U.S. government-brokered overseas arms sales are expected to total about $34 billion in the current fiscal year, up more than 45 percent from the year before, the Pentagon agency in charge said on Wednesday.

“Our program is growing by leaps and bounds,” Jeanne Farmer of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency told an international defense industry conference.

Among the biggest government-to-government buyers in fiscal 2008, which wraps up at the end of this month, were Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt and Iraq, Farmer said.

Overseas arms sales are a key instrument of U.S. foreign policy as well as a boon to defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp, General Dynamics Corp and Raytheon Co.

In fiscal 2007, such sales totaled $23.3 billion, up from $21 billion in fiscal 2006, according to the security agency’s figures.

Farmer, at the conference known as ComDef 2008, said her agency was playing a growing role in the U.S.-declared global war on terrorism and national security.

The security agency was currently working with 207 countries and had 12,262 “open cases” totaling $274.3 billion as of last month, she said. Open cases include those in which orders have been filled but which could still involve exercise of options among other things.

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Just to re-iterate. Our economy is in the shithouse. Mostly because the reigns were taken off the MegaCorps (be they arms dealers, brokerages or credit peddlers). The “Free Market” has demolished the American Middle Class. 1.6 million women and men have been shipped to Iraq to occupy a former ally. About 300,000 of those are coming back with PTSD. Another 320,000 coming back with Traumatic Brain Injuries (from the Rand Corp Report).

And which industry is doing really really well? The Violence Industry.

Hm. I thought we only shipped jobs out of the country. Now we’re shipping our killing too? Whoa–Globalization Indeed.

Buck Fush and “get that flashlight outta my face!”,

–Reverend Manny and the Twilight Empire

ps… a little btw here… did you happen to notice that list of countries that are buying the most? Let’s look at it one more time. ” Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt and Iraq”… Hello… It’s not like those are violent places already or anything. Yeah, America… We really rocked on this one. I guess this will keep the guns out of the hands of those terrorists. Derpitty Derp… jesus, isn’t some new moron Dancing with the Stars? Why are you reading this?? There’s rich people to admire on your TV… go, pigeons, go…

pps…. no seriously now, buck fush