US 10 times its nearest competitor

The reputation of the US as militaristic and unworthy of any claim to moral leadership in the world is strengthened by this data detailed in this NYTimes article.

The US towering above all countries in arms sales including with major contracts in the Middle East, as well as with developing countries comes no longer in the easy target of the Bush administration, but now well into the first year of the Obama administration.

clipped from www.nytimes.com

Despite Slump, U.S. Role as Top Arms Supplier Grows

WASHINGTON — Despite a recession that knocked down global arms sales last year, the United States expanded its role as the world’s leading weapons supplier, increasing its share to more than two-thirds of all foreign armaments deals, according to a new Congressional study.

The United States signed weapons agreements valued at $37.8 billion in 2008, or 68.4 percent of all business in the global arms bazaar, up significantly from American sales of $25.4 billion the year before.

Italy was a distant second, with $3.7 billion in worldwide weapons sales in 2008, while Russia was third with $3.5 billion in arms sales last year — down considerably from the $10.8 billion in weapons deals signed by Moscow in 2007.

The United States was the leader not only in arms sales worldwide, but also in sales to nations in the developing world, signing $29.6 billion in weapons agreements with these nations, or 70.1 percent of all such deals.