The business of war
A handful of companies with connections to governments, and, sometimes organizations, have profited from war commerce.
The merchant of death
Victor Bout, who has been accused of fueling Africa's bloodiest conflicts, ran a global transportation network with bases and front companies in Europe, the Middle East, Afghanistan, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, and even the United States.
Drugs, diamonds and deadly cargoes
When he was arrested on a drug charge in Milan, Leonid Minin, an arms trader under investigation across Europe, had his business records with him, providing a detailed look into the world of war commerce.
The field marshal
An arms trader who admitted to breaking a U.N. arms embargo also claimed ties to French intelligence, the Iranian government, and the since-bought-out oil company, Elf Aquitaine.
The influence peddlers
An entrepreneur with global ties to arms smuggling, resource exploitation and private military companies epitomizes the business of war.
The adventure capitalist
While Africa's wars have brought untold misery to millions, some have seen conflict in the region as a business opportunity.
Conflict diamonds are forever
Poor controls in the international diamond industry - even in South Africa - are undercutting attempts to clamp down on conflict diamonds that fuel wars in Africa and, possibly, fund terrorists.
Greasing the skids of corruption
A case study of how the pursuit of oil in the third world fuels corruption and war.
Marketing the new 'Dogs of War'
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been fighting one of the world's longest and bloodiest terrorist wars, but it was the London financiers whose conduct now threatened Sri Lanka's national survival.
Privatizing combat, the new world order
A look at the world of private military companies, and the issues raised by the trend of outsourcing war.
The curious bonds of oil diplomacy
The tongues of yellow flames from flaring gas burn like candlesticks lined up in a cathedral, lighting the night sky of the port city of Malabo and sending black fumes billowing upwards. In the waters offshore, oil rigs and production platforms sit majestically, sucking hundred of thousands of barrels a day from the deep sea oil fields of Equatorial Guinea.