US top exporter of conventional weapons as global trade rises

Worldwide transfers of conventional weapons rose by 22 percent in the period of 2005 to 2009. That's compared to the previous five-year period, according to new data released today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a global think tank that tracks arms sales worldwide. The US is the largest exporter of conventional weapons, taking up a third of all sales worldwide. That hasn't changed much but other trends have - deliveries to Southeast Asia nearly doubled and the number of arms to India and Pakistan both rose sharply. Siemon Wezeman is a Senior Fellow with the Institute that released the new data. He joins us by phone from Stockholm.

To see the updated database of arms transfers, dating back to 1950: http://www.sipri.org/databases/armstransfers