U.S. top arms supplier to developing world

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The United States supplied 46 percent of the arms sold to developing countries in 2005, a congressional report said.

The Congressional Research Service said the level of arms sales was the highest in eight years, the Boston Globe reported.

"We are at a point in history where many of these sales are not essential for the self-defense of these countries and the arms being sold continue to fuel conflicts and tensions in unstable areas," said Daryl Kimball , executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association in Washington. "It doesn't make much sense over the long term."

The report looked both at deliveries of weapons and contracts for future delivery. Russia, the second-ranking arms supplier, was responsible for 15 percent of sales in the developing world, and Britain for 13 percent.

Researchers suggested that the arms trade is now fueled as much by the economic interests of U.S. weapons manufacturers as it is by national security.
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