Arms Reaching Genocide in Rwanda

We trace the evolution of international arms transfers from mercantilism to the modern era, and the perverse incentives produced by the symbiosis of private enterprise and state imperatives in arms production.

Blood Work is a Scam Goldin Production
This episode was produced by Thomas O’Mahony
Our theme song is ‘Dream Weapon’ by Genghis Tron
Our artwork is provided courtesy of KT Kobel

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THIS WEEK IN VIOLENCE: Killstreak Inbound
ALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIO

Inspired by the Pentagon’s recent deployment of computer game graphics to promote its illegal bombardment of Iran, producer Thomas takes a longer view at the relationship between the United States military and the video games industry.

Sources:

Amnesty International (June 1995), ‘RWANDA: Arming the Perpetrators of the Genocide’, available at Amnesty.org

Jonathan Beatty and S. C. Gwynne (1993), The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart Of BCCI

Steve Boggan (Nov. 23, 1996), ‘Bloody trade that fuels Rwanda's war (Operation Insecticide), available at The Independent

Steve Coll, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001

George Cryle (2003), Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History

Owen Greene and Nicholas Marsh (eds.) (2012), Small Arms, Crime and Conflict: Global Governance and the Threat of Armed Violence

Nicholas Kotarski (2018), ‘Whose Monster? A Study in the Rise to Power of al Qaeda and the Taliban’, History Theses, 47

Keith Krause (1992), Arms and the State: Patterns of Military Production and Trade

Mamello Mosiana, Hennie van Vuuren and Daniel Ford (Nov. 13, 2024), ‘Unaccountable 00040 | Willem ‘Ters’ Ehlers – apartheid’s secretary turned genocide arms dealer’, available at Open Secrets

John U. Nef (1950), War and Human Progress: An Essay on the Rise of Industrial Civilization

Robert Pear (Apr. 18, 1988), ‘Arming Afghan Guerrillas: A Huge Effort Led by U.S.’, available at The New York Times(archived)

Frederic S. Pearson (1994), The Global Spread of Arms: Political Economy of Economic Security

Peter Dale Scott (2007), The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America

William Shawcross (1988), The Shah’s Last Ride

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute [SIPRI] (2010), ‘End-User Certificates: Improving Standards to Prevent Diversion’, available at SIPRI

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute [SIPRI] (2024), ‘The SIPRI Top 100 Arms-Producing and Military Services Companies, 2024’, available at SIPRI

Rachel Stohl and Suzette Grillot (2009), The International Arms Trade

Joe Stork (Nov. 1, 1995), ‘The Middle East Arms Bazaar After the Gulf War’, available at Middle East Research and Information Project

Andrew T. H. Tan (ed.) (2010), The Global Arms Trade: A Handbook

Adam Tooze (Mar. 23, 2023), ‘Chartbook 204: Iraq’s economic impasse twenty years after the invasion’, available at Chartbook | Adam Tooze

Mark Townsend (Oct. 28, 2025), ‘UK military equipment used by militia accused of genocide found in Sudan, UN told’, available at The Guardian

Matt Wells (Feb. 10, 2000), ‘Arms firm linked to Rwandan army chief’, available at The Guardian

Brian Wood and Johan Peleman (2000), The Arms Fixers. Controlling the Brokers and Shipping Agents

Image: Soldiers patrol outside of Goma International Airport in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (2022)