Global military not pinched by crisis

LONDON: The overall amount of money invested in soldiers, weapons and war has been largely unaffected by the global economic downturn, a think tank said in a report published late on Wednesday.

The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said the total amount of money spent on world defense budgets rose from $1.3 trillion to $1.55 trillion between 2006 and 2008, and likely continued to climb in 2009.

The rise, however, may not be as significant as the figures suggest because they reflect the effects of the fluctuating dollar, according to the think tank.