Sleeping with the Enemy

Perhaps it is a little extreme to call Pakistan the enemy, but aren't they the radical extremist pseudo-dictator types who stand in the way of democracy? Guess not. We've just decided to sell them a couple F-16s. Says" a Bush Administration official":

The sale of F-16s will not change the overall balance of military power in the region and are vital to Pakistan's security as President Musharraf prosecutes the war on terror.

Which is another example of how
1: anything can be justified by fear in the post-9/11 age and
2: people will believe a total load of shit.

Notice how the implication is that the fighters are of use in the war on terror. The primary purpose of military fighters is to destroy other aircraft or penetrate ground defenses. They are capable of hiting ground targets as well, but not designed for it as well as bombers. Last I knew, Al Queda wasn't flying MIGs. The planes are not directly a component of the war on terror. They are an appeasement to General Musharraf. It is his security we are worried about. You know, in case India decides to give up decades of passivism.


This is close on the heels of a Washington Post article describing how the US omitted/minimized Pakistan's role in the transfer of weapons grade Uranium from Korea to Libya. See US Misled Allies about Nuclear Export. In fairness see White House rebuttal: Our Allies were not Misled. And then for fullness we have US demands Pakistan nuclear help. In which it appears Pakistan at least knows about the nuclear transfers but isn't talking without some bribe money. Or perhaps bribe airplanes?

As an aside: Who is reporting on this the day it happens? The BBC obviously. No doubt Pakistani/Indian news...but in the US? CNN? No. MSNBC? No. My favorite paper, the Washington Post? No. Fox News? Yes. Yes?! Yes indeed. For all that Fox is supposed to be conservatively biased, is it possible that it has better news sources? Aside over.

Well after the rousing speech by the President after his inaguration, we have sunk to selling weapons of war to dictators: most likely to be used against nearby democracies. Now I don't think a democratic state is intrinsically more moral than any other, but hypocracy gets to me.

Maybe I'm just a pessimist. After all it worked out fine last time we gave arms to people in Pakistan, right? Those Afgani freedom fighters sure were thankful.