Ak47 Research Paper
AK-47:
The True Weapon of Mass Destruction
How does one counter a gun that makes an average civilian as deadly as a professional soldier? This unanswered question has been puzzling superpowers for years. The AK-47 is the most readily available and easily fired gun in the world. It is quite indestructible and cheap to produce. No other gun comes close to it in its simplicity, which is what makes the gun world renowned. But the AK wasn’t always in the spotlight. For decades, the world’s leading powers failed to see the destructive forces of the AK-47, and even stimulated the small arms trade to the point of no return. The AK-47 now kills 250,000 people a year and there are more or less 100 million of these guns spread out across the …show more content…
The balance of power in Latin America changes with the emergence of the AK-47, and it is only fitting that the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, bring the AK to Latin America. With the US’s support, Anastasio Somoza Garcia comes to power in Nicaragua. Somoza would remain anti-communist for the gain of military and financial aid from the US. In late 1972, an earthquake ravages most of the capital, Managua. Instead of using the millions of dollars of relief money being sent to him, Somoza keeps the money for his own personal benefit. The Sandinista National Liberation Front, an opposing paramilitary group supported by the Soviets, gains popularity because of this outrage. In July 1979, the Sandinistas had enough leverage to force Somoza out of his dictator position, having him assassinated shortly thereafter. The Sandinistas have control of the country, but cannot develop the economy. The Contras, a counterrevolutionary group supported by the Reagan administration, are looking to gain control of the country, but in 1983 congress passes a bill making it illegal to fund the Contras. The CIA doesn’t cut funding the Contras, they just use third parties, which doesn’t break the bill’s laws exactly. This is an example of a gray market trade, where the government will find loopholes in laws to make an “under the table” deal with another nation that shouldn’t necessarily be receiving the supplies coming to them. In this case, a paramilitary group shouldn’t be receiving vast quantities of firearms. The gray market is one of the leading causes for the spread of the AK-47 (Karp 175-176). After a US plane filled with AK’s was discovered, the world learned that the United States had been selling weapons to Iran, and used the proceeds to finance the Contras. The AK-47 had entered Latin America by the tens of thousands (Kahaner
The True Weapon of Mass Destruction
How does one counter a gun that makes an average civilian as deadly as a professional soldier? This unanswered question has been puzzling superpowers for years. The AK-47 is the most readily available and easily fired gun in the world. It is quite indestructible and cheap to produce. No other gun comes close to it in its simplicity, which is what makes the gun world renowned. But the AK wasn’t always in the spotlight. For decades, the world’s leading powers failed to see the destructive forces of the AK-47, and even stimulated the small arms trade to the point of no return. The AK-47 now kills 250,000 people a year and there are more or less 100 million of these guns spread out across the …show more content…
The balance of power in Latin America changes with the emergence of the AK-47, and it is only fitting that the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, bring the AK to Latin America. With the US’s support, Anastasio Somoza Garcia comes to power in Nicaragua. Somoza would remain anti-communist for the gain of military and financial aid from the US. In late 1972, an earthquake ravages most of the capital, Managua. Instead of using the millions of dollars of relief money being sent to him, Somoza keeps the money for his own personal benefit. The Sandinista National Liberation Front, an opposing paramilitary group supported by the Soviets, gains popularity because of this outrage. In July 1979, the Sandinistas had enough leverage to force Somoza out of his dictator position, having him assassinated shortly thereafter. The Sandinistas have control of the country, but cannot develop the economy. The Contras, a counterrevolutionary group supported by the Reagan administration, are looking to gain control of the country, but in 1983 congress passes a bill making it illegal to fund the Contras. The CIA doesn’t cut funding the Contras, they just use third parties, which doesn’t break the bill’s laws exactly. This is an example of a gray market trade, where the government will find loopholes in laws to make an “under the table” deal with another nation that shouldn’t necessarily be receiving the supplies coming to them. In this case, a paramilitary group shouldn’t be receiving vast quantities of firearms. The gray market is one of the leading causes for the spread of the AK-47 (Karp 175-176). After a US plane filled with AK’s was discovered, the world learned that the United States had been selling weapons to Iran, and used the proceeds to finance the Contras. The AK-47 had entered Latin America by the tens of thousands (Kahaner