Military contractors in Grand Rapids received $11,989,587 in contracts in the month of December. The contracts, awarded to four corporations with operations in Grand Rapids--Smiths Aerospace, L-3 Communications, Eaton Aerospace, and Wolverine Worldwide--were part of a total of $92.1 million in contracts awarded to corporations in the Grand Rapids area for military work. The total value of the contracts is substantially less than the $148.1 million awarded last year, but more than the $63.5 million awarded in 2004. According to Media Mouse's ongoing work monitoring Grand Rapids military contractors from 2002 to 2006, the highest yearly amount was in 2003 when $156.7 million in contracts were awarded, much of which was for orders needed to fill immediate needs for the invasion of Iraq.

The contracts awarded in December to local corporations:

• Smiths Aerospace received $6,071, 055 in three contracts done for the Air Force and Navy.
• Wolverine Worldwide received a $5,153,541 dollar contract for dress shoes for use by the Army and Marines.
• L-3 Communications received a $671,895 contract for non-aircraft engine electrical system components for the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command.
• Eaton Aerospace received a $93,096 contract for an actuator for the Navy.

In addition to purchasing substantial amounts of weapons for use in its own wars, the United States government also is the world's largest exporter of weapons. In fiscal year 2006, which ended on September 30, the United States government brokered $20.9 billion in weapons sales. Already the Pentagon has announced that it is expecting to arrange $20 billion in sales for fiscal year 2007. Sales have increased in recent years do in part to United States actions abroad, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq where $3 billion in sales were made last year. However, far from providing security, the United States' sales often fuel instability, with the Arms Trade Resource Center writing in 2005 that such sales "end up fueling conflict, arming human rights abusers, or falling into the hands of U.S. adversaries." According to the organization's analysis of the United States' arm sales, the United States sold weapons to 18 of the 25 countries involved in active conflicts while 80% of the top 25 recipients of weapons were either undemocratic regimes or major human rights abusers.