The Business of Kaboom
Department
Art
Document Type
Editorial
Publication Date
2-23-2012
Abstract
While surfing the cable news channels during the post noon hours of July 19, 2012, to catch up on the sordid danse macabre that is unfolding in Syria, I accidentally caught the last 90 seconds of a CNN report on a US-funded “Weapons Fair” in Jordan. For a few seconds the camera zeroed in on the following script: “The Business of Kaboom.”
The reporter quickly explained that the handful of foreign reporters on the bus were on a tour in the Jordanian desert, one of those by invitation only type of tours, the kind that Hollywood so realistically depicts. The only difference — this was not a fictitious site, nor was this a fictional movie production.
From what I gleaned, the United States has provided Jordan’s King Abdullah a $200 million grant to build a setting in a remote desert area with the dual purpose of setting up a training base replete with a replica of a military transport airplane, helicopters, a 5 story concrete apartment-like structure of the type one finds in Near Eastern Capitals, and firing and combat training ranges. A gigantic air conditioned warehouse served as the exhibit venue for what the reporter referred to as a “weapons fair trade show.”
Publication Title
CounterPunch
Recommended Citation
Halaby, Raouf J. Professor Emeritus, "The Business of Kaboom" (2012). Articles. 108.
https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/articles/108