久久亚洲国产成人影院-久久亚洲国产的中文-久久亚洲国产高清-久久亚洲国产精品-亚洲图片偷拍自拍-亚洲图色视频

  Home>News Center>World
         
 

Global military spending soars in 2003
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-06-10 15:05

World military spending surged during 2003, reaching $956 billion, nearly half of it by the United States as it paid for missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on terror, a prominent European think tank said Wednesday.

The money has been effective in waging war, but threats of terror and weapons of mass destruction still exist, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Military spending rose by 11 percent, which the group called a "remarkable increase." The amount was up 18 percent from 2001.

The $956 billion spent on defense costs worldwide corresponded to 2.7 percent of the world's gross domestic product, according to the annual report.

"It's very close to the Cold War peak in 1987," said SIPRI researcher Elisabeth Skoens, who co-authored the report.

SIPRI also warned of fears that biotechnology research, particularly concerning human genes, could lead to the development of a new class of biological weapons.

"The free access to genetic sequence data for the human genome and a large number of other genomes, including for pathogenic micro-organisms, is a great scientific resource, but it could pose a significant threat if misused," the report said.

Researcher Richard Guthrie said developments in mapping the human genome, which could lead to improved medicines and vaccines for heart and neurological problems, also could be used by terrorists.

"It is something to be concerned about," he told The Associated Press, but added that no plausible threats have been made.

The United States led the world in defense spending, accounting for 47 percent of the total, followed by Japan with 5 percent and Britain, France and China, with 4 percent each.

The figures were in line with estimates by Jane's Information Group, a spokesman from the company's London office told the AP.

The 2003 rise in defense spending coincided with a decrease in the number of conflicts worldwide, which fell to 19, the second-lowest since the think tank began issuing the reports 35 years ago.

SIPRI also noted that 14 separate peace missions began last year, the most since the end of the Cold War.

The report had mixed reviews about efforts to contain weapons of mass destruction.

It warned that attempts to halt the proliferation of nuclear weapons were hampered last year when North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and cited Iran's apparent possession of nuclear material and information.

Guthrie said those developments were offset by Libya's acknowledgment that it was developing its own nuclear program and its decision to abandon the program voluntarily.

"Perhaps luckily, evidence of past and present WMD problems in ... Iran, Libya and North Korea was strong enough to maintain the momentum of international cooperation against the proliferation menace — and many states were motivated to work for less violent solutions," said Alyson J.K. Bailes, the think tank's director.

As for North Korea, Shannon Kile, who follows nuclear issues for the think tank, said the country isn't likely to follow Libya's lead.

He added that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in a bid to find WMDs affected North Korea. North Korea, Kile said, "sees nuclear weapons as being very much a security guarantee."

Guthrie said that while the invasion may have served as warning to other states with weapons of mass destruction, it could have the reverse effect in that some states may see an increase in arsenals as the only way to prevent a forced regime change.

Bailes said Iraq was the biggest factor of 2003.

"It's been an illustration of how quickly history moves these days. Many of the lessons that people initially drew from that invasion, many of the ways they thought it would change the world, look quite different from the vantage point now," she said.

The report said the March 2003 invasion highlighted the U.S. military's lethal effectiveness, but said the postwar occupation, which has seen more than 800 U.S. soldiers killed in attacks by insurgents, was evident that control in Iraq remained haphazard at best.

Andrew Cottey, whose report detailed the effect of the invasion and its aftermath, warned that instability in Iraq was likely to continue and could spread and bring civil war to neighboring states.

 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Eleven Chinese workers killed in Afghan attack

 

   
 

State bank splits up in pilot reform

 

   
 

Beijingers rally around Olympic relay

 

   
 

Survey: China has over 1,750 giant pandas

 

   
 

Hu signs communique in Warsaw

 

   
 

Volkswagen auto partner of 2008 Olympics

 

   
  Arab-Israeli peace stressed in G8 Mideast plan
   
  Bush seeks NATO role in Iraq, Chirac objected
   
  Six European soldiers killed in Iraq attack
   
  Global military spending soars in 2003
   
  Extremism, xenophobia rising in Russia
   
  Three dead in attack on army, police in Karachi
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Does the approval of UN resolution on Iraq end daily bloodshed there?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产精品欧美一区二区在线看 | 成人免费在线观看视频 | 免费一级毛片私人影院a行 免费一级毛片无毒不卡 | 久久精品中文字幕不卡一二区 | 国产欧美在线观看视频 | 悟空影视大全免费影视 | 日本高清福利视频在线观看 | 国产亚洲精品国产一区 | 免费人成在观看 | 亚洲码在线观看 | 亚洲精品不卡在线 | 亚洲素人在线 | 亚洲成人三级 | 久久精品免看国产成 | 国产精品久久永久免费 | 玖玖在线国产精品 | 国产一区二区久久久 | 亚洲精品久久九九热 | 97精品国产综合久久久久久欧美 | 免费视频网站一级人爱视频 | 日韩视频专区 | 久久国产一级毛片一区二区 | 不卡一区在线观看 | 99在线视频网站 | 操亚洲 | 久久精品中文字幕有码日本 | 成人香蕉视频 | 国产超清在线观看 | 久草手机在线 | 国产激情一区二区三区 | 国产精品合集久久久久青苹果 | 91免费永久国产在线观看 | 欧美日韩在线观看视频 | 久草视频网址 | 美女黄页在线观看 | 国产欧美日韩精品a在线观看 | 久久久成人啪啪免费网站 | 久久久久亚洲国产 | xxxx欧美视频 | 在线播放国产真实女同事 | 精品久久久久久久久久中文字幕 |