“Every gun that is made,” insisted Eisenhower, “every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its labourers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense.”

Abu Aaliyah, along with the veteran activist Bruce Kent (vice-president of CND and, for many years, possibly Britain’s best known peace campaigner), discuss the nature of war, nuclear weapons and the global arms trade, and why they should be of concern to each of us. In fact, the arms trade is not only the most profitable industry in the world, it is responsible for millions of deaths and an untold amount of human suffering across the globe. It has been said that, “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” It is hoped that this talk will help raise awareness about the horrors and hypocrisy of the arms trade, as well as provide some practical suggestions of what can be done to combat this travesty. As mentioned in the talk, we need to “Fight War, Not Wars.”

The talk was part of the annual JIMAS conference held in August, 2007, and is posted here with their kind permission.