Other arms dealers get off free
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The Western press are quick to applause Viktor Bout's 25 years imprisonment with headlines like "The merchant of death meets his fate".
But aren’t all the UN Security Council member countries in the same shoes as Victor Bout when they sell their state-of-the-art weapons to other countries for alleged self defence, or firearms to rebels in other countries for their “approved” sacred mission of uprising? The difference perhaps is that governments are legitimate merchants with the licence to sell. Just like Ian Fleming’s 007 who has the licence to kill.
Yingwai Suchaovanich
Bangkok
