THE ARMS RACE: APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION

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THE ARMS RACE APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION

• Jeff Dense
• POLS 221
• Winter 2008

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COMPARATIVE EXPLOSION ENERGY (in Kilotons)

• Chernobyl lt.1
• Hiroshima Bomb 15
• 1 Megaton Bomb 1,000
• MX Missile 5,000
• World War II, all bombs 6,000
• Current Global Nuclear 16,000,000
• Weapons Stockpile

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NUCLEAR PROBLEMS

• Nuclear Waste
• -highly radioactive
• -remain hazardous for thousands of years
• -No country producing nuclear energy has solved
  the problem of nuclear waste

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NUCLEAR PROBLEMS

• Plutonium
• -byproduct of power plants
• -used to make nuclear weapons
• -1984- 60 metric tons of produced, enough to
  make 7,500 nuclear weapons
• -subject to theft and hijacking

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NUCLEAR PROBLEMS

• Terrorism
• -Reactors are vulnerable to attack
• -shoulder fired anti-tank weapon fired from a
  mile will penetrate 6 ft. of concrete
• -1 megaton nuclear weapon will release
  contamination in a plume 50 miles wide and 200
  miles downwind

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CRUISE MISSILE

• 20 feet long
• 550 mph
• 1500 mile range
• Cost 1 million
• 1628 total in US stockpile

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B-2 Bomber

• 69 ft. long
• 172 ft. wingspan
• 40,000 lb. Payload
• Cost 1.157 Billion
• 21 in US arsenal

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US FOREIGN MILITARY FINANCING

• Total, FY 2002 3.65 Billion
• Jordan 75 Million
• Egypt 1.3 Billion
• Israel 2.04 Billion

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ARMS SALES RECIPIENTS, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES,
FY2000(IN MILLIONS )

• Egypt 1,800
• China 2,100
• South Korea 2,300
• India 4,800
• U.A.E. 7,400

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TOP ARMS SUPPLIERS(IN MILLION )

• Germany 1,100
• Spain 1,500
• France 4,100
• Russia 7,700
• United States 18,562

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Guns or Butter