Text 10903, 57 rader
Skriven 2005-04-01 15:50:36 av Alan Hess
Ärende: F-16s to Pakistan
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I'm not sure if this is a good idea.
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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-ed.pakistan01apr01,1,7486271.stor
y?coll=bal-pe-opinion
The cost of rewarding Pakistan

April 1, 2005

IF PAKISTAN were playing Monopoly, it would seem to have its very own stack of
"Get out of jail free" cards - all handed out by Washington.

Given to forestall the rise of radical Islam in Pakistan, the free passes
directly conflict with the Bush administration's fight against nuclear
proliferation and the president's rhetoric on fostering democracy around the
globe. They're a very risky outcome of U.S. realpolitik.

Fifteen years ago, the United States blocked the sale of F-16 fighter jets to
Islamabad because it had developed nuclear weapons. Last week - in the latest
of Washington's post-9/11 moves to ensure at least limited loyalty from
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf - the United States said it would allow
the sale of these jets. To placate Pakistan's historic rival, the Bush
administration then offered India a much fuller strategic relationship and even
more-advanced jets.

Almost incredibly, this follows revelations that put the father of the Islamic
bomb, Pakistani hero A. Q. Khan, at the center of an international network that
had been spreading nuclear technology and hardware to Iran, Libya and North
Korea for years. Mr. Khan already has been pardoned by General Musharraf, who
continues to display the true nature of his friendship with Washington by not
allowing U.S. investigators to interview the scientist.

The F-16 sale sends a terrible message about the very high U.S. tolerance of
even nuclear misdeeds by its chosen strongmen. (You'd think that at the very
least General Musharraf would let the Bush administration's proliferation
fighters learn what Mr. Khan knows.)

Of course, it's far better that the front lines of the U.S. war on terror are -
for now - on Pakistan's western front, not its border with India. But will
F-16s do anything to prevent jihadists from coming to power there? If this sale
strengthens General Musharraf's relatively moderate military rule - for the
time being, useful in fighting the growth of radical Islam in Pakistan - it
does nothing to address the high poverty and low education rates fueling that
rise.

The best thing that could come of selling these weapons is that it might raise
U.S. influence in South Asia relative to China. But it's still a very dangerous
move. These sales reinvigorate an arms race along one of the world's most
volatile borders at a time of improving relations. Both sides already can drop
nuclear bombs on each other, but these jets are for war - not helping Islamabad
locate Osama bin Laden's bunker.

Copyright + 2005, The Baltimore Sun

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