The proverbial dust (and sand) had no chance of settling before the Conservative British Prime Minister landed in Cairo, accompanied by arms manufacturers. Representatives from major arms and aerospace outfits such as BAe Systems, Qinetiq, Thales the Cobham Group, Ultra Electronics, Rolls Royce, Babcock International Group and Atkins joined Cameron on his trip. Around the same time Defence Minister Gerald Howarth and fifty other British companies were participating at an arms expo in the United Arab Emirates. A Libyan contingent was in attendance.
Many newspapers such as The Independent (UK), the Indian Express, the Daily Mail etc. rightly decried the "hypocrisy" of it all and, Sarah Waldron, a representative of the Campaign Against Arms Trade called in an "absolute disgrace". While such critical comments are indeed needed, in an era of business as usual and "just trying to make a buck", nothing should come as a surprise. In response to the criticisms, Mr. Cameron's response was predictable. According to the Daily Mail, he "reasoned" (so to speak): "You cannot expect every country in the world to provide for its own defence, so it is perfectly logical for us to have a defence trade.’ In practically the same breath he also proclaimed that he was in the region with "building blocks of democracy" in tow. In 2004, Mr. Tony Blair embraced Col, Gaddafi in Tripoli. Naturally, lucrative arms sales and oil deals followed barely a few weeks later. Today, there are reports that the current British government approved the sale of sniper rifles to Libya barely months before its army and mercenaries began gunning down civilians (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20110223/tuk-libya-uk-approved-export-of-sniper-r-45dbed5.html). Naturally, while meeting the new generals in charge of Egypt and introducing representatives of arms manufacturers, Mr. Cameron also exclaimed that Col. Gaddafi's actions were nothing less than "completely appalling" (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8338236/Libya-vicious-repression-is-appalling-says-David-Cameron.html). Meanwhile, Jeffrey Cox, the Deputy Attorney General of Indiana was fired today for tweeting that police should use live ammunition on protesters in Wisconsin.
Needless to add, C. Wright Mills, who analyzed the military-industrial complex, a term that was first used by President Dwight Eisenhower, would not have been surprised.
Clip from President Eisenhower's speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY
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