But it seems we always do. I had hoped the days of zig zag diplomacy were behind us but this Pak thing is troubling. I hope I'm wrong when I say that I think we will regret our reliance/closeness to Pak. After all, it IS a very unstable country and God forbid that something should happen to Musharaf.
On the other hand I do feel some reassurance that by using our equipment we retain some control over the operation and maintenance requirements.
I disagree. China is forging some very interesting alliances in Africa with an eye toward the long term. Pakistan is in to strategic a location not to have a relationship with them. India and Pakistan will be at each other's throats again, and we can be in a position to mediate using our relationship with both parties.
In the past, we had to count on the Soviets to 'do the right thing' with respect to either of those parties.