Weapons trade

In every post conflict society the issue of weapons become a top priority. Even in peaceful countries weapons are a hot topic. A statement that is true and quite hilarious has been made that guns do not kill people, people kill people. Further to that argument, there have been points made that the genocide in Rwanda was carried out with machetes more than guns. The logic is similar in both statements that people kill people not weapons.

We can trace the logic of such statements around like a dog going after its tail. The odd time we will actually bite the tail, which will produce a yelp and then we look around to find out who bit us. Then of course we see the dam tail again and off we go chasing it. Think that is funny? This very situation has been going on for a long time, even as I write this.

In an earlier posting the topic concerned Viktor Bout. This man sold weapons to rebels and delivered aid the same places that were under attack by the rebels he armed. Viktor Bout was able to carry out his activities because the major powers saw him as useful.

Another example of the dog chasing its tail, when the Soviet Union went into transition the RUSA purchased 400 000 A-K 47s and shipped them to Colombia. These weapons went into the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The government of Colombia is being supported by the RUSA to fight the revolutionary forces. Basically the RUSA has armed both sides. The same situation was taking place in Chechnya where Russia was fighting against people being supplied with the same weapons.

In Syria there are reports that the defecting members of the military have taken large weapons caches that were supplied by Russia. Now a group of western countries want to supply weapons to the opposition forces as well. These opposition forces are known to include Al Qaeda soldiers. If the western countries supply weapons they will be giving weapons to the same group they are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

Now if you really want to get your mind in a twirl start digging in the subject of the Kashmir Region and Balochistan. This area is akin to a war of incest, supplied by just about every weapons producing country. Pakistan is fighting its own people, India, Afghanistan and has attacked everyone else in some manner. However, Pakistan is being supplied weapons to continue on fighting.

All of this is just nerve racking and frustrating to say the least. It gets even more crazy when the world tries to enact measures to control the weapons trade. The counties that are slowing the process are the ones supplying the weapons. This is like the police giving all criminals weapons and then having to go out and fight them.

The argument for supplying weapons rests in the fact that everyone has a right to protect themselves. But is it really a good idea to arm the village idiot and bully at the same time?