Posted on 07/03/2006 1:53:07 PM PDT by lauriehelds
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration said Monday it planned to sell Pakistan 36 new advanced F-16 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp. as part of a weapons package that could be worth more than $5 billion.
In a notice to Congress, the Pentagon agency responsible for government-to-government arms sales said the new F-16 C/D models alone could be worth $3 billion if all options were exercised.
Idiots.
The only question is...would this be a deal like trading for Satchel Paige when he was in his 50s?
I know we're supposedly propping up Musharraf as the only alternative to a more Islamo-whacko regime, but still I have to wonder if we're getting nearly enough cooperation in the WOT to be selling them new arms packages. I'd like to say to Mushie, "Give us the heads of Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, and the rest of their network hiding out in Waziristan and then we can talk." But maybe we are getting more cooperation behind the scenes, or we think the Mush-man is doing all he can realistically do....... I don't know.
You posted pretty much what I've been thinking.
There are many times that I'm convinced the Pakistani govt plays both sides in this whole affair.
Sometimes I can't decide if they're doing it of choice - or because politically they have to.
And what happens when the NEXT administration takes over.
I hope we have back door into the IFF systems and maybe even fire-control systems of these blowback-squadrons.
"One problem I see is with our relationship with India, who are not going to be happy seeing Pakistan with all these shiny hi-tech weapon systems.
BTW, what happened to those F-16's the we sold to Pakistan over 10 years ago, and then fused to deliver after they had paid for them?"
Very good point --- actually two good points!
And the answer is:
On March 26, 2005......
Despite losing Osama Bin Laden, harboring A.Q. Khan, and participating in illegal nuclear deals, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was told by the U.S. on Friday (3/26/05) that they will reward him with a long-sought-after sale of F-16 fighter jets. In order to spice things up, the Bush administration simultaneously promised Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a chance to bid on similar U.S. fighters. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice explained that the sales would bring stability to the region!
I'd like to think there are better ways to pay gratitude for their support of our Afghanistan efforts than arming an Islamic regime, but apparently those who control the purse strings (and the industry lobbyists almost certainly whispering in their ears) think otherwise. Hopefully, in years to come, Pakistan won't turn against our interests and use American weapons against us, a la Saddam Hussein after the Iraq-Iran war.
Also, this is my first post here, so go easy. :)
Does anyone know how much American military technlogy India possesses?
This may be one of those "good strategic" arms deals. I'm just wary of Musharraf going the way of the Shah...
/picky picky
Can we trust Pakistan? Hopefully this won't blow up in our face when Pakistan starts hindering us in the WOT or if we need to make a strike on Syria, Iran, Yemen, UAW, Egypt or other ME country that starts to get froggy when things heat up.
I think it's safe to assume that special "export features" are included at no extra charge for any of these deals. Remember, these are basically Lockheed subsidy programs disguised as "foreign aid".
Musharaf is to us as Franco was to Hitler/Mussolini. He'll pay you lipservice; and he might even help you, if it doesn't cost him too much.
The problem is if Musharaf goes down, Pakistan might disintegrate. That is a problem even more feared. The reason we are in Afghanistan is because that was a 'failed State' under the Taliban.
No, we could sell them directly. We're replacing ours.
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