The trade of weapons continues to grow. Which model of … – Religious Information Service

After three years of relative stagnation, mainly due to the economic crisis, in 2015 there was a step forward by 1%. The percentage does not deceive: it is the whole of a cake of 1.676 billion dollars, 2.3% of world gross domestic product. Numbers useful as trend indicators, but should be viewed with caution because they are based on official data, not always transparent exemplary, and especially do not take account of the vast illegal and clandestine market

There is a global economic sector is not in crisis and, indeed, recorded robust growth signals. But unfortunately it is not good news, because it is the production and the arms trade. And the contrast with the global trend makes the fact even more disturbing, although the relationship between the social consequences of the economic crisis and geo-political and military industry prosperity is anything but mysterious and unusual. In recent weeks, on information and on the Italian and international press sites, news and images that have appeared in some ways seem to belong in a science fiction movie. Just this week, for example, is available on the web a video on the Sea Hunter, the largest ever built without crew warship, designed by DARPA (the US government agency for innovation applied to defense) with the specific task to hunt submarines. An increasingly strategic sector because, according to the US, the Russians they would be in turn planning submarine drones able to detonate mini-nuclear charges near the coast of the enemy countries. The Chinese, however, come from the sky, through a new generation of hypersonic atlases able to glide at high speed and very low altitude towards the targets, evading radar and anti-missile systems. You could continue the list drawing especially to news coming from Russia, in spite of its precarious financial situation: the super-tank “Army”, which would be the most powerful in the world; new fighter Sukhoi 35, above even the hitherto invincible American counterparts; the intercontinental missile Sarmat, capable of flying at 11,000 km / h and pierce any “umbrella” defense. And then there are the recurring news, real or fake, who come from North Korea, so disturbing and difficult to distinguish from mere propaganda of the regime.
But even beyond the extreme case of Pyongyang, there one that the coupon in this profusion of phantasmagoric news in an area where secrecy is the rule number one.

the impression is that everything (or almost) that it hears, is at the root spread with a specific communication strategy, aimed on the one hand to governments and public opinion in their countries, which have to finance and support the war spending, and the other third countries to potential buyers.

two more examples to get an idea of ​​the stakes: only in 2015 Russia exported arms for 6 billion euro and requests for the current year promise an increase; the US government launched a rearmament plan amounting to 8 billion dollars.

That military spending has started to grow on a global scale is confirmed by the latest data of the SIPRI in Stockholm, the center-studies independent who is considered the foremost authority on the subject. After three years of relative stagnation, mainly due to the economic crisis, there was a step forward by 1% in 2015. The percentage does not deceive:

This is the whole of a cake of 1.676 billion dollars, 2.3% of world gross domestic product.

numbers useful as trend indicators, but should be viewed with caution because the SIPRI processes the official data, not always transparent exemplary, and above all is not able to account for the vast illegal and clandestine market. Looking at the military expenditures of individual states, in the first place are still the US, but decreased slightly, followed in order by China, Saudi Arabia and Russia, all three showed a marked increase. The position of Saudi Arabia says a lot on the level of tension and conflict on the chessboard to which it belongs ..

For the SIPRI Italy ranks twelfth place and its military spending is decreasing. A matter which has to plead the Network for Disarmament (national co-ordination with the participation of many organizations, including Catholic), that the Swedish institution does not computerebbe some voices in the Italian state budget are allocated differently. According to the Network calculations, performed by referring to the numbers contained in the law of stability, the Italian military spending would be rising, not falling. Go in this direction: the figures of the annual report on the export of weapons, presented in recent days by the government to the parliament, which records for 2015 an export value substantially tripled over the previous year. They ask, however, more certain and consistent investments, of course, manufacturers of what are called “defense systems”, starting with the public giant Finmeccanica. The ninth manufacturer worldwide arms (SIPRI source) from 2017 will be called Leonardo to mark the new course with respect to a past judicial reporting. Paradoxically, the reference to the Italian genius par excellence comes at a time when the company is increasingly focusing on military production compared to other sectors.
Moreover, as we have seen, the arms industry is one of the few industries that pull. Not only. It ‘a market that has a perverse ability to self-feed. Go back to mind the repeated complaint of Pope Francis on the close connection between the source of the wars and the arms market. It ‘a spiral that is difficult to escape, if you accept its underlying logic. At each resetting action on the part of an enemy or potential competitor offset by a similar reaction of the other party and so the stocks of weapons are growing, while the technological obsolescence pushes to dispose of pieces of arsenal that are put on the market for less wealthy countries.
the mechanism acts at all levels, including large and small powers, but also in highly asymmetrical situations.

in Europe itself, in front of the Russian rearmament and the aggressive policy of Kremlin decided to revive military spending even countries which traditionally are very far from the stereotype of warmongering, such as Norway and Denmark, or even have a neutralist history, such as Finland and Sweden. of course, it does not question the right to defend themselves and to stop the aggressor, or you can equate democracies and dictatorships. Bring up these issues as relevant when it comes to the arms market is a kind of moral blackmail that serves to hide very different reasons and motives. If financial markets reward the military industry in the most serious conflict in the aftermath of tragic events or situations, as happened in conspicuously after the attacks of Paris, it is just un’impudica matter of interest and business. And if you invest enormous resources to produce and buy weapons, but did not find the funds to fight poverty and promote a true recovery, which aid the life of individuals, families and peoples in question is a model of development that not only is humanly unacceptable, but can not realistically hold up much longer.