VIKTOR BOUT

Viktor Bout “The Merchant of Death”

Name of Writer

Name of InstitutionAbstract

The paper describes the story of an ex-Russian military officer Viktor Bout also known as “The Merchant of Death” and how he creates his kingdom of weapon trafficking and from humble beginnings becomes a multi millionaire within a decade. The paper also sheds some light on his past, as well as his role in supporting terrorism. Moreover, the paper describes how he gets arrested and then extradited to US where he faces trial and is now convicted on four charges and facing a 25 year to life in prison. The paper also gives insight towards the benefits of his arrest to US and the future of weapon trafficking without him anymore.

Table of Contents

Abstracti

Introduction1

Historical Background2

History of AirCess2

The Sanction Buster3

The Largest Arms Trafficking Network in the World?4

Bout's Role in Terrorism4

Bout's Humanitarianism5

Closing in on Bout5

Bout`s Arrest6

Bout`s Trial in US6

Bout`s Defense7

Russia`s take on Bout7

Benefits of Bout`s Arrest to US8

It Sends a Message8

Russian Intelligence Information8

Middle East militant groups8

Afghanistan9

Colombia/FARC9

Weapon Trafficking After Bout9

Conclusion10

References11

Viktor Bout “The Merchant of Death”

Introduction

Victor A. Bout is a Russian born businessman. In many ways he is like any other entrepreneur who is smart, ambitious and knows how to speak different languages. Over the past few decades he has made millions from his cargo business, by delivering mostly illicit goods. He is famous for delivering arms to the war struck countries. He does not support any political agenda or person; rather he deals with whoever pays him the money. Be it the Taliban and Al-Qaida or the peacekeeping forces. He deals with all kinds of arms manufacturers both legitimate and illicit. However, his cargo business does not only supply weapons, it also delivers legitimate good such as flowers, poultry, etc. He also has a keen interest on humanitarian aid and supplied disaster aid to the victims of war and other disasters such as the 2004 tsunami.

Bout's list of client is long and includes many big dictators and politicians of the world. During 1990s Bout was a friend of Ahmed Massoud, leader of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, and supplied weapons to him to fight against Taliban and the Al-Qaida. However, he was not only dealing with Massoud, while supplying weapons to him, he was also supplying weapons to his enemies the Taliban. Moreover, his network in Africa was quite strong; he helped both the governments in rescue and aid, meanwhile supplying modern weaponry to the rebels. He worked closely with the government of Angola, Motubu Sese Seko the corrupt dictator of Zaire now Congo, Charles Taylor of Liberia, and the Libyan dictator Col. Muammar Al Qaddafi. He also flew his planes for the UN to supply humanitarian aid to the same countries where he had supplied weapons. He has also conducted business with many western governments including the United States.

Historical Background

Victor A. Bout was born in Soviet Union now Russia, in the city of Dushanbe now the capital of Tajikistan. He was in an average household where both his mother and father were employed ...