arms

South African dockworkers refused to unload 3080 cases of weapons and ammunition from a Chinese vessel. The shipment was destined for Zimbabwe, possibly for use against opponents of President Robert Mugabe.

What could be more stirring than the sight of a few thousand Durban longshoremen standing up against one of Africa's great despots? Consider me duly stirred. But this triumph of organized labor in South Africa has a worrisome side as well.

Acting on a US warrant, Bangkok police arrested Viktor Bout, the world's most notorious arms dealer.

The big lie about Viktor Bout is that he escaped capture because he was hard to find. In recent years he did hide -- the New York Times reports that during his two months in Bangkok he switched hotels often to avoid detection, landing finally at the swish Sofitel Silom -- but during his previous two decades of international mischief he conducted himself with surprising openness. He didn't get caught, because either through negligence or complicity, figures at the governmental level let him go, and let his business flourish. MORE