military Sales process to improve “efficiency and competitiveness” in an “age of strategic competition.” But, the share of US arms exports globally (40%) increased the last 4 yrs, while Russia (16%) & China’s (5.2%) fell.
— Seth Binder (@seth_binder) May 19, 2023
War is the conduit through which the elite get richer, the powerful gain more influence, and the everyday man and woman are subjected to more control.
The Quincy Institute explains:
“Current U.S. arms policy and practice too often fuels war rather than deterring it. Roughly two-thirds of current conflicts – 34 out of 46 – involve one or more parties armed by the United States.”
What’s good for the bad guys is good for the defense contractors, which is good for the Pentagon and the political establishment. It allows the lining of pockets, the churning of the status quo, and the expulsion of platitudes of peace from the mouths of bureaucrats and politicians.
It’s interesting to think that after every mass shooting, President Biden and his liberal Second Amendment haters always call for the disarming of American citizens.
After the recent Texas mall shooting, Biden said:
“Once again I ask Congress to send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Enacting universal background checks. Requiring safe storage. Ending immunity for gun manufacturers.”
He said this all in the name of peaceful streets in America. So while Biden aims to disarm your law-abiding parents and hunting enthusiast husband or brother, he unashamedly sells weapons to countries that don’t allow their citizens to bear arms, vote, or live freely.
Where is Saudi Arabia’s background check? Where is their guarantee of safe storage? Where is the defense contractor’s culpability in lives lost at the end of their weapons sold to our autocratic rivals?
The fact sheet acknowledges that 95% of the annual $45 billion in Foreign Military Sales are approved by the State Dept in 48 hours.
— Seth Binder (@seth_binder) May 19, 2023
