Arizona Public Radio | Your Source for NPR News
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Arizona Public Radio continues to integrate new audio software for both our news and classical services, which is resulting in some technical issues, including dead air, overlapping audio and other glitches. We are working to resolve these issues and appreciate your patience and continued support.

Profiling the 21st Century's 'Merchant of Death'

Russian arms dealer Victor Bout has armed Islamic extremists and sold weapons to some of the Third World's most abusive and murderous dictators and warlords — and he's known for fueling both sides of conflicts.

His success is rooted in the legacy of the Cold War, whose messy unraveling left him with easy access to massive inventories of weapons and ammunition built up by the Soviets. We talk about Bout with journalists Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun, who've co-written a book about him: Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible.

Copyright 2023 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.