Weapons are sold by goverments only, a company needs to apply
for licences etc to export, and the receipient country needs a
certificate of origin to import, but then again in a govt to govt
deal, who cares whether the shipment is accompanied by a used
tissue paper or whatever.
IF I am not wrong, Burma has bought bloodhound SAM (ex. mickey
mouse hill), a $30m computer centre to monitor incoming tel calls
what else... (BTW I have Burmese friends)
Morality is always suspect, when big numbers and no traceback are
involved.
Rumour (from various sources), in 1980's weapons written off by SAF
(M-16S1, M-16HB etc.) were stripped off their s/no and shipped out
by the container load, where and for what you guess..
I remember seeing a 1979 news reel just after the vietnamese
invasion of Cambodia with the Pol Pot resistance carrying armburst
rounds!! Armburst is LAW to you and me. Only two countries produce
the Armburst. My guess is that US sponsered (singapore will never
give, only sell) purchase to support anyone who opposes vietnam
(they were still sore about vietnam war back then).
Then there was the Iran-Irag war where there was no shortage of
155mm rounds although there was an arms embargo and only 9
countries could manufacture the 155mm rounds!! go figure. No use
having a factory if you can't sell the product. someone was walking
on both sides of the street the rumour goes...
My take, if combatants wanna blast each other back to the stone
age, why moralize when they will still buy weapons from someone
else.
Even France had a shipment of exocet missles (anti-ship versions,
the air to surface version was halted) ready for delivery up to the
day the UN resolutions condemning Saddam Hussain's invasion of
Kuwait (1990).
Largest arms manufacturer and seller US of A.
