US 'to offer F-16s to Pakistan'

[frindevil]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4382735.stm

What could possibly go wrong? =P

- Frind

The United States has decided to approve the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, Indian officials say. US President George W Bush told Indian premier Manmohan Singh of the decision in a telephone call at 1345 GMT, Mr Singh's media adviser said.

The adviser, Sanjay Baru, said that Mr Singh had expressed "great disappointment" at the decision.

The premier told Mr Bush it would exacerbate India's security concerns for the region.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discussed the F-16 issue with Indian officials during her recent visit to the region.

There has been no confirmation of the decision yet from either the US or Pakistan.

[Gold9472]

What could possibly go wrong? They're only the country that funded 9/11.

[somebigguy]

No, I believe that was the American taxpayer.

[Gold9472]

No, I believe that was the American taxpayer.

The bottom line is... we're arming Pakistan. One of the perpetrators of 9/11... I mean, it makes sense politically... they are one of the NWO's allies, so of course, we supply them weapons... however, the Government of Pakistan is no ally of mine.

[Gold9472]

US defends Pakistan F-16 jet deal

Ms Rice says the US wants strong ties with both India and Pakistan

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4384597.stm

The US has defended its decision to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, in the face of opposition from India.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Washington Post newspaper the US was trying to build relations with Pakistan and India at the same time.

India - which may also buy F-16s in the future - has warned the US deal with Pakistan risks creating an arms race.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has welcomed the move, seen as a reward for supporting the US war on terror.

It marks a change in US policy, which blocked the sale of F-16s in 1990 over Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.

Mr Aziz said the fighters would help the Pakistani air force maintain an effective deterrence level - but stressed Pakistan had no aggressive intentions towards any country.

In an interview published in the Washington Post, Ms Rice tried to allay India's concerns that the deal could disturb the region's military balance.

"What we're trying to do is to solidify and extend relations with both India and Pakistan at a time when we have good relations with both of them, something that most people didn't think could be done, and when they have improving relationships with one another," she said.

"What we're trying to do is break out of the notion that this is a hyphenated relationship somehow, that anything that happens that's good for Pakistan has to be bad for India and vice versa."

Nuclear plants

Ms Rice said she had been struck by the 11 September Commission advice to "invest in the relationship with Pakistan" or risk recreating the situation of the 1990s, when it forged links to the Taleban in Afghanistan.

She went on: "Pakistan has come a long way, it's on a better trajectory than it's ever been, or that it's been in many, many years."

Washington also declared plans for "a decisively broader strategic relationship" with India on Friday - and has not ruled out helping it develop nuclear power plants.

"We're a step away from that, certainly, but looking at their energy needs and trying to understand how they can be met," Ms Rice said.

A spokesman for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he had expressed "great disappointment" on Friday about the decision to supply F-16s to Pakistan.

But India is contemplating a "very large" purchase of fighter planes, a state department official said.

Peace dialogue

Pakistan struck a deal with the US for F-16 jets in the late 1980s, but Washington blocked the sale in 1990 as a sanction against Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.

The revived sale will form part of a five-year, $3bn assistance programme.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over the disputed region of Kashmir.

The nations came to the brink of another war in 2002 but are now engaged in a two-year thaw that has seen improved relations.

The F-16 is built by Lockheed Martin and is one of the world's most successful fighter aircraft, with about 4,500 in commission globally.

[danceyogamom]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/28/us.humanrights.ap/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/28/us.humanrights.ap/index.html)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department renewed its criticism of the human rights records of Pakistan and China on Monday in a report that followed U.S. decisions to arm Pakistan with jet fighters and to avoid a showdown with China on the way it treats its people.
The report, which focused on U.S. efforts to improve human rights in 98 nations, was issued by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who praised the Bush administration as being "on the right side of freedom's divide."

"We have an obligation to help those who are unlucky enough to have been born on the wrong side of that divide," she said.

The report credited Pakistan with some human rights improvements but a continuing poor record. It said Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's government had amended the country's constitution to strengthen his powers at the expense of the National Assembly and that the military remains heavily engaged in politics.

It also cited Musharraf's decision to continue as the army chief, saying that had stirred political debate.

"The government has committed that new local elections will be scheduled for 2005 and national elections to be held no later than 2007 will be free and fair," the report said. "The United States will continue to encourage the government to adhere to this commitment and will provide needed support."

China is more heavily criticized in the report for suppressing political, social and religious groups, and individuals.

China has amended its constitution to protect human rights and has adopted legal reforms for monitoring the government. But the report said "it is unclear how or to what extent the constitutional amendment and other legal reforms will be enforced."

President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other senior administration officials constantly raise human rights issues in their meetings with Chinese leaders, the report said.

Last week, the United States rewarded Pakistan for its counterterrorism support with a green light to purchase more than a dozen F-16 jet fighter planes. The sale was cast in terms of an overall security boost for the region, including India and Afghanistan.

On Monday, thousands of opposition activists -- supporters of a coalition of radical Islamic groups -- rallied in Peshawar in northwest Pakistan, chanting "Death to dictatorship!" in the latest demonstration against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's grip on power.

Assistant Secretary of State Michael Kozak said the demonstration might reflect an easing of restrictions by the government. "When you open up a situation, people make their views known," he said.

The Bush administration is insisting Pakistan adhere to a commitment to hold free and fair national elections in 2007, as scheduled.

Two weeks ago, the administration shelved a resolution criticizing China that had been prepared for an international human rights conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Officials said they had worked out a deal a few days earlier with China on a half-dozen reforms.

Publicly, the Bush administration has criticized China consistently for mistreating its people. The administration is also trying to persuade the European allies not to lift an embargo on weapons sales to China.

The United States, meanwhile, has come under criticism for abuses committed against terror suspects at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo, Cuba, and has transferred some prisoners and released others.

The report said Pakistan had taken in 30 of the transferred prisoners, by far the largest number. Morocco, described in the report as having a poor human rights record, took in five. Saudi Arabia, which took four, was cited for a poor record but also credited with some improvements.