pretty good guess where all that tear gas comes from

[G_j]

and other weapons used for crowd suppression in Egypt. just sayin..

[DetlefK]

1. Oh great. Another government-bashing thread.

Because the US is the only country in the world that sells weapons to bad people.

[Mnemosyne]

2. FYI - We are number one in weapons sales and we often supply both sides in many conflicts. nt

[G_j]

4. no

I am just concerned with supplying means for governments to suppress dessent.

[G_j]

3. one never knows who will use it in the end I guess..

http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/04/11/u-s-ships-140000-teargas-canisters-to-egypts-pro-muslim-brotherhood-regime/

Thursday, April 11th, 2013 | Posted by WorldTribune.com

U.S. ships 140,000 teargas canisters to Egypt’s pro-Muslim Brotherhood regime
Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — The United States has shipped teargas to Egypt’s security
forces.

Industry sources said a ship from the United States arrived in the port
of Suez on April 7.


A shipment of teargas canisters from the United States arrived at the Egyptian Abadeya Port in Suez on April 7.
The sources said the ship, SS Jamestown, contained five containers with 140,000 teargas canisters produced by Combined Systems International, based in Jamestown, Pa.

“The shipping documents stipulate that only the Egyptian government may use the canisters, and that they are forbidden to re-export the shipment or sell it to third parties,” a shipping document published by the Egyptian daily Al Masri Al Yom.
The shipment arrived amid a crackdown by the Islamist regime of
President Mohammed Morsi against the secular and pro-democratic opposition. Egypt receives $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military assistance.

--------------------

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/2769908

Egypt Tear Gas Report Raises Eyebrows, Puzzles Washington (UPDATE)
Joshua HershFeb 27, 2013

WASHINGTON -- A report in an Egyptian newspaper that claims the United States has approved new shipments of tear gas to Egypt under the strict, and potentially incendiary, condition that the canisters not indicate where they came from has some arms control experts concerned about a precedent-setting lack of transparency.

--

The murkiness of the issue has prompted at least one lawmaker, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), to write to Secretary of State John Kerry asking for clarification, Leahy's office confirmed on Wednesday. Leahy chairs the powerful Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees spending on foreign operations.

The use of American-made tear gas, with the name and address of the manufacturer printed in bold on the canisters, was a source of significant consternation and embarrassment for U.S. officials in the months after the 2011 revolution in Egypt, when police frequently deployed tear gas during clashes with protesters in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square. At the time, spent canisters of American-made tear gas were a ubiquitous sight in Tahrir Square, with many casting blame on the U.S. government for supporting the repression of popular protest.

--

Human rights monitors have repeatedly decried the sale of tear gas and other nonlethal military supplies to repressive regimes in the Middle East, especially in Bahrain, where those supplies have helped the kingdom tamp down an Arab Spring-style uprising. The vague markings on used canisters of tear gas produced in countries other than the United States have also elevated fears that authorities were firing more dangerous chemical agents, heightening the risk of panic and chaos.

--