Alright so I phrased my last question wrong. Obviously they come from former Soviet controlled countries and China. What I ment is HOW do these Middle Eastern/African countries "make deals" w/ these countries 1000s miles away? They dont just walk up to the border and ask if they can buy so many of this and that; how do they do it?
2007-01-23 07:24:39 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
The same way our government sold F16 aircraft to nations that we considered friendly at the time.
It is just an export commodity just like everything else.
Some nations export, blue jeans others export AK47.
2007-01-23 07:35:39 · answer #1 · answered by sprcpt 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well in fact, they do. You seem to overlook the fact that most of the world is corrupt. That this kind of thing does in fact happen easily and often depending on whose interests are being served. They don't have to go to a border. They get curb service. It only gets touchy when a puffy, pasty faced misfit usually five feet wide or six feet tall, whichever comes first - somebody who'd probably fall out of a seedy bar somewhere in California gets involved as a plug preening with self importance some suit said to activate him.
Looking at this you'd swear articles ( however incompetently ) were never written, a steady stream of sensitive official disclosures treating same hadn't been regular, or that nothing is visible at street level. Any street.
Lastly? It's obsolete technology. Like a bow and arrow. What you have to worry about, is a removed assailant on a piece of technology. A perpetrator. A criminal. Who happens to be waving a flag. He can see you. But you can't see him.
2007-01-23 15:31:53 · answer #2 · answered by vanamont7 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Remember, the "middle east" is actually quite proximate to a lot of the former Soviet states, such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, etc.
Also keep in mind that Iraq, Iran, etc were "client states" to whom thousands of these weapons were sold during the 60s and 70s.
In addition, unbelievably skilled armorer/craftsmen use primitive machine tools to repair and even hand-copy these weapons - some impressive gun shops of this ilk are in Pakistan.
Most Soviet military hardware was made to be cheap, rugged, reliable, and perhaps most importantly, easy to manufacture under difficult conditions.
The loose tolerances inside of an AK allow it to function despite a lot of foreign matter "seeping in." But it also means that you don't need world-class capital equipment to make them or spare parts for them.
2007-01-23 15:30:31 · answer #3 · answered by Aaron W 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They start by contacting private dealers who have connections in there local government. The deal usually takes place on the border of legal and illegal, not so different from our forefathers and the French in 1774.
But I'm not a dictator or warlord so this is more conjecture and speculation than actual fact.
2007-01-23 15:29:44 · answer #4 · answered by Centurion529 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My guess is smugglers/arms dealers are present in those areas, They are in touch with the underworld and the political groups. Everyone must have their favorite person to use. Once they get the flag that they need the arms, they would go behind the scenes and deal with the black market etc and negotiate the deal. I'm sure their motivation is greed.
2007-01-23 15:29:05 · answer #5 · answered by dani 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is plenty of corruption on communist and ex-communist states. A regional Governor or military commander can order up a couple thousand rifles, bombs,rpgs etc and no one will ask any questions or check up on why if their greased enough. Then they sell to arms dealers who traffic the weapons down to terrorists.
2007-01-23 15:29:46 · answer #6 · answered by Dustpan1987 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Russians and Chinese will sell anything to anybody. They probably send salesmen to visit the warlords.
2007-01-23 15:28:15 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋