The Long Crisis

I was watching the 2005 movie Lord of War, featuring Nicolas Cage, on TV this evening and couldn’t help but think that the events in the movie, starting from 1985, were as relevant today as ever. I saw the movie for the first time about three years ago while living in Thailand. The story of a successful international arms dealer is intriguing and unfortunately is based on true events.

Nicholas Cage plays the part of Yuri Orlov, an American of Russian heritage, who lives in New York City and as a front for his arms dealing business operates a shipping company. As a successful international arms merchant he rubs elbows with, as he says, some of the most ruthless, self-serving, psychopathic individuals of the world who are posing as world leaders. Yuri becomes extremely wealthy supplying arms that are instrumental in killing innocent civilians in nations that are involved in civil war and other wars of the day.

His activities come to the attention of Interpol and much of the movie follows the efforts of Interpol to shut down the arms dealing operation and to bring Yuri to justice. Finally, in one of the closing scenes of the movie, Interpol arrests Yuri as he reenters the United States at JFK airport in New York City.

The arresting officer is interrogating Yuri and states that he will be spending the next 10 years of his life in courtrooms. Yuri’s response highlights to a large degree the unfortunate state that much of the world is in today. He tells the interrogator that while many may find his services distasteful that he is actually small potatoes in the arms trade.

He states that the President of the United States moves more merchandise in one day than his company can move in one year. He further states that his ability to supply various groups with arms and ammunition are vital to the security of the United States. That often arms are shipped to countries and to dictators, madman rulers, despots,and other psychopaths posing as leaders but the President himself cannot afford to have his fingerprints on the shipments. Yuri says that men like himself fill in the gap with the blessing of the Pentagon and of the American government.

Yuri goes on to say that since he is so well-connected he will not spend even one minute in the courtroom. In fact, he says that at that very moment a high-ranking military officer is on his way to the interrogation room to order his release.

Lord of War is a well made movie that highlights just how profitable war is for those supplying the arms and ammunition and for those who own the factories that produce arms and ammunition and other war materials. The text at the conclusion of the movie states an interesting fact. The largest arms dealers in the world are the United States, the UK, Russia, China, and France. Actually the United States is the largest supplier of arms to the world by a large margin. It is sad that the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are the same five countries.

War is big business. In fact, it is the biggest business in the world. Just think of the billions of dollars that the United States is pouring into Iraq and Afghanistan. You can bet that the Lords of War, war lords, and corrupt politicians are making a killing from the billions of dollars that the United States is foolishly wasting on wars of choice that are completely open ended. Now with military activity ramping up in Pakistan, and probably very soon in Yemen, and possibly even Iran, it would seem that a golden age is dawning for the lords of war.

Nicholas Cage may have the opportunity to improve his recently impaired financial situation by starring in a sequel to Lords of War. Unfortunately, that movie if ever made, would also be based upon true stories.

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