Friday, April 18, 2014

The African Arms Race Is Escalating

Africa Is Arming Faster Than Any Other Continent -- Peter Dörrie, War is Boring

The region sees the greatest increase in military budgets worldwide.

African governments are spending huge sums acquiring new weaponry.

Military budgets on the continent increased 8.3 percent on average from 2012 to 2013—and a whopping 81 percent between 2004 to 2013, according to new data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

No other region, not even Asia or the Middle East, is boosting its arms spending that fast.

The growth rates look less impressive in absolute terms, as most African countries have a small economic base. But the old stereotype—Africa as a military backwater—is now hopelessly inaccurate.

Read more ....

My Comment: Many of the world's wars and conflicts are now in Africa .... and I expect this trend to continue.

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