Saturday, March 26, 2005

Pakistan rewarded

On Friday the 25th of March, President Bush rewarded Pakistan for its help in the war on terrorism by authorizing them to purchase our F-16 fighter jets. There are countless reasons why this decision could come back to "bite," but for simplicity's sake I will only mention two.
First of all, this action could send a very dangerous message to countries around the world. The U.S. forbid Pakistan to purchase our military weapons in 1990, "out of concern over its then-undeclared nuclear weapons program." I believe that by repealing our previous decision, countries like North Korea and Iran could see our aggressive stance against there nuclear weapons programs as temporary. This could make them more likely to proceed.
Secondly, our decision could show us as favoring Pakistan over India as they continue in their never ending feud over Kashmir. These F-16 fighter jets could destabilize the currently stable stalemate between these two countries. Considering the fact that both are nuclear powers, this could be a very dangerous situation for numerous reasons, not the least of which is economic.
What do you think about Bush's decision?
http://www.washingtonpost.com

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