Gunrunner Extraordinaire

The Post’s report on the 190,000 missing small arms in Iraq has us thinking about the international arms trade. Douglas Farah and Steve Braun have co-authored a new book, Merchant of Death, recounting the life and times of the most prominent player in that market, Viktor Bout. Having transacted business with everyone from Qaddafi and Charles Taylor to the Taliban and the U.S. government, Bout has constructed a global weapons network uninhibited by the moral compunctions one might expect in such a line of work. Among the more disturbing details of Bout’s career are the millions in profits he netted shipping reconstruction supplies into Iraq as a sub-contractor with the U.S. military. The government has moved with sloth-like quickness to terminate its relationship with Bout after learning of his connection to the shipments. Farah and Braun portray Bout as a man who adeptly slips through the cracks of globalization. One wonders how long it will take for those cracks to be sealed. More on Bout here and here.PCR will be hosting Farah on September 12 - details to follow.