US Military Assistance Policies on Arms Sales and Gifts

From WolfWikis

Arms trade between countries internationally has become a booming industry, especially over the past decades. As of 2004, the international arms trade totaled $30 billion and the U.S. sat on top with over 50% of those sales[4] The top fifteen recipients of Latin America took $3.5 billion arms from the U.S. between 2000 and 2003. [5]

As for the U.S., empirical research suggests that they deal with arms trade using stringent policies. The first stage includes "gatekeeping", in which the policeymakers decide whether or not the country has elgibility to receive U.S. arms. The latter stage suggests the amount of arms between the designated country and the U.S. ^[1] Countries dealing with arms trade policies must deal with economic and security consequences involved in the import, production, and export processes. ^[2] Arms trades for the U.S. hold major national interests in controlling regimes. This case will particularly look at the interests that U.S. arms trade policymakers have in Latin America.

Contents 1 Small Arms Trade 1.1 El Salvador 1.2 Honduras 1.3 Costa Rica 1.4 Colombia 2 Consequences 2.1 Misuse of Small Arms 2.2 Human Rights Issues 3 References

Small Arms Trade

The U.S. deals with Latin America mainly through small arms trade because there lies more threat in internal wars than external wars in the area. In most cases, the countries of Latin America do not have enough strength to build WMD's (only Cuba and Chile hold this threat) [6] However, Latin America has a history of revolutions and internal warfare. When the policymakers process the first stage of arms trade policy, they consider the severity of a country's power toppling. ^[3] In the case of many Latin American countries, the U.S. policeymakers pass the decision to provide weapons to the government favoring U.S. interests. These are the governments that will accept democracy before socialism or communism.

El Salvador

Over the course of El Salvador's twelve year civil war from 1980-1992, the U.S. funded the Latin American government with most of there weapons. The U.S. exported 32,474 M-16 assault rifles as well as 260,000 grenades to the Salvadorans. ^[4] The Martí National Liberation Front(FLMN)was the only communist party in El Salvador at the time, so the U.S. had interest in the right-wing government. They supplied arms including weapons, helicopters, surveillance, and vehicles to the Salvadoran government. They also patrolled the El Salvador and Nicaragua intercoastal borders to hault illegal arms trafficking going to the guerrilla fighters.[7]

Honduras

During the 1980's, the Honduran government faced a Marxist regime and quickly turned for the aid of the United States. From 1980 to 1984, U.S. military aid had jumped from $3.9 million to $77.4 million in Honduras during this anti-communist era. [8] Other concerns based in this area were the Nicaraguan Sandinista movements into Honduras. The United States set up their military in Honduras and aided then Hondurans in order to solidify the security of democracy in the Western Hemisphere. ^[5]

Costa Rica

The Reagan administration had to deal with one more arms trade case with Costa Rica in 1984. Costa Rica asked the U.S. for $7.5 million in weapons aid. [9] The U.S. set up the Agency for International Development in San Jose where they could oversee the use of their money in a heavily revolutionized area. From this area and the military base in Honduras, the U.S. could determine the use of their arms money to defeat the guerrillas in the contra wars and counter-insurgency operations. ^[6]

Colombia

In the 1990's, the policymakers turn their focus away from anti-communist threats and on to illegal drug trafficking in Latin America. The U.S. linked with Colombia to bring down druglords in the Western Hemisphere, which the biggest resided in Colombia. From 1989-1999, the United States provide Colombia with $322 million worth of military aid. As of 1997, the Clinton administration provided a $40 million gift of helicopters, boats, commercial arms, and small arms to Colombia.[10] The United States used its security interests against drugs Colombia and the policymakers made arm trade in Colombia a top priority. As a result, the Colombian military's main focus is to combat drugs. As of 2001, Plan Colombia has been the leader of "terrorism" topics in Central America. This has been adopted as the U.S.'s attempt of curbing drug-trafficking in Colombia. FARC, Colombia's largest guerrilla organization, has been the catalyst of many terrorist problems in the area.

Consequences

The distribution of massive amounts of small arms in Latin America during the 1980's and 1990's has led to many consequences faced by the United States. There remains a lot of misuse of small arms in Latin America and the production and importing of illegal weapons. Also, the U.S. has faced several human rights issues concerning the arms trade to foreign countries.

Misuse of Small Arms

The politicized movements of the 1980's left over many unused military-style weapons. Unfortunately, the machinery did not disappear with the movements, but still circulates throughout the countries. This has lead to the rise of gang-related wars, homicide, and other criminal activity. In El Salvador, where there are over 400,000 small weapons of which 200,000 are legal, homicide rates average 150 per 100,000 people a year. ^[7] There are over 1.5 million weapons in Central America and over half are illegal, unregistered arms. The arms trade has left no country unscathed, including the likes of Costa Rica, a booming tourist attraction. The revolutions of Central America in the 1980's leaked into Costa Rica where the post-war signs show brightly. Armed aggression has risen steadily since 1991. ^[8] Things are much worse in countries like El Salvador though. Nearly 40% of crimes committed in El Salvador involve a firearm. In fact, the firearm-related crimes have risen by 75% since the end of the civil war in 1992. 70% of these crimes are related to social violence, or gang-related crimes. ^[9]

Other implications of firearm-related crimes are the cost of hospital bills. Many of these families are too poor to have medical insurance. Therefore, if their child has to be place in a children's hospital to treat a wound, it is likely that the family will not be able to pay the fees. The children's hospital in San Salvador costs $685 a day for a child, which can turn into a large bill over several days.^[10] U.S. arm trade has been detrimental to Latin American society due to the post-war trauma that has occurred over the region.

Human Rights Issues

NGOs such as Amnesty International and other such organizations have become irate with the expenditures of the arms industry. An average of $22 billion dollars is spent in each continent nationally on arms, which NGOs think could easily go to something more positive. The sum of that money would allow every child to go to school and reduce child mortality by two thirds in 2015.[11] In October 2003, the Control Arms campaign started and has the support of over one million people worldwide. In December 2006, 153 governments voted for an international Arms Trade Treaty at the United Nations. The world is demanding tougher rights to obtain guns. [12]

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References

1. ↑ "Promoting Human Rights and Democracy in the Developing World: U.S. Rhetoric versus U.S. Arms Exports," by Shannon Lindsey Blanton, American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 44, No. 1. (Jan., 2000), pp. 123-131
2. ↑ "The Arms Trade," by Paul Levine, Ron Smith, Lucrezia Reichlin, and Patrick Rey, Economic Policy, Vol. 12, No. 25. (Oct., 1997), pp. 335-370
3. ↑ "Promoting Human Rights and Democracy in the Developing World: U.S. Rhetoric versus U.S. Arms Exports," by Shannon Lindsey Blanton, American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 44, No. 1. (Jan., 2000), pp. 123-131
4. ↑ "Small Arms Control in El Salvador," by William Godnick, Small Arms Control in Central America, 2003
5. ↑ "The Invisible Country," by Donald E. Shulz, The United States, Honduras, and the Crisis in Central America, December, 1994, pp. 267-270
6. ↑ "AID's Privatization Solution," by Martha Honey, Hostile Acts: U.S. Policy in Costa Rica in the 1980s, 1995, pp. 51-54
7. ↑ "Stray Bullets: The Impact of Small Arms Misuse in Central America," by William Godnick, Robert Muggah, and Camilla Waszink, Occassional Paper No. 5, October 2002, pp. 51-54
8. ↑ "Stray Bullets: The Impact of Small Arms Misuse in Central America," by William Godnick, Robert Muggah, and Camilla Waszink, Occassional Paper No. 5, October 2002, pp. 51-54
9. ↑ "Stray Bullets: The Impact of Small Arms Misuse in Central America," by William Godnick, Robert Muggah, and Camilla Waszink, Occassional Paper No. 5, October 2002, pp. 51-54
10. ↑ "Stray Bullets: The Impact of Small Arms Misuse in Central America," by William Godnick, Robert Muggah, and Camilla Waszink, Occassional Paper No. 5, October 2002, pp. 51-54

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