Acknowledgements

This project would never have seen the light of day without David Godwin, my inspirational agent, who shaped my thinking and its presentation and ensured that the project found the best possible home. That home is Hamish Hamilton/Penguin, where Simon Prosser not only bought the book but has thrown himself into it with a commitment and passion that is beyond the dreams of any author. He has been as much a partner in the project as a publisher. His constant advice and superb, tireless editing have been invaluable.

Simon, together with Penguin’s rights team of Sarah Hunt Cooke and Kate Burton, found publishers around the world with similar enthusiasm for the book. Eric Chinski and Jonathan Galassi at Farrar, Straus and Giroux have also given their time, energy, intellect and passion. My previous South African publishers, Jonathan Ball, have again done me proud in my ‘home market’. Jonathan himself and Jeremy Boraine, with their courage and audacity, are the ideal publishers for a political book in a highly politicized market. In Germany Günter Berg and Jens Petersen of Verlag Hoffmann und Campe have been not just highly appropriate, but also enthusiastic and wonderfully committed publishers; as have Floor Oosting at the Dutch house Uitgeverij de Bezige Bij and Elisabet Navarro at Edicionces Paidos Iberica in Spain. It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with all of them.

At Hamish Hamilton/Penguin I would also like to thank the remarkable Anna Kelly (with tireless assistance from Sharmila Woollam) and Ellie Smith, Alex Elam, Matt Clacher and Joe Pickering for their enthusiasm, patience and skill. Similarly Gabriella Doob and Kathy Daneman at FSG and Anika Ebrahim, Claire Richards, Ingeborg Pelser and Francine Blum at Jonathan Ball. Thanks also to the whole team at DGA. David Hirst did a masterful job of legal-reading the book in a remarkably pain-free manner. Henry Kaufman contributed similarly from the US, as did Mark Rosin in South Africa. Nicola Evans at Penguin managed and oversaw the process with great expertise and efficiency. Mark Handsley was a highly skilled, forensic and sympathetic copy-editor. Their efforts contributed significantly to the final text.

Many other people have assisted and collaborated in the writing of this book in a multitude of ways.

I could not have written a book about so vast a topic without considerable research support. I have been privileged to work with Paul Holden and Barnaby Pace, the primary researchers. Their dedication, attention to detail and indefatigability (not in the George Galloway sense) have been heroic and sustaining. Barnaby’s activism and deep knowledge of the UK arms trade, as well as his determination and willingness to ferret out every bit of information, has been invaluable. Paul’s skills as a historian, archivist and author in his own right were irreplaceable. Not only did he, like Barnaby, make sense of mountains of impenetrable documents and information, but he wrote early drafts of the sections on the Merex network, Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan. They, like all the others, are not culpable for any errors in the final product. That is my responsibility alone. But most of what is good in it has its roots in their work. I have loved working with them and am privileged to call them friends.

Thanks also to Ben King, who undertook research in the US. And to Mia Allers for two creative and clear graphics.

Tim Salmon translated Laurent Leger’s fascinating book on the French arms trade, and Cristina Massaccesi produced superb translations of difficult Italian documents. Elisabeth Scheder-Bieschin, Judith Leeb and Bigna Pfenninger all assisted with German translations.

Michael Healy and Sally Crawford transcribed lengthy interviews.

A vast number of journalists, researchers, academics, businesspeople and activists around the world were generous with their time and information and patient with my constant queries: David Leigh, Misha Glenny, Amira Hass, Doug Farah, Andrew Bacevich, Andrew Cockburn, Mary Jacoby, Christopher Matthews, Ardian Klosi, Lorenc Vangjell, Leart Kola, Andi Kananaj,Yllka Lamce, Claudio Gatti, Lowell Bergman, Dina Rasor, Frida Berrigan, Ken Silverstein, Laurent Leger, Joe Roeber, Mark Pyman, Laurence Cockroft, Anne-Christine Wegener, Tobias Bock, Paul Dunne, Gary Busch, Mark Hollingsworth, Anthea Lawson, Erick Kabandera, Markus Dettmer, Martin Staudinger, Brian Wood, Brian Johnson-Thomas, Peter Danssaert, Alan Bacarese, Juanita Olaya, Matt Schroeder, Inigo Guevara, James Stewart, Adam Isaacson, Jeff Halper, Ronen Bergman, Yossi Melman, Dalit Baum, Merav Amir, Nick Wood, Aram Roston, Reuben Johnson, David Stoffel, Rachel Stohl, Roy Isbister, Oistein Moskvil Thorsen, Magnus Walan, Rolf Lindahl, Nils Resare, Per Hermanrud, Erik Dalunde, Otfried Nassauer, Wendela de Vries, Ann Feltham, Ian Prichard, Sarah Waldron, Nick Gilby, Nick Hildyard, Sarah Sexton, Mark Pieth, Daniel Thelesklaf, Sasha Polakow-Suransky, Sam Perlo-Freeman, Paul Holtom, Hugh Griffiths, Mark Bromley, Susan Jackson, Joey Fox, Abi Dymond, Helen Close, Chris Rossdale, Pierre Sprey, Winslow Wheeler and Sue Hawley.

My thanks to Joe der Hovsepian, Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly (and his assistant, Susanne Luka), Thomas Tjäder and others who have wished to remain anonymous who agreed to talk to me at length and engage with me thereafter, despite the very different views we hold about the arms trade.

The following not only gave of their time and wisdom but also read extracts of the manuscript, and saved me innumerable embarrassments: Bill Hartung, Lora Lumpe, Chuck Spinney, Stephen Ellis, Shir Hever, Jimmy Johnson, Fredrik Laurin, Rob Evans, Jeff Abramson and a number I cannot name.

I have drawn heavily on Bill Hartung’s exceptional work, especially on Lockheed Martin. Through his books, conversation and emails he has been a source of invaluable information and constant support. I have also used Chuck Spinney’s experience inside the Pentagon to paint a picture of the MICC. In addition to two long interviews and numerous emails from around the world, I have also used other interviews he has given and his own writing. Chuck has been generous with his time, ideas and contacts as well as constantly encouraging.

The South African fellow travellers who continue to struggle and to hope: Terry Crawford-Browne, Gavin Woods, Raenette Taljaard, Patricia de Lille, Richard Young, Sam Sole, Stefaans Brummer, Mzilikazi wa Afrika, Adriaan Basson, Zackie Achmat and Hennie van Vuuren.

To those who make the virtuous networks happen: Mungo Soggott, who introduced me to, among many others, the larger-than-life Paulo Fusi, who was so generous in providing me with a veritable treasure trove of material on the shadow networks, and Alex Yearsley, who was also responsible for the introduction and a couple of Tuscan adventures. To Nigel Brett, who provided a bed and encouragement in Rome.

And to Jonny Steinberg and Mark Gevisser, South Africa’s most talented non-fiction writers, who are always available with advice, friendship and love.

A special thanks to the investigators, prosecutors, law enforcers and agents who were willing to talk to me.

Thank you most especially to all those I cannot name because of the secretive nature of the trade and the vindictiveness of governments and some corporations. Thank you for the information, insight, advice and mostly for your bravery. You are the ‘closet patriots’ to whom this book is dedicated.

And to Feruzan Durdaj and the community of Gerdec who have been so willing to talk to me, and for their strength and conviction.

I could not have completed this project or grown it beyond the original idea of the book without the generous assistance of the Open Society Institute and Foundations, with whom I had a generous Fellowship for eighteen months. The network of people within the Open Society community is quite extraordinary and enabled me to explore countries and ideas I had never thought about. Thank you to Jonas Rollet for introducing me to Albania and to the amazing office in Tirana, especially Andi Dobrushi and Llukan Tako, to the teams in Brussels, Bulgaria, Budapest, Cape Town, Johannesburg, London and, of course, New York and Washington DC. Thanks to Anthony Richter, Tom Kellogg, Sandi Coliver, Sarah Pray and Ken Hurwitz, who has become a valued colleague and collaborator. An especial thanks to the remarkable Fellowship team of Lenny Bernardo, Steve Hubbell, Bipasha Ray, Lisena de Santis and Alia Ahmed. For support, advice, thought and friendship. And to the wonderful group of Fellows they have introduced me to.

To my Cape Town family who always provide shelter, sustenance, support and love: Lesley, David, Emma and Julia Unite.

To my film family who do likewise and are turning this project into something ‘beyond a book’: Anadil Hossain, Driss Benyakleef, Joslyn Barnes, Johan Grimonprez, Nicole Mackinley-Hahn, Tyler Hubby, Sarah Dhanens, Pedro Collantes, Geraldine Schubert, Pulkit Datta and Ashish Segal.

To my London family: my ‘landlord’ Kishon Khan, my ‘tech guru’ Viquar Chamoun, my baba and ma who provide unending support and love, and in Ma’s case turbo networking as well.

And to my little family: Simone, Misha and Maya, who have had to sacrifice more than anyone else so that this project could be realized. Thank you for your love, understanding, patience and tolerance. You are my world without shadows.

Finally, my sincere apologies to anyone whom I might have overlooked. To try and recall all those who have assisted me over the past ten years of working on the arms trade was almost as big a challenge as the work itself. My thanks to you all.

Andrew Feinstein, London, August 2011