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Spoils of War: The Human Cost of America's Arms Trade
Provides an account of the intricacies of the politics, finances, unpleasantness, and the hypocrisy of American arms trading, tracing the use of assault weapons in various human rights disasters and examining the remains of a Kurdish village.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 31, 2022
Excellent book on the effects of war on economy or the effects of economic progress, developing and selling weapons, on the sufferers of war.
June 24, 2022
Mr. Tirman rightly points out that innocents - the innocent women, child and families are the first to suffer when weapons are traded and war results. The 'human element' of war- how innocent people- are intrinsically mixed up in such a trade are often lost in the bigger picture of oil, wealth and power. Mr. Tirman gives the reader the example of the lives of the large Kurdish population in Turkey, for example, (not unlike the lives in other countries such as: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libiya and Somalia) where it doesn't seem to be as important as an American life. Indeed, their lives seem expendable in comparison to geo-political (global) interests of the US getting more power, wealth and oil in the Middle East.
Historically, back in the 1990's Turkey was geo-politically important (and is still important today) for the United Sates because: it is proximal to the Balkans (Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia, for example); Whilst Hussein was still an Allie to the US, it still had Iraqi issues back then (!?!) and most importantly of all, Turkey was very close to enormous Central Asian - Caspian oil and gas reserves. (This includes countries such as Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and also the Caspian Sea itself, for example). The US wanted to get 'a piece of the pie'. They wanted to be involved in the production of oil, the transportation of it and, most importantly of all, to try to keep Russian interest out of the area. They wanted 'in' on the vast amounts of oil in the region and just as importantly, they wanted Russia 'out'.
There were certain events that 'fanned the flames of paranoia' and President Carter used these events as an excuse to invest in the military and show America's might to the rest of the world. Of course, it was to the detriment of the Kurdish population in Eastern Turkey. Villages were demolished, people were assassinated, tortured and kidnapped, families became refugees which billowed into the thousands and it became a war crime against a civilian population.
There are some hugely significant problems with the global arms trade. It makes wealthy military contractors more wealthy while squeezing the tax payer out of their hard earn money. The global arms trade enhances and only strengthens dictatorships abroad and actual weakens global security.
While last but certainly not least, it heaps misery on civilian populations who have no choice but to flee from the violence.
There is no shortage of literature showing America's involvement in the the Middle East and other places. Try any of the following:
1. “The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East”, Robert Fisk. 2005. 1105 pages.
2. “Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington sold our Soul for Saudi Crude”, Robert Baer.
3. “See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism”, Robert Baer.
4. “Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 11”, Steve Coll. 2001. (USA & Pakistan).
5. “The Looming Tower”, Lawerence Wright. (The USA & The Middle East).
6. “Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield”, Jeremy Scahill. 2013.
7. “Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army”, Jeremy Scahill. 2007.
8. "Syria's Silenced Voices", by Patrik Paulov. May 10th, 2021. (Syria).
9. “Countering War Propaganda: of the Dirty War on Syria”, Tim Anderson. 2017. (Syria).
10. “Blowback: The Cost and Consequences of the American Empire”, Chambers Johnson. 2001.
11. “Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex”,William D Hartung. 2010.
Historically, back in the 1990's Turkey was geo-politically important (and is still important today) for the United Sates because: it is proximal to the Balkans (Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia, for example); Whilst Hussein was still an Allie to the US, it still had Iraqi issues back then (!?!) and most importantly of all, Turkey was very close to enormous Central Asian - Caspian oil and gas reserves. (This includes countries such as Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and also the Caspian Sea itself, for example). The US wanted to get 'a piece of the pie'. They wanted to be involved in the production of oil, the transportation of it and, most importantly of all, to try to keep Russian interest out of the area. They wanted 'in' on the vast amounts of oil in the region and just as importantly, they wanted Russia 'out'.
There were certain events that 'fanned the flames of paranoia' and President Carter used these events as an excuse to invest in the military and show America's might to the rest of the world. Of course, it was to the detriment of the Kurdish population in Eastern Turkey. Villages were demolished, people were assassinated, tortured and kidnapped, families became refugees which billowed into the thousands and it became a war crime against a civilian population.
There are some hugely significant problems with the global arms trade. It makes wealthy military contractors more wealthy while squeezing the tax payer out of their hard earn money. The global arms trade enhances and only strengthens dictatorships abroad and actual weakens global security.
While last but certainly not least, it heaps misery on civilian populations who have no choice but to flee from the violence.
There is no shortage of literature showing America's involvement in the the Middle East and other places. Try any of the following:
1. “The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East”, Robert Fisk. 2005. 1105 pages.
2. “Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington sold our Soul for Saudi Crude”, Robert Baer.
3. “See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism”, Robert Baer.
4. “Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 11”, Steve Coll. 2001. (USA & Pakistan).
5. “The Looming Tower”, Lawerence Wright. (The USA & The Middle East).
6. “Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield”, Jeremy Scahill. 2013.
7. “Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army”, Jeremy Scahill. 2007.
8. "Syria's Silenced Voices", by Patrik Paulov. May 10th, 2021. (Syria).
9. “Countering War Propaganda: of the Dirty War on Syria”, Tim Anderson. 2017. (Syria).
10. “Blowback: The Cost and Consequences of the American Empire”, Chambers Johnson. 2001.
11. “Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex”,William D Hartung. 2010.
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