MERCHANT OF DEATH

Read Douglas Farah’s compelling in depth analysis of international arms dealer Viktor Bout. Bout has armed everyone from guerilla groups to US in their fight against the Taliban. He has been successful at evading international crime agencies in multiple countries. The US has made attempts to persecute him but has also come to him as one of the few peoples that can "anything anywhere on short notice." In particular the US has relied on him for air transport and arming countering insurgencies in Afghanistan. Douglas Farah on Viktor Bout, Foreign Policy Magazine, Nov/Dec 2006