By: Azhar Azam
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in "The Express Tribune":
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2124932/6-defence-contractors-us-politics/
Sale of top-100 global arms suppliers and services providing conglomerates rose by 4.8% to $420 billion in 2018, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) newest data showed on December 9. US firms sustained their lead and dominated the list, accounting for 59% or $246 billion of the worldwide defense market with an increase of 7.2% from last year.
For the first time since 2002, all the top five slots were held by companies based in the United States – Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamic – which alone had a sweeping share of 35% valued at $148 billion of total top-100 arms sales in 2018.
Since these five largest arms suppliers are also the major defense contractors of the US Department of Defense (DOD), the data mirrored that American arms companies have been greatly profiting from their government’s policy to expand the US global political and military influence.
It is the same tenacious US strategy that has eternally driven all the American presidents to implement the Pentagon’s predetermined goal of drumming up country’s arms exports and aided the US arms suppliers’ shares to triple over the last five years and later on to outshine all the arms manufacturers worldwide.
Arms sale and defense trade are the key tools of the US foreign policy through which it thwarts the regional security the world over and supports its military industrial base, reduces the cost of arms procurement and secure jobs of 2.4 million Americans associated with deadly arms industry.
In addition, DOD’s subordinate organization responsible for international defense contracts – Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) – distinctly missions to “advance US national security and foreign policy interests” by strengthening the capabilities of foreign security forces.
Whether it was US-led NATO invasion in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya; Egyptian turmoil; Syrian Civilians’ carnage; Arab coalition blitz on Yemen; Israel-Palestinian conflict or Saudi-Iran conflict in Persian Gulf – irrespective of who wins or loses, the troika of US government, Pentagon and American arms manufacturers have been the definite victors.
America has been intensely pursuing its international offensive objectives of increasing its global footprint by military sales, in East and Southeast Asia particularly. From 2014 to 2016, Washington delivered $214.3 billion of arms to Asian nations out of total US defense exports of $462.7 billion.
Most of arms transfer deliveries in Asia, about 55% or $117.2 billion, were destined toward the countries in East or Southeast Asia: Indonesia ($77.9 billion); Korea ($19.1 billion); Philippine ($9.0 billion); and Singapore ($6.8 billion). A total of $77.4 billion of arms went to the Middle East and another $67.5 billion of weapons were sold to European countries.
While US winds down its global war on terror, it is deeply concentrating on Great Power Competition with China and Russia. The world’s largest arms exporter has meticulously petrified its East and Southeast Asian, European and Arab allies from the spurious Chinese, Russian and Iranian threats to increase its defense equipment sales.
The “unwarranted influence” wielded by the US “military industrial complex” was first warned by the US President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his farewell speech in 1961, which allowed the US arms producers to “install” their top management officials into the DOD to derive mammoth advantages.
In January 2017, Jim Mattis resigned from General Dynamics’ board of directors to take the charge of Pentagon’s head. After quitting the post, the retired Marine General rejoined the aerospace and defense organization in July. As the burgeoning control of US arms manufacturers helped Boeing to gain much from the appointment of its former Vice President Patrick Shanahan as defense secretary, Raytheon is likely to take advantage from its former lobbyist and current US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
The role US defense equipment manufacturers in not confined to the Pentagon only. Every year, they pour millions of dollars on lobbying, political contributions and other sorts of infiltratory and peddling tactics to influence the US policies.
An oversight report by OpenTheBooks, also released on C-Span’s Washington Journal, found some stunning facts about American companies including arms producers. It bared that for every $1 invested in lobbying by firms such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics returned them $1,000 in federal contracts and grants.
Only in September 2018, Boeing and Lockheed Martin received $14 billion in US federal contracts. Likewise In a good year, Lockheed Martin receives up to $50 billion in government contracts, a sum larger than the operating budget of the US State Department.
Rising sway of the US arms suppliers in the country’s politics is becoming an open truth. The OpenSecrets data on US election cycle 2020 unearthed that the leading US arms companies contributed about $12 million to federal candidates, parties and outside groups by November 21. Despite his frequent votes against the defense bills, Senator Bernie Sanders out-collected Donald Trump by multiple times across the major DOD defense contractors' contributions except for Raytheon.
SIPRI and US arms sales figures, State Department’s pledge to label defense trade as a vital gizmo of US foreign policy, DSCA assertion to step up US national security and foreign policy interests by reinforcing allies’ forces and the political contributions and lobbying investments secret data explicitly speaks about defense contractors’ growing clout in American politics and policies.
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared in "The Express Tribune":
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2124932/6-defence-contractors-us-politics/
Sale of top-100 global arms suppliers and services providing conglomerates rose by 4.8% to $420 billion in 2018, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) newest data showed on December 9. US firms sustained their lead and dominated the list, accounting for 59% or $246 billion of the worldwide defense market with an increase of 7.2% from last year.
For the first time since 2002, all the top five slots were held by companies based in the United States – Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamic – which alone had a sweeping share of 35% valued at $148 billion of total top-100 arms sales in 2018.
Since these five largest arms suppliers are also the major defense contractors of the US Department of Defense (DOD), the data mirrored that American arms companies have been greatly profiting from their government’s policy to expand the US global political and military influence.
It is the same tenacious US strategy that has eternally driven all the American presidents to implement the Pentagon’s predetermined goal of drumming up country’s arms exports and aided the US arms suppliers’ shares to triple over the last five years and later on to outshine all the arms manufacturers worldwide.
Arms sale and defense trade are the key tools of the US foreign policy through which it thwarts the regional security the world over and supports its military industrial base, reduces the cost of arms procurement and secure jobs of 2.4 million Americans associated with deadly arms industry.
In addition, DOD’s subordinate organization responsible for international defense contracts – Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) – distinctly missions to “advance US national security and foreign policy interests” by strengthening the capabilities of foreign security forces.
Whether it was US-led NATO invasion in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya; Egyptian turmoil; Syrian Civilians’ carnage; Arab coalition blitz on Yemen; Israel-Palestinian conflict or Saudi-Iran conflict in Persian Gulf – irrespective of who wins or loses, the troika of US government, Pentagon and American arms manufacturers have been the definite victors.
America has been intensely pursuing its international offensive objectives of increasing its global footprint by military sales, in East and Southeast Asia particularly. From 2014 to 2016, Washington delivered $214.3 billion of arms to Asian nations out of total US defense exports of $462.7 billion.
Most of arms transfer deliveries in Asia, about 55% or $117.2 billion, were destined toward the countries in East or Southeast Asia: Indonesia ($77.9 billion); Korea ($19.1 billion); Philippine ($9.0 billion); and Singapore ($6.8 billion). A total of $77.4 billion of arms went to the Middle East and another $67.5 billion of weapons were sold to European countries.
While US winds down its global war on terror, it is deeply concentrating on Great Power Competition with China and Russia. The world’s largest arms exporter has meticulously petrified its East and Southeast Asian, European and Arab allies from the spurious Chinese, Russian and Iranian threats to increase its defense equipment sales.
The “unwarranted influence” wielded by the US “military industrial complex” was first warned by the US President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his farewell speech in 1961, which allowed the US arms producers to “install” their top management officials into the DOD to derive mammoth advantages.
In January 2017, Jim Mattis resigned from General Dynamics’ board of directors to take the charge of Pentagon’s head. After quitting the post, the retired Marine General rejoined the aerospace and defense organization in July. As the burgeoning control of US arms manufacturers helped Boeing to gain much from the appointment of its former Vice President Patrick Shanahan as defense secretary, Raytheon is likely to take advantage from its former lobbyist and current US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
The role US defense equipment manufacturers in not confined to the Pentagon only. Every year, they pour millions of dollars on lobbying, political contributions and other sorts of infiltratory and peddling tactics to influence the US policies.
An oversight report by OpenTheBooks, also released on C-Span’s Washington Journal, found some stunning facts about American companies including arms producers. It bared that for every $1 invested in lobbying by firms such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics returned them $1,000 in federal contracts and grants.
Only in September 2018, Boeing and Lockheed Martin received $14 billion in US federal contracts. Likewise In a good year, Lockheed Martin receives up to $50 billion in government contracts, a sum larger than the operating budget of the US State Department.
Rising sway of the US arms suppliers in the country’s politics is becoming an open truth. The OpenSecrets data on US election cycle 2020 unearthed that the leading US arms companies contributed about $12 million to federal candidates, parties and outside groups by November 21. Despite his frequent votes against the defense bills, Senator Bernie Sanders out-collected Donald Trump by multiple times across the major DOD defense contractors' contributions except for Raytheon.
SIPRI and US arms sales figures, State Department’s pledge to label defense trade as a vital gizmo of US foreign policy, DSCA assertion to step up US national security and foreign policy interests by reinforcing allies’ forces and the political contributions and lobbying investments secret data explicitly speaks about defense contractors’ growing clout in American politics and policies.