US agrees to supply Pakistan with jets and bomb kits for raids on tribal regions

[maddezmom]

Source: Timesonline

The United States is to deliver a thousand laser-guided bomb kits to Pakistan this month. The deal, which also includes the delivery of 18 new F16 fighter jets and a dozen surveillance drones later in the year, is an apparent pay-off for greater co-operation against al-Qaeda and the Taleban.

US military officials said that the sales, mostly funded by US grants, were intended to enhance the Pakistani military’s capacity to strike militant targets accurately and with minimum civilian casualties in the tribal areas near the Afghan border.

The US has given Pakistan more than $12 billion (£8 billion) in aid since 2001 but delayed sales of such sophisticated weaponry because it was not satisfied with Pakistani efforts to combat militants and feared that the arms would be used to target India instead.

India lobbied hard against such sales, arguing that they would upset the military balance of South Asia and undermine a new strategic partnership between Delhi and Washington.


Read more: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7048968.ece

[cosmicone]

1. Weasely Pakistanis at it again

Arming themselves against India and the sucker US complying.

Pakistan doesn't need this hardware to fight militants armed with AK 47s and RPGs.

[Flaneur]

2. Our resident Paki-basher notwithstanding,

...I tend to agree that Pakistan does not need fighter jets to attack its own population.

[OhioChick]

3. "Our resident Paki-basher notwithstanding, .."

:rofl:

[paparush]

4. End well, this will not.

[Rapier09]

5. India must love us

We need to start going all the way and giving Pakistan a Missile defense Shield;in case the Taliban goes Nuclear.