According to the New York Times, U.S. foreign arms deals increased nearly $10 billion in 2014. Total sales went from $26.7 billion in 2013 to $36.2 billion in 2014, a 35 percent increase.

Meanwhile, American statists, including those in the mainstream press, continue to scream about gun-show loopholes here in the United States but remain mute about the U.S. government's #1 position in sales of guns and other weapons around the world. (Russia and China, which U.S. national-security state officials perceive to be "rivals" of the U.S. Empire, are #2 and #5.)

Not surprisingly, billions of dollars of armaments went to brutal pro-U.S. dictatorships, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar. While U.S. officials justify such sales as "defense," everyone knows that the armaments are used to fortify the dictatorships' brutal hold on power in their countries. If citizens begin making waves against the U.S.-supported tyranny under which they are suffering, they're labeled terrorists. If they continue to make waves, that's where U.S. guns, tanks, and other armaments come into play.

U.S. national-security state officials say that the weaponry they provide to these pro-U.S. dictatorships help maintain "order and stability." In return, the dictatorships promise loyalty to the U.S. national-security establishment in international affairs.