The Dublin Conference has resulted in more than 100 countries reaching an agreement to ban the use, production, stockpile, and sale of Cluster Bombs. China, Russia, and The United States (among others) oppose the ban and will, no doubt, simply ignore it. More »

If you were looking for a fine example of ridiculousness today, look no further than the words of Stephen Mull, the US State Department’s acting assistant secretary for political-military affairs. Yesterday, Mull made the following comment with regards to those nations currently participating at a conference in Dublin where representatives from more than 100 nations are working to craft a treaty to ban the use, production, stockpile, and sale of Cluster Bombs… “This would have very grave implications. With one stroke, any country that signs the ...More »

Cluster Bombs have been employed by various nations for decades. When dropped, the initial casing releases ‘bomblets’ that then spread across a target area. There are numerous classifications for various purposes ranging from incendiary to anti-tank to anti-personnel, and numerous others aimed at affecting specific targets such as runways and electrical infrastructures. The problem with Cluster Bombs is that not all of the bomblets explode on impact and can lay dormant for decades waiting to be triggered by innocents that happen upon them. In the ...More »

Roy sent me a link to this. All he wrote was holy shit! That about sums it up. Ladies and gentlemen of the United States of America, a glimpse at how The War On Terror is being fought... "Since 2006, when the insurgency in Afghanistan sharply intensified, the Afghan government has been dependent on American logistics and military support in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. But to arm the Afghan forces that it hopes will lead this fight, the American military has relied since ...More »

After recognizing the independence of Kosovo, what is the obvious second step? Arming it. After all, ‘world peace’ demands no less. And who better to do that than the world’s foremost purveyor of arms… “President George W. Bush authorized Wednesday supplying Kosovo with weapons, signaling the establishment of government-to-government relations after recognizing its independence, the White House said. In a memo to the State Department made public by the White House, Bush said: "I hereby find that the furnishing of defense articles and defense services to Kosovo ...More »

For those of you who aren’t familiar with who Viktor Bout is, Nicholas Cage’s character in the film Lord Of War was loosely based on him. Of course, Bout didn’t grow up in New York, as Cage’s character did in the film. He was born and raised in Russia, attended the Moscow Military Institute, and was a member of the KGB. After the fall of the Soviet Union he became one of the world’s premier arms traffickers, dealing all over the world with governments and ...More »

In a speech yesterday in the UAE, President Bush called Iran the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Now, to some, that might not sound unseemly, but it shouldn’t be overlooked that Iran is the UAE’s number one trading partner, which Bush completely failed to mention in the speech. Nor did he mention that the UAE is one of the most important conduits for Iranian imports despite US Sanctions, the fact that a significant Iranian ex-pats community that plays a central role in commerce in ...More »

There are numerous things to touch on this morning. Here are some of the stories that I have been following… Chavez Says He Will Step Down At End Of Term After last week’s defeat of proposed constitutional reforms, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said that he will step down when is term is up in 2013. Chavez has vowed to keep fighting to have the reforms passed, requiring a petition of 15% of voters to secure the possibility of a new referendum. Vancouver Airport Reforms Announced The Vancouver ...More »

When it comes to the unfolding drama regarding Iran, look no further than the Israelis for proof positive that hypocrisy is alive and well. Yesterday, Israeli’s newly appointed ambassador to the UK, Ron Prosor, uttered the following… "At the current rate of progress, Iran will reach the technical threshold for producing fissile material by 2009," he said. "This is a global threat and it requires a global response. "It should be made clear that if Iran does not co-operate, then military confrontation is inevitable. It is either co-operation ...More »

The CBC has a rather interesting look today at the growth of Canada’s military exports. If you’re under the impression that we’ve remained a small player in this sector, think again… “Canada's military exports have soared in the past decade, a CBC News investigation has found, yet the federal government has not released an annual report on exports of arms and high tech military goods for four years. Faced with a lack of information from Ottawa, CBC News did its own analysis, by constructing a database from ...More »