How Israel arms Syria and Iran and how France arms China.

"You know we armed Iraq. I wondered about that too. During the Persian Gulf War, those intelligence reports would come out: 'Oh, Iraq? Incredible weapons. Incredible weapons.' "

"How do you know that?"

" 'Well. Ha ha. Ah, we looked at the receipt. But as soon as that check clears, we're going in.' "

- Bill Hicks

I was disheartened, not surprised, to read this today. It's an article about networks and how arms are indirectly and, I assume, unintentionally sold to enemies. Long story short, Israel sells weapons blueprints to China, and China rolls out the Jian-10, which it then sells to Iran and Syria.

Oops.

Meanwhile, the French -- living up to their image as the world's moral compass -- are pushing for a sale of Thales RC400 radar and MBDA Mica missiles to Pakistan, which is essentially a sale to China being that "the Pakistani Aeronautical Complex and its Chinese partners have comprehensive agreements that grant access for both parties to any technology acquired by the other."

The implications for Taiwan are significant:

Since the same French radar and missiles are on board the Taiwanese Air Force's French-built Dassault Mirage 2000 aircraft, acquisition of this technology by Beijing would be a considerable blow to the defense of the island nation. India, Pakistan's neighbor and rival, also operates the Mirage 2000. If France's DGA were to allow Pakistan to acquire the radar and missiles, Taiwan and India would see their air force's investment in French jets wiped out.

This is also crucial when one considers the turmoil in Pakistan -- one of the US's key allies in the bumbling war on terror. If -- the big if -- Musharraf is ousted, by elections or by some other manifestation of the public's general discontent, what's going to happen to all of these weapons that are now under Musharraf's watchful eye? Which country is most likely to become the next al-Qaeda stronghold? Which country is most likely to pass nuclear weapons to terrorists? I'll give you a hint: It's not in the "Axis of Evil," and it's not the страна formerly known as "The Evil Empire." You guessed it! Pakistan!

When asked to choose the nation that is most likely to become the next al Qaeda stronghold, more experts chose Pakistan than any other country, including Iraq. Osama bin Laden reportedly remains at large along Pakistan’s mountainous border with Afghanistan, where al Qaeda is also regrouping; the country’s intelligence service is said to be still cooperating with radical Islamist elements; and President Pervez Musharraf’s political future seems increasingly imperiled. These developments would not be as worrisome had the experts not also said that Pakistan is the country most likely to transfer nuclear technology to terrorists in the next three to five years. Together, it’s a terrifying combination.

Yes, Pakistan was rated as being almost twice as likely to "transfer nuclear technology to terrorists in the next three to five years."

Surely, this will quickly become apparent to those in control in countries around the world, and they will come to see that the "military-industrial complex" is making us considerably less safe.

.....Or, they won't. The jury's still out. I mean, after all, Blackwater's doing a bang up job in Iraq, right? We just haven't given it a long enough try.

Of course, this is to say nothing of the unchecked stocks of highly-enriched uranium in the former Soviet Union that end up in plastic baggies stuffed in jacket pockets.

I know. I know. I'm just over-reacting.....