The Triangle

Issue date: 8/24/07 Section: Ed-Op
Originally published: 8/24/07 at 2:58 AM EST
Last update: 8/24/07 at 2:57 AM EST

Specifically, in 2006, Russia sold $700 million worth of mobile Surface-to-Air Anti-Aircraft missile systems to Iran. Just in 2005, Russia sold small arms and helicopters to Hamas, four billion dollars worth of weapons to Iran, two billion to Syria, and $400 million worth to Sudan, according to the BBC and the Russian state-run weapons export company. Later in 2005, Russia sold 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles and combat helicopters to Venezuela. These countries should sound awfully familiar, considering they're the ones that keep giving the U.S. a hard time. Meanwhile, the U.S. government smiles politely at Russia, calling them a solid ally. If this were elementary school, Russia would be that friend you had that was all nice up front, but secretly spread nasty rumors about you on the playground and tied your shoelaces together.

As we smile and nod at how nice our allies are, they sell weapons to countries which, to say the least, don't like the U.S. very much. And when we do protest these deals, we never follow through - we let them sell their guns, fancy missiles and shiny aircraft for a quick couple of billion dollars, and don't even consider that those nice new guns are going to get pointed at us a few years down the road. We don't even want to consider that these countries do not have our best interests in mind. And France and Russia aren't alone - China, too, sells some weapons to enemies of the U.S., and they get preferential treatment in our trade deals.

Don't we have such great friends?



Michael B. Harris-Peyton is a sophomore majoring in English and Japanese and is the chief copy editor.

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