“Merchant of Death” was featured in a May 21, 2012 meeting on global security and the conventional weapons trade in New York. The event, the third annual “Turtle Bay Security Roundtable,” focused on the proliferation of arms in advance of the upcoming Arms Trade Treaty negotiations. Sponsored by the UN Missions from Japan, Poland and Turkey and the Stimson Center, and attended by numerous diplomats and weapons trade experts, the meeting featured a keynote address by MOD co-author Steve Braun.
–Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations: “Mr. Braun described how illegal arms trade has continued to fueled conflicts around the world through introducing the episode of Viktor Bout. Mr. Braun provided a detailed account on how arms dealers were able to operate while eluding capture or charges, exploiting legal loopholes and lack of attention by many governments until recently. According to Mr. Braun, after the end of the Cold War, many powerful countries had also reduced their presence in states no longer seen as ideological battlegrounds, allowing arms dealers to deliver weapons frequently without detection.”