ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

President Eisenhower warned of the rise of the military industrial complex in his  1961 farewell address . It's impossible to know for sure if he was thinking of companies like these, selling about $235 billion in arms every year, but it's possible. Making weapons has become a U.S. specialty, with 47 American companies filling the top 100 grossing slots in the world .   The following numbers are put together by  SIPRI based on numbers from 2010 , rank in terms of sales, and offer an unbiased view of how big a business war has become. #25 CACI International flikr/GovWin a Deltek Network Global satellite communications equipment supports military intelligence. Arms sales:  $2.3 billion Total profit:  $107 million Employees:  13,100 people While  CACI International  doesn't make weapons, they supply the U.S. Army with an information lifeline. The  TROJAN  satellite communication systems provide the Army with a global network of shared mission-cr

The business of war is profitable. In 2011, the 100 largest contractors sold $410 billion in arms and military services. Just 10 of those companies sold over $208 billion. Based on a list of the top 100 arms-producing and military services companies in 2011 compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 companies with the most military sales worldwide. These companies have benefited tremendously from the growth in military spending in the U.S., which by far has the largest military budget in the world. In 2000, the U.S. defense budget was approximately $312 billion. By 2011, the figure had grown to $712 billion. Arm sales grew alongside general defense spending growth. SIPRI noted that between 2002 and 2011, arms sales among the top 100 companies grew by 51%. However, the trend has recently reversed. In 2011, the top 100 arms dealers sold 5% less compared to 2010. Susan Jackson, a SIPRI defense expert, said in an email to 24/7 Wa

The OMB (Office of Management and Budget) has a page on their site that is devoted to the publishing of historical data (link below). There is all sorts of data published on the site - total government expenditures over the years, GDP over the years, etc. For this article, we are going to be looking at two tables of data: Table 4.1 - Outlays by Agency (1962-2015) Table 4.2 - Percentage Distribution of Outlays by Agency (1962-2015) What do they two tables tell us? Well, they show how much each agency in the government (such as Labor, Commerce, etc) spent per year from 1962 until present day, and they also show us each agency's spending at a total % of agency outlays. This can reveal interesting trends over the years. For this article, we are going to focus on the country's Military spending from 1962 until 2010. In addition, we'll also include the government's projections for military spending from 2011 to 2015. We will list four pieces of data (in regards to military sp

August 31, 2013 - Syrian rebels in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta have admitted to Associated Press journalist Dale Gavlak that they were responsible for last week’s chemical weapons incident which western powers have blamed on Bashar Al-Assad’s forces, revealing that the casualties were the result of an accident caused by rebels mishandling chemical weapons provided to them by Saudi Arabia. “From numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families….many believe that certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the (deadly) gas attack,” writes Gavlak. Rebels told Gavlak that they were not properly trained on how to handle the chemical weapons or even told what they were. It appears as though the weapons were initially supposed to be given to the Al-Qaeda offshoot Jabhat al-Nusra. “We were very curious about these arms. And unfortunately, some of the fighter

Posted August 29, 2013 -  Updated August 30, 2013 -  See "Note from Tom" below. © BBC News See also  -  Syria: Reports of 'napalm-like' bomb attack:  Video - Note from Tom There appears to be a consensus (see comments below) that the video above is propaganda and a staged event in support of the Syrian rebels. I can neither confirm or deny that the report is valid, but I do agree that the reporter appears to attribute the attack to a Syrian fighter jet, without providing any evidence to support his conclusion. What is beyond debate is that a great many people have died and an even greater number have suffered and or witnessed suffering beyond what can be described as civilized behavior in this war on the Syrian people. What I find objectionable about some of the comments, is that we prefer to blame one side or the other rather than empathize with those on whom this tragedy is inflected. It would appear we are more interested in attributing responsibility and p