From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

The world awash in weapons.

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International, a daily look at the issues.

Americans care about most.

The United States is the largest

exporter of weapons worldwide, as well as a prime target for illegal arms sales. The Justice Department

is battling 108 countries, including Iran and China, with illegal procurement networks here in America.

At the same time, sanctions are being dropped against formerly suspect regimes, now allies in the war on terror,

and the U.S. arms industry wants in on that new legal action.

On to the point, should regulations be relaxed so they can compete with foreign suppliers,

is increased violence inevitable for years to come?

On reporter's notebook later on Turks and Kurds on

the Iraqi border. First, here's the news. Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW

Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford

Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Hello again, Warren Alney, back with To the Poet. There is a boom in both legal and illegal weapons sales worldwide.

The U.S. is both the leading exporter and a leading target on the black market.

On To the Poet, we'll hear what's being done to stop the illegal trade and to help America's arms industry compete in the legal markets.

On Reporters' Notebook, American efforts to hold off a Turkish assault on Kurdish rebels in

northern Iraq. First, this news update at the request of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,

President Bush has declared a federal state of emergency in seven Southern California counties,

from Ventura to the Mexican border. At least 16 fires are

...