Bush Agrees to Sell F-16s to Pakistan

[FlamesAddiction]

Kind of reminds me of how Reagan chose to arm a secular leader in his fight against fundamentalism close to the same region. We all know the backlash that had.

I don't like this move for a few reason:

1) Pakistan is a military dictatorship.

2) They have admitted to trading technology with North Korea, Libya, and Iran.

3) It will fuel the China/India/Pakistan arms race.



I fail to see how this business deal between Pakistan and the U.S. serves any greater good (unless you have Lockheed-Martin stock).

[FlamesAddiction]

I guess a link would help:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...a_fighters_dc_1

[Agamemnon]

There's a great point in the NY Times version of the story that says the EU might be a little p*ssed, given intense US pressure on them not to lift the arms embargo against China.

Isn't this a little much? Asking the Euro's not to sell to your chief military competitor, but still agressively competing in military sales everywhere else? India is looking at buying over 100 new fighters, and will certainly take this move by Pakistan into account, I'm sure.

[Calgary Flames]

"Thank you come again"


...Heard in the skies as a Pakastini pilot shoots down an enemy.

[Claeren]

Or the fact that India is considering a large (~125?) order of jets and they have rebuffed American pressure to purchase VERY expensive next generation American jets, instead considering the roughly equal but MUCH less expensive and already available French, Swedish, and outside chance, Russian, jets.

I am guessing that a couple weeks ago when Condi was in India it was a straight forward power play ultimatim to India, buy our jets or face off against them.....

Corporate/Industrialist stooges in the white house....


Claeren.

[Claeren]

Just thought of another take on i based on Indian reporting of the incidentt....


Is the USA so desperate for info on Iran, of which they have VERY little now and the opportunity for very little in the future, that they would sell jets to Pakistan to get access to info on all of the tech Pakistan has sold/given to the Iranians?


Claeren.

[transplant99]

How do you know what the US knows about Iran?

[Looger]

this f-16 insanity has been going on for almost 15 years...

for anyone, anywhere, that equates military sales with human rights/secular/religious/principals of any kind, look up the first two air-to-air kills of gulf storm.

saudi f-15 pilot.

[Claeren]

I think we are looking at the effect it could have in escalating tensions between two warring nuclear neighbours, not any ideals of humanity.....



Congress the other day, just after the Ukraine admitted to selling Iran dozen(s?) of nuclear equipible cruise missles i believe, after receiving a briefing from various intelligence agencies on Iran, admitted that not only had America failed to gain any inside knowledge of Iranian government/capabilities/etc but that they had not come even close since the revolution itself, 25+ years ago. They expressed strong concern and were exploring options in light of the massive intelligence failure on a potential enemy/invasion target....

Either way it was a powerplay of some sort, with obvious high level knowledge and implication.....

Claeren.

[Claeren]

Yahoo News:

The U.S. move on the F-16s came after Islamabad said last week it was considering greater cooperation with the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency in its investigation of Iran's nuclear program.

Diplomats familiar with the U.N. investigation said this month Pakistan had agreed to hand over centrifuge components so U.N. inspectors could compare them with machinery sold to Iran by Abdul Qadeer Khan, father of Pakistan's atomic bomb program.