John Kerry signs U.N. Arms Trade Treaty

[KingHorse]

We're the 91st country to sign the treaty. Requires ratification from Congress (which it will not receive).

http://world.time.com/2013/09/26/the...-trade-treaty/

[Deleted]

Why was this not signed earlier? Seems pretty logical to me.

[Wells]

Its a good treaty.

Doesn't stand a chance.

[Tinykong]

Pointless political posturing.

Congress isn't going to hurt the arms industry. They have been getting fat and giggly off Defense contracts for more than a decade, why stop now?

[KingHorse]

Pointless political posturing.

Congress isn't going to hurt the arms industry. They have been getting fat and giggly off Defense contracts for more than a decade, why stop now?

Yep.

Congress: "Here, have a tank!"
Army: "We have enough."
Congress: "We weren't asking. Take your fucking tank."

Their voters depend on their jobs building tanks (as an example). The politicians have an incentive to keep pulling money in to build more tanks. It's a fucked up system, but the other option seems to be letting the military decide how much to spend on stuff, which is likely worse.

Its a good treaty.

Doesn't stand a chance.

Not even a whiff of a chance.

[DEATHETERNAL]

I'm not sure why we sign treaties before having the senate ratify them beyond political showmanship. It is just as pointless as if the President signed all the laws he wished were law before congress even addressed them.

[Deleted]

Yep.

Congress: "Here, have a tank!"
Army: "We have enough."
Congress: "We weren't asking. Take your fucking tank."

Their voters depend on their jobs building tanks (as an example). The politicians have an incentive to keep pulling money in to build more tanks. It's a fucked up system, but the other option seems to be letting the military decide how much to spend on stuff, which is likely worse.



Not even a whiff of a chance.

You would be very surprised, anytime I speak to anyone about this they always come up with ways on how to increase quality of training and equipment while still saving money. Ask your Government why they pay $1 for an item that you can buy for 5 cents in any hardware store, thats where the majority of money is going, Lining the pockets of their friends.

[Kalyyn]

Noble as the treaty may be, I have one concern about the UN being able to determine who does and doesn't get weapons: As I recall, the UN doesn't recognize Taiwan. Will this, in any way, effect our ability to supply Taiwan with arms?

[Flame6]

You would be very surprised, anytime I speak to anyone about this they always come up with ways on how to increase quality of training and equipment while still saving money. Ask your Government why they pay $1 for an item that you can buy for 5 cents in any hardware store, thats where the majority of money is going, Lining the pockets of their friends.

I know I just went to the doctor and they charged almost $20 for an ace bandage.......OOO this isn't the same topic.

[Kellhound]

Yep.

Congress: "Here, have a tank!"
Army: "We have enough."
Congress: "We weren't asking. Take your fucking tank."

Their voters depend on their jobs building tanks (as an example). The politicians have an incentive to keep pulling money in to build more tanks. It's a fucked up system, but the other option seems to be letting the military decide how much to spend on stuff, which is likely worse.



Not even a whiff of a chance.

The Army didn't want the tanks only because of budget cuts...

[Deleted]

I know I just went to the doctor and they charged almost $20 for an ace bandage.......OOO this isn't the same topic.

Exactly the same principle, this not a US only problem though, most Military forces suffer from the same bullshit, paying through the nose for an item you can buy for a fraction of the price elsewhere.

[Kellhound]

Exactly the same principle, this not a US only problem though, most Military forces suffer from the same bullshit, paying through the nose for an item you can buy for a fraction of the price elsewhere.

Its that "Mil-Spec" label.....

[Deleted]

Its that "Mil-Spec" label.....

And the serial number, gotta be able to trace that AA battery.

[Kellhound]

And the serial number, gotta be able to trace that AA battery.

Worst waste I ever saw was the throwing away of an industrial sized waste container full of UNOPENED packages of air navigation charts because they were out of data, many of which were not even needed at the command.

[Deleted]

Worst waste I ever saw was the throwing away of an industrial sized waste container full of UNOPENED packages of air navigation charts because they were out of data, many of which were not even needed at the command.

How much are those things worth?

[Kellhound]

How much are those things worth?

oh, I'd say it was millions of dollars worth, easy.

[Deleted]

oh, I'd say it was millions of dollars worth, easy.

That shit pisses me off, they ditch all that money then still expect most Soldiers to buy their own boots because issue ones are so shit.

[Cthulhu 2020]

I'm not sure why we sign treaties before having the senate ratify them beyond political showmanship. It is just as pointless as if the President signed all the laws he wished were law before congress even addressed them.

From the way Republicans talk, I thought Dictator Obama did this already, except he doesn't ask Congress what they think and uses the constitution as his personal toilet paper?

[Deleted]

You would be very surprised, anytime I speak to anyone about this they always come up with ways on how to increase quality of training and equipment while still saving money. Ask your Government why they pay $1 for an item that you can buy for 5 cents in any hardware store, thats where the majority of money is going, Lining the pockets of their friends.

need to pay for the likes of Nellis and the stuff that they do whcih is never budgeted for, but somehow finds the funding.

[Underverse]

The fact that things like this won't pass is total bullshit.