It is one of the bad tricks of this profession: When there is a "bombshell" with an unknown fate, we are often dragged into the queue of commentators not necessarily because the bombshell is mature enough to comment on, but precisely because it is a bombshell and not commenting on it would be tantamount to "missing the agenda." The latest allegations of a coup attempt within the ranks of the armed forces, based on a document whose authenticity was still a mystery by the time this column was written, is a powerful example.
STOCKHOLM -Global arms spending rises 4 percent in 2008 to a record $1.464 trillion - a rise of 45 percent from a decade ago, says a Swedish peace research group, adding total expenditure represents 2.4 percent of global gross domestic product. The US is, as expected, by far the world's biggest arms spender and for the first time China follows its lead