Global Military Spending Tops $1T in 2004

Global Military Spending Tops $1T in 2004: "Tuesday, June 7, 2005; 11:11 AM

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- For the first time since the Cold War, global military spending exceeded $1 trillion in 2004, nearly half of it by the United States, a prominent European think tank said Tuesday.
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The United States accounted for 47 percent of all military expenditures, while Britain and France each made up 5 percent of the total. In all, 15 countries accounted for 82 percent of the world's total military spending.

Besides its regular defense budget, the United States has allocated $238 billion since 2003 to fight terrorism, according to the report. 'These appropriations are now assuming extraordinary proportions,' Skons said.

The arms trade also grew sharply, with the top 100 makers of weapons increasing their combined sales by 25 percent between 2002 and 2003, the report said. Those companies sold weapons and arms worth $236 billion worldwide in 2003, compared with $188 billion a year earlier. The United States accounted for 63 percent of all arms sales in 2003, the report said."