By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer
 
A new study suggests global arms trade has risen to its highest level since the Cold War in the last five years, driven by a demand from the Middle East and Asia.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), between 2012-2016, arms imports in terms of volume by countries in Asia and Oceania accounted for 43 percent of global imports, a 7.7 rise compared to the previous 2007-2011 period.
Here, the share of countries in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf monarchies has jumped from 17 percent to 29 percent, far ahead of Europe (11 percent, down seven points), the Americas (8.6 percent, down 2.4 percentage points) and Africa (8.1 percent, down 1.3 points). This is not surprising:
The United States and its regional allies are still beating the drums of war. A few years ago it was Iran, with "all options on the table.” Then it was a red line that threatened to drag the world into the conflict in Syria. This time it is Yemen (capitulation) - under the pretext of destroying ISIL.
But destroying Washington’s monstrous creation cannot and will not create an effective and legitimate Iraqi or Syrian state, nor will it bring about peace and harmony to Yemen. All the military power in the world won’t solve these problems – as long as the United States refuses to stop arming those who created this whole mess in the first place.  
In an interdependent, interconnected world, there is no place for America’s perpetual wars or arms sale policies of killing and threats to kill, and/or policies of exceptionalism, superiority and self-interest. The world has changed and has had enough of American wars. Nations do not want conflicts.  
Consecutive U.S. administrations have always done empty lip service to ideals like freedom and democracy; they have always repeated tired tropes about "democratizing,” "assisting” and "liberating” peoples. Their rhetoric about the wars on Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan is not that different.
A reminder that there is no future in the ongoing U.S.-led arms sales and wars in the Middle East. American arms have never brought about freedom and peace. They have always been about profit for the military-industrial complex and the American empire - at the expense of others.
American arms sales are the "one constant” in this part of the world. America started the arms race. America perpetuated the arms race. And America is entirely responsible for the current insecurity and bloodbath.
Now President Trump is re-launching a new round of the war on terror through additional escalation in Iraq and Syria, and he wants the allies to pay for it. It’s the biggest threat to regional peace and stability.
The arming and outfitting of militants and the training of terrorist groups in the region also serve as further proof that consecutive U.S. administrations have lied about the so-called war on terror. Their double standard approach to the subject matter of terrorism is in fact the reason behind the ongoing surge in violence and terrorism in the Middle East and beyond.
Despite their massive arms sales, these not-so-secret deals are unknown to most people. The vast majority of these deals remains completely in the shadows and is never subjected to meaningful examination - which only increases the chances of blowbacks and catastrophic consequences.
This is while the military industrial complex is still being consistently propped up by the concept of American exceptionalism, proxy wars, massive surveillance, and untold numbers of assassinations. It is safe to conclude that these bullets and bombs make the United States the biggest war criminal and the biggest threat to global peace and security.