by Dave McGill

Some things don’t “change” and, last week, the military-industrial complex made that perfectly clear. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates visited the two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, and carried with him a trunk full of arms deals for both countries. The news was reminiscent of a study by the International Trade Centre in 2005 that found the U.S. accounted for 47% of the world’s total arms and ammunition exports, putting it in first place. Second place went to France with only 7%.

In the past few weeks there have been numerous warnings that Al Qaeda is attempting to destabilize the region by provoking a war between Pakistan and its long-term, arch enemy India.

The U.S. solution, evidently, was to send Gates to New Delhi where, last Tuesday, he said that the expanded arms deals he brought with him would give India “the best products in the world.” Then, on Thursday, he was offering similar deals to Pakistan including an additional squadron of F-16’s. U.S. taxpayers already provide that nation with $3 billion a year in military aid. Significantly, many of the weapons involved in the latest deals were described as not specifically intended for counter-insurgency operations.

Conflicts between India and Pakistan have been numerous. Wars were triggered in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999. The war of 1971 was the bloodiest, resulting in the deaths of between 1,000,000 and 3,000,000 Bangladeshis, according to reports. There were also flash points that nearly led to wars in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1995 and 2001.

In November, 2008, the U.S. was able to dissuade India from creating a major crisis after the Mumbai terrorist attacks. The lone terrorist that was captured revealed that the attackers were members of a Pakistan-based militant organization.

In upping the destructive power of India and Pakistan, the Pentagon noted that it was being careful to not alter the balance of power.

Meanwhile, the Department of Defense, last week, released the obituaries of six military personnel killed in Afghanistan, ranging in age from 19 to 52. The next-of-kin are being notified today of three more soldiers that were killed this weekend in the southern part of the country. Total U.S. deaths in Afghanistan now amount to 973, according to the website icasualties.org.

The DOD also released the obituary of one 19-year-old soldier who died in Iraq from what were described as non-combat-related injuries. The above website reports that total U.S. deaths there now stand at 4,374.