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declined from the number two spot
during the 1940s and 1950s, to
number four. The United Kingdom
now exports only 25 to 30 percent
of its production.
West Germany has tended to
practice restraint in arms sales. But
the government has come under
increasing political and economic
pressure to expand arms sales to
create jobs.
Who Are the Arms Buyers?
Every year, officials from nations
around the world go arms shop–
ping. In their quest for weapons,
they peruse the arms bazaars, such
as the París Air Show or the British
Army Equipment Exh ibition, to
pick up the latest fighter aircraft or
battle tank.
A quick analysis of arms sales
shows that money is becoming a
more crucial concern for sellers
than ideology. For instance, Libya
recently requested postponement of
payments on its large arms bill. To
which the Soviets, in need of hard
currency, replied "Nyet"!
An economically struggling
Latín America, Africa, and Ocean–
ía are not the big buyers. The bulk
of arms spending and arms imports
centers in the Middle East.
Editor-in-chief Herbert W. Arm–
strong has long told readers of
The
Plain Truth
to watch events in the
Middle East. Bible prophecies point
out this volatile region as the focus of
the next cataclysmic world war.
Saudi Arabia, with a population of
less than 1
O
mi Ilion, ranked sixth in
annual military expenditures in
1980.
Libya, by 1981, possessed an air
force of 21
O
aircraft. However,
Libya has to "import" Syrian,
Pakistani, North Korean and Pales–
tinian pilots to fly its aircraft-two
thirds of which are sitting in crates,
as yet unpacked!
l n Israel, whose citizens bear the
highest military expenditure bur–
den in the world, the story is simi–
lar to other Mideast nations. After
the perilous 1973 war, which very
nearly involved the United States
and the Soviet Union, Israel began
a major arms rebuilding program.
The effect of this buildup was
demonstrated by the surprising
success of Israelí tactics and thei r
lar gel y U .S . -made equipment
January 1983
SELECTED
COUNTRIES
All figures from 1979
*Source:
World M/1/tary Expenditures andArms
Transfers1970-1979publlshed
by
U.S. Arms
Control and Dlsarmament Agency. Flgured In constant 1978U.S. dollars.
+
Source:
1980 Reader's Dlgest Almanacand Yearbook.
5