Promoting Democracy Or Fueling Repression?

June 8, 2005 by element115
The United States transferred weaponry to 18 to 25 countries involved in active conflicts in 2003, the last year for which full Pentagon data is available. From Chad to Ethiopia, from Nigeria to India, transfers to conflict nations totaled over $1 billion in 2003.

Thirteen of the top 25 recipients of U.S. arms transfers in the developing world are undemocratic according to the State Department's Human Rights Report. Citizens in these countries either "do not have the right to change their own government." or those rights are severely abridged. These undemocratic regimes received over $2.7 billion in U.S. arms transfers in 2003.

Under the rubric of the war on terrorism, military aid has increased precipitously, while scrutiny of the human rights and democracy records of recipients has decreased. Foreign Military Financing, Washington's largest military aid program, increased almost 70 percent between 2001 and 2003-- from $3.5 billion to $6 billion. The largest increases went to U.S. allies in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, including Jordan, which saw its military aid increase by $525 million, and Pakistan, which received an additional $224 million. Military aid totals have leveled off at about $4.6 billion since 2003, but the number of countries receiving military aid increased by 50% between 2001 and 2006, from 48 to 71.

A deeper look at a few U.S. arms clients illuminates the contradictions between President Bush's rhetoric and the realities of current policies.
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