NATO countries only a tip of that. Russia, China, all of Africa and South America combined, that’s a monstrous amount of money being spent on weapons. Our Really Good Friends on the Right Wing insist that the reason Africa is so impoverished with regards to feeding and providing health care for the peoples thereof is that the nations spend so much money on Weapons and making war on each other. Michael “Savage” Weiner harps on this theme a lot, because to his twisted little Racist mind it shows the native inferiority of The Natives. But nary a word that the Enlightened, Epitome of Civilization America outstrips not only Africa, but the “superior” Western Civilization as a whole, whose spending on war in turn outstrips Africa.
One difference is there are no official Wars in which the Civilized Western nations are involved. But plenty of official wars in Africa. Oh, and fewer actual people in Europe.
Now for a larger kick in the seat. The “Defense” contractors are who are supplying the Rest Of The World with their invaluable service (literally, because how could you set an actual value on killing? Aside from a few hundred thousand gallons of red ink) are the ones who supply the Pentagon Trough.
A smaller and smaller minority holding most of the funds of the World Economy hostage. Holding the world at gunpoint, literally.
Their joke about the Iraqi weapons were “we kept the receipts”.They’ll wave the Flag, all day every day, except when they’re selling to other nations in which case they drop their pretense of “patriotism”. Just ask Ollie North. Pretend to be a gun buyer for a Drug Cartel or other similarly situated group who will most likely be pointing the newly acquired guns at Ollies “fellow” Marines. Because if you ask him in the persona of a Concerned Citizen all you’ll get is buried in pseudo-patriotic platitudes.
Bottom line is, the Daddy Warbucks types control more wealth than the Oil industry. Especially since they have such a tight grip on the majority of available funds in the world that the top dogs in the “defense” industry will also by default be the top dogs in any other major industry.
Is there a positive to that? Why, yes, there is. It distills such a huge amount of the Evil of the world into a very concentrated tiny minority of the population, they’re easier to identify
