Analysts say the defense industry has spent billions of dollars lobbying Congress while quietly making much more in profit by manufacturing weapons that fuel deadly conflicts in Ukraine, Yemen and across the world under federal arms sales agreements that have little effective congressional oversight.<\/p>\n
There is a dangerous \u201cfeedback loop\u201d between major weapons manufacturers in the United States that make billions in profits<\/a> from arms sales, the countries that arm themselves with these weapons, and the U.S. government, which uses arms sales as \u201ctools\u201d to gain economic and diplomatic leverage, according to Dan Auble, a researcher at money-in-politics tracker OpenSecrets<\/em>. <\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, it\u2019s ultimately the human beings on the ground who suffer as a result of the prolonged wars that are fed from these arms sales abroad,\u201d Auble told reporters on Thursday.<\/p>\n The U.S. is the top arms dealer in the world, followed by Russia, France and the United Kingdom, with the U.S. responsible for 39 percent<\/a> of arms exports globally, according<\/a> to the Stockholm International Peace Institute.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, OpenSecrets<\/em> reports<\/a> that major U.S. weapons manufacturers such as Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics, which capitalize<\/a> on conflict<\/a>,<\/span> collectively spent $2.5 billion lobbying Congress over the past 20 years, with $177 million spent on lobbying last year alone. Raytheon Technologies was the defense industry\u2019s top spender in 2021 with a $15.3 million investment in lobbying Congress, where ever-expanding military budgets<\/a> provide endless opportunity for profit.<\/p>\n About 43 percent<\/a> of U.S. arms exports got to the Middle East, where Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are top customers. Both countries are leading a coalition fighting in a civil war in Yemen that is entering its eighth year. An estimated 377,000 people<\/a> have died in Yemen due to fighting, displacement, hunger and disease in what is considered by the United Nations to be the world\u2019s worst humanitarian disaster.<\/p>\n Weapons manufactured in the U.S. — ranging from helicopters to bombs and missile systems — are used in Yemen and result in deaths of civilians, despite recent assurances from the Saudi government and the Biden administration that U.S. weapons are only used for defensive purposes, Auble said. Congress has made several attempts at ending U.S. involvement in Yemen\u2019s brutal civil war, but none have been successful.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is currently a ceasefire in place that is letting some [humanitarian] aid arrive, but it remains to be seen how well that will hold,\u201d Auble said. \u201cOf course, past truces have not.\u201d<\/p>\n President Joe Biden pledged on the campaign trail to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, but after an initial pause in arms sales, the Biden administration approved<\/a> a $500 million contract for helicopter purchases and $650 million contract for air-to-air missiles in 2021. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) introduced a joint resolution<\/a> in the House to block the sale of missiles, but the resolution did not pass.<\/p>\n Like weapons manufacturers, the governments of some arms recipients also spend big on lobbying and influence. An analysis of federal \u201cforeign agent\u201d registrations reveals that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have spent $130 million since 2016 on media outreach campaigns in the U.S. and on lobbying dozens of members of Congress on arm sales and other issues, according to Auble.<\/p>\n There is also a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, where millions of people have been displaced and thousands of civilians have been killed since Russia\u2019s brutal invasion began in February. Since April 1, the U.S. has authorized $12 million in security assistance to Ukraine, bringing total U.S. military assistance to the embattled nation to more than $3 billion, according<\/a> to the Forum on the Arms Trade. More than two dozen other nations and the European Union have sent weapons or security support to Ukraine.<\/p>\n