Andrew Feinstein is leading a book project to expose the extent of Western profiteering from death and destruction, with a particular focus on Gaza and Yemen. And at one of the most dangerous points in time since 1945, a new crowdfunder aims to get this book to us sooner rather than later.

Financial gain, human loss

The book’s title is Making a Killing: How the West profits from enabling slaughter in Gaza and Yemen. And it will use research and stories of people who’ve suffered to hold “powerful arms companies fueling ongoing violence” to account.

In a statement for the Canary, the people behind the book told us:

Gaza is a genocide fuelled by Western weapons, money, legal and diplomatic support. [The West] continues policies that for decades and centuries devalued and disregarded the lives of people in the “Middle East”, only sees them, at best, as collateral damage, and at worst, as eternal “terrorists”

Andrew Feinstein – a longstanding anti-racist and anti-militarist campaigner – added:

The arms trade counts its profits in billions and its losses in human lives. For justice to be achieved we need verified information beyond what our governments and media are telling us. This book will reveal in devastating detail the decades of international crimes, of moral, political, and financial corruption, and the impunity that accompanies them.

Ahmed Alnaouq, who grew up in Gaza, said:

The humanity of my family is not decided in Tel Aviv or Washington or London or Berlin. But their death was decided there. We need your support to tell their story

Researcher Ruth Rohde, meanwhile, insisted:

The crimes are ongoing in Yemen and Palestine, but we need accountability now. We need to expose and challenge the mechanisms of power that all have to work in synchrony before the bombs drop so that we can disrupt them

Feinstein has previously slammed how the “unholy alliance of money, power, and violence” gaslights ordinary people to convince us arms-dealing is good, while doing things “they wouldn’t do in any other sector because they just wouldn’t get away with it”. Corruption is rife. As is impunity. And justice will only come if we expose and shatter this evil trade.

The most dangerous time in decades

As Andrew Feinstein has consistently documented, the US dominates the lucrative global arms trade. And it has increased its dominance further in recent years thanks to the horrific quagmire it has fostered in Ukraine and the Israeli genocide it has fuelled in Gaza. Figures show how Washington’s share of the world’s arms exports jumped from 35% (2015-19) to 43% (2020–24). Collectively, meanwhile, Western nations easily hold over 50% of the bloody market. Ukraine has bought the majority of its weapons from the US, Germany, and Poland. And Israel has got almost all of its arms from either the US or Germany.

The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) has made it clear that:

Violence in the world is at an all-time high since the end of the Cold War.

In recent years, it says, there’ve been “more conflict-related deaths than any time in the last three decades”. And while Gaza and Ukraine dominate headlines, Africa’s numerous conflicts have also been devastating.

PRIO laments that:

The world is experiencing a surge in violence not seen since the post-World War II era. 2024 marked a grim new record: the highest number of state-based armed conflicts in over seven decades.

It adds:

This is not just a spike – it’s a structural shift.

And it asserts that:

without sustained international engagement, the risks to civilians, regional stability and international order will only deepen

Andrew Feinstein: exposing and opposing arms profiteers is urgent

The crowdfunder has just launched. And it explains that:

We are working on the book with experts in the international arms trade from across the world, and people resisting the impact of these weapons on their lives and the lives of their loved ones in Yemen and Gaza.

It adds that:

While arms companies have billions to spend on lobbying the government, it is much harder to find those willing to fund the type of work we do in holding them accountable for their crimes. That’s why we are asking you for help.

So if you can, please support Andrew Feinstein and the crowdfunder. Because the better we understand what’s truly going on, the more effectively we can fight back.

By Ed Sykes

This post was originally published on Canary.