Mapping the Arms Trade

Corporate Watch and Disarm DSEi have produced a map showing the locations of all 924 exhibitors at the Defence Systems and Equipment International (DSEi) arms fair. The map is intended to show that the arms trade is present in every community in the UK. The map also represents the first stage in Corporate Watch’s ‘Mapping the Arms Trade’ project aimed at creating a comprehensive interactive map showing locations of arms dealers across the UK. The map can be viewed at www.dsei.org. The 924 DSEi exhibitors included in the map range from companies manufacturing war planes, bombs and missiles, such as Boeing, BAE and Raytheon to companies providing logistical services or technological support to the military, such as Aggreko or Mott Macdonald. They also include manufacturers of rifles, tanks and missile launchers. Several of the listed companies, including EDO MBM/ITT and UAV Engines, are involved in the manufacture of components for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones. EDO MBM, a Brighton based arms factory, advertise several components for the US Reaper drone, which has recently been used in assassinations of “al-Qaeda” suspects in Pakistan. By April 2009, 687 Pakistani civilians, alongside 14 people suspected of involvement with al-Qaeda, had been killed in drone attacks; 50 civilians for every ‘suspect’. Earlier this year, Lord Bingham, a retired senior lawlord, said that drones were “so cruel as to be beyond the pale of human tolerance” and called for a debate as to whether they should be seen in the same category as landmines and cluster bombs. Many of the companies featured in the map are involved in supplying weapons to Israel and their equipment was used by Israel during January’s massacre in Gaza. Over 1400 people, including 350 children, were killed during the month-long bombardment.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has conceded that British components, which included F-16 and Apache helicopter components, were used during the attack. Companies manufacturing components for the F-16 include BAE Systems, EDO MBM/ITT of Brighton and Brimar of Manchester. Many of these components are exported to the USA and then sold on to Israel.
Original article at http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=3436