A Russian Government Official was quoted on Tuesday saying that Russia’s military exports would be in excess of 8.5 billion dollars for 2008. With their increased arms exporting, Russia is now the number two in arms exporting behind the United States. What does this mean for the United States? Honestly I believe that it means we need to keep an eye out for exports to nations who lean towards nefarious activities. One of the primary nations that Russia exports their weapons to is Iran. As a global superpower that is currently engaged in disagreements with Iran, is it a problem for us to see Russia signing new weapons contracts with the nation? If we did dislike the situation where Russia is supplying weapons to our enemies, what could we do about the problem? I imagine that we would face steep opposition from Russia since this is such a cash cow for their nation.
Russia’s military exports have more than doubled since 2000. They are now exporting weapons to 80 different countries. My question is this: how can we ensure that the weapons Russia exports will not be used against our nation in the future? You could ask the same thing about the United States weapons exporting business. How can we guarantee that all the billions of dollars we sell in weapons will not one day be used to kill American soldiers? Is there something wrong with the notion that we are selling something that could be used against us? What is your opinion about Russian and US arms exports?
