An Analysis On America's Arms Trade

A Russian-made multiple rocket launcher known as the TOS-1A fires during training at a military camp in Baghdad, October 14, 2014.REUTERS/Stringer

David Axe, Reuters: Why arming U.S. allies can be like sending weapons straight to the enemy

The United States has a long tradition of arming its allies to advance Washington’s foreign policy. In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called the United States the “arsenal of democracy” as he pledged thousands of ships, tanks and warplanes to countries battling Nazi Germany.

Roosevelt’s characterization is no less true today. The U.S. government is sending large amounts of weapons to allies desperately battling Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria. Washington is also considering equipping the battered Ukrainian military, which has been fighting Russian-sponsored rebels in the country’s east.

WNU Editor: A good overview and analysis on America's arms trade with its friends and allies .... and the consequences when things go wrong, especially when U.S. arms ends up in the wrong hands .... case in point .... Video Shows Al Qaeda Operating TOW Anti-Tank Missiles in Syria (Washington Free Beacon).