Despite turmoil, Mideast arms sales boom

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UPI) Feb 25, 2011

Despite unprecedented political upheaval across the Middle East and North Africa, the United Arab Emirates has announced defense contracts worth $3.8 billion at the close of the region's biggest arms exhibition. There was little indication that the unrest that has driven the president of Egypt and Tunis from office, after 32 years and 23 years respectively, and threatens to topple the entire regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has stifled the arms business in the region. More than 1,000 defense and aerospace companies showcased their wares at IDEX, 30 percent more than the last expo in 2009, underlining the big bucks to be made in the Middle East and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf in particular.