{"id":1250,"date":"2005-03-26T05:50:50","date_gmt":"2005-03-26T10:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com?p=1250"},"modified":"2005-04-13T13:28:10","modified_gmt":"2005-04-13T18:28:10","slug":"us_to_sell_f16s_1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/2005\/03\/26\/us_to_sell_f16s_1\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. to sell F-16s to Pakistan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite losing Osama Bin Laden<\/a>, harboring A.Q. Khan<\/a>, and participating in illegal nuclear deals<\/a>, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was told by the U.S. on Friday 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:<\/p>\n\n

\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u0153What we are trying to do is solidify and extend relations with both India and Pakistan, at a time when we have good relations with both of them — something most people didn\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122t think could be done — and at a time when they have improving relationships with one another,\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u009d (she said). [The Washington Post<\/i>]<\/blockquote>\n\n

Unlobotomized members of both parties aren\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122t buying it:<\/p>\n\n

Critics in Washington assailed the decision, saying the administration would effectively supply both sides in a new arms race in one of the world\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122s most dangerous hot spots, even as it rewards an authoritarian government in Islamabad in conflict with Bush\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122s stated commitment to promote democracy around the globe…Former senator Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), who sponsored the 1985 law that ultimately forced the cancellation of the original F-16 sale, called Friday\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122s decision \u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u0153an atrocity\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u009d that goes against \u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u0153everything the Bush administration has stood for.\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u009d [The Washington Post<\/i>]<\/blockquote>\n\n

The administration trumpets the sale as an integral part of its revamped South Asia policy, which aims to provide both countries with better ways to annihilate each other. Economic policymakers also praised the move, saying it would offer a badly-needed boon to U.S. defense contractors, and that the resulting nuclear holocaust would effectively end corporate America\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122s dependence on outsourcing.<\/p>\n\n

The Washington Post<\/i>: Bush: U.S. to Sell F-16s to Pakistan<\/a> (free registration required)<\/p>\n\n

Update:<\/font> \u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u0153Left, Right and Center\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u009d contributor Robert Scheer decries Bush\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122s Pakistan folly:<\/p>\n\n

The announcement Friday that the United States is authorizing the sale to Pakistan of F-16 fighter jets capable of delivering nuclear warheads \u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u201d and thereby escalating the region\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122s nuclear arms race \u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u201d is the latest example of how the most important issue on the planet is being bungled by the Bush administration. [Los Angeles Times<\/i>]<\/blockquote>\n\n

Los Angeles Times<\/i>: A con job by Pakistan\u00c3\u00a2\u00c2\u20ac\u00c2\u2122s pal, George Bush<\/a> (free registration required)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 that they will reward him with a long-sought-after sale of F-16 fighter jets. In order … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[26,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1250"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1250\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}