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Perspectives
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Sarah Kickler
EDITORIAL EDITOR
Mike Schmierbach
NIGHT EDITOR
Nicole Krueger
AN EMERALD EDITORIAL
So, the United States is tem
porarily happy. China has fi
nally taken a step toward fit
ting into our view of what the
world should look like; it has
stopped providing nuclear technolo
gy to Iran.
Let the world rejoice. Finally, only
the good guys will be able to get their
hands on the tools needed to build
weapons capable of killing us all.
The only problem is that every per
son killed in armed conflict over the
past 40 years has died from non-nu
clear weapons. The real threat to
world security doesn’t come from
China and Russia helping Iran build
a nuclear reactor; it comes from sales
of conventional weapons.
Unfortunately for the United States
and its efforts to create a menacing
image of China, the real villain in the
“new world order” is the United
States, which is responsible for the
largest share of conventional
weapons sales in the world.
According to Arms Sales Monitor,
the U.S. government provided $12.5
billion in arms to other nations in
1995. Private industry sold another
$3.6 billion worth of weapons to for
eign governments. China — that great
threat to world security — only sold
$600 million in arms.
Overall, the massive military-in
dustrial complex of the United States
accounts for roughly one-half of glob
al arms sales. In addition, the U.S.
Army is among the biggest and most
expensive in the world.
Despite its claims that these sales
go only to nations with legitimate se
curity interests, the fact is that U.S.
arms have done as much to con
tribute to instability throughout the
world as have any other weapons
shipments. The United States has
provided weapons to a number of na
tions that promptly used them for
immoral purposes.
For example, the United States has
long provided arms and other assis
tance to the Indonesian government,
despite its abysmal human rights
record. According to Matthew Jar
dine, who was writing in Z Maga
zine, the United States at one point in
the 1980s was providing more than
$1 billion in annual aid to the In
donesian government. Even now, in
the post-Cold War era, 1994 sales to
the nation from the United States are
estimated at more than $80 million.
The United States has propped up
a variety of corrupt Latin American
governments at various times be
cause of the perceived strategic im
portance of the region. Guatemala, El
Salvador, Panama and Nicaragua,
Peace Profit
The United States is selling arms to dangerous
nations at the cost of world security
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which
is probably
the only nuclear
among others, have all suffered un
der military dictatorships because
the United States was buying the loy
alty of the generals in charge by giv
ing them the weapons needed to op
press their people.
Even Iraq, our enemy in the Per
sian Gulf War, was at one time a
weapons-receiving ally because we
backed the secular Iraqis in their civil
war against fundamentalist Iran. Sau
di Arabia, which finally ended slav
ery in the 1980s; Kuwait, where less
than 20 percent of the people are eli
gible to vote; and Egypt all receive
arms from the United States.
Few nations benefit more from our
military friendship than Israel,
power in the Middle
East because of its strategic
importance to the United
States. According to an article recent
ly published in Harper’s, U.S.-built
missiles were found in the wreckage
of civilian vehicles destroyed by Is
raeli helicopters.
It is reprehensible for the United
States to demand that China, Russia
and other nations stop sales of arms
to countries the United States deems
dangerous while U.S. leaders and
companies continue to ship billions
of dollars worth of weapons to na
tions with documented human rights
abuses.
The solution is not to simply allow
more arms sales throughout the
world. Despite the claim of certain
members of Congress that providing
arms to all sides of
a conflict ensures
security, the fact is
that the proliferation
of weapons leads to in
creased tensions and
more casualties in con
flicts.
As one side of a conflict ac
quires more arms, the other side
inevitably feels the need to do the
same. Otherwise, they might risk los
ing the battle. At some point, as the
cost of buildup becomes too high,
one of the parties is likely to let loose
with the weapons they have, choos
ing to fight now rather than fall be
hind in the arms race later.
If the United States is interested in
building a secure future for the
world, the solution lies in putting a
stop to arms sales, not in giving
weapons to whomever our ally of the
week happens to be.
China’s decision to stop providing
nuclear technology to Iran is ad
mirable. If the United States would
follow suit by ceasing to sell arms to
even one of the aggressive govern
ments we currently prop up, that
would represent a sign that world
stability truly was the goal of the re
maining superpower.
This editorial represents the opinion of
the Emerald editorial board. Responses
may be sent to
ode®Oregon.uoregon edit.
WIVDOWS ’97_r
Thumbs
PRO-MEASURE 51
COMMERCIALS:
We never want to
hear about assisted
suicide at the din
ner table, but a re
cent commercial
by the proponents
of Measure 51 is
particularly upset
ting. The spot
which many local
stations have re
fused to run, fea
tures a young actor
who, we are told,
erroneously de
cides to end his
own life despite not
really having a ter
minal illness. Not
only does the ad
capitalize on mis
understanding of
the assisted sui
cide issue, but it
also includes de
scriptions of Billy,
the youth in ques
tion, dying as he
chokes on his own
vomit. Political
commentaiy
should speak to the
brain, not the
stomach.
A
ASTANDARD
BLOOD-ALCOHOL -
LIMIT:
President Bill Clin
ton recently pro
posed national leg
isiation that would
set the legal limit
tor blood alcohol
of drivers at .08.
This ought to be
the absolute maxi
mum states could
set; there would be
nothing wrong
with allowing them
to limit drinking
and driving even
further. For the av
erage 180-pound
man, .08 corre
sponds to five
drinks In a one
hour period —
more than enough
to inhibit driving
ability. Even a
drink or two can
adversely affect a
person's ability to
drive.