US tells India, drop dead

Rediff ^ | March 28, 2005 | Kanchan Gupta

[Cronos]

"patrol the afgan border" (snicker, snicker).

Kind of like paying the wolves to "look after" the sheep.

[Cronos]

us sells pakis f16 so thats india spends more for defence. us wants india to buy f18 as a heavy customer.

Ah, but the end is a bit different:

india buys sukhoi30 mki from Russia instead.

[Cronos]

Where I live there is a reasonably large Pakistani population, and after 9/11 they were extremely happy. One Pakistani shop-owner was so happy he decided to put a portrait of Osama Bin Laden in his shop window.

I don't believe it. Where do you live? In Southall? Or Tooting?

[Cronos]

Is there not hypocrisy here in giving the semi-failed nuclear state that is Pakistan better weaponry, yet whining that the EU is giving arms to China?

well, I'd call it stupidity. Those weapons are going to come back to bite us in the a**.

[sukhoi-30mki]

The IAF has made it clear that they won't consider any variant of the SU-30 for the MRCA programme-too much dependence on one product is not wise.India will most probably go with the French Mirage-20005 Mk2 as it announced a plan to buy 12 used M-2005s from Qatar.

[Cronos]

the F-16s are almost a waste of money for Pakistan

That's daft. The F16s are paid for with US military aid.

[Cronos]

Did India fight against Taliban in Afghanistan or the Taliban in the hideouts in Pakistan

Yes. Who do you think supplied weapons, training and Support to the Northern Alliance after 96 and before 2001? India, Russia, Iran and Uzbekistan, that's who.

[hineybona]

India is a constantly growing nation on the world stage.They are and can be a good friend of the US.Dumb move on our part.

[Cronos]

Pakistan had not done enough but at least done something that deserves F-16s. Why is it wrong to reward for the help? Do you trust countries that do not reward for help?

Give them money to help alleviate their poverty then. help them build better roads, dams etc. You think giving F-16s is a 'reward'???? SO, Pakistan was 'rewarding' North Korea by giving the NKs nuclear weapons?

[cooper72]

If you want to call me a liar then fine.

[Cronos]

Most tech outsourcing goes to Ireland, Canada etc.

[Cronos]

I guess their skipping the whole national infrastructure thing what with indoor plumbing, diesel powered trains, a road system, and jumping straight to the high tech weapons and gadgets?

What world are you living in? NBC from the 50s???? India's got indoor plumbing and has had it since brit times. India's got the third largest rail network in the world after the US and Russia. India's road network is also in the top 10 in the world.

Lets see if I've got this right - we put men on the moon almost 40 years ago, and these jacka$$es are just now getting a squadron of supersonic fighters together?

Those jacka$$es have been flying supersonic fighters since the 50s, initially British made, then Russian.

[Cronos]

Why are we picking a fight with India? Because that is what this is. A swift kick in the crotch.

You got it right. India can't and won't do anything now because they need us. But they will remember -- they're an old, OLD civilisation and they still remebmer what happened millenia ago, so they aren't going to forget this insult by 2050.

[Cronos]

True -- yours was a logical post, but Whizzz's wasn't (tongue thwista)

[Cronos]

Sorry, that didn't come across correctly. I wasn't calling you a liar, I was saying I couldn't believe the audacity of the Paki guy. What a creep -- he's living IN the West and he supports and act of terrorism against the West.

[Saberwielder]

As much as I disagree with the F-16 sale to Pakistan, this guy is being a drama queen.

India has to be able to take this in the stride if it wants to be a great power.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Yep,I agree.Articles of folks like Kanchan Gupta,Rajeev Srinivasan(extreme rightwing) & Praful Bidwai(leftist loony) whip up a lot of emotion.

[Gengis Khan]

You mean Kanchan Gupta?
She is a gal not a guy.

[monday]

"US had to give something to Pakistan in exchange of participation for the war against Terrorism in the region "

No we didn't. Pakistani intelligence set up and supported the Taliban. They have sold Nukes to Libya. Their courts sentence Christians to death for blaspheme and allow honor killings with no punishment for the perpetrators. Their government is corrupt and two faced even by middle Eastern standards.

We don't owe them anything. They owe us. India is the only rational ally we have in the area and we pay them back by slapping them in the face. The US administration is behaving dishonorably and there is no excuse.

[Waterleak]

Oh I forgot, they can't produce their own fighters, but their so smart and advanced - yeah that's the ticket. Can I interest you in some land down in Florida?