US Congress may prohibit spending on Pak F-16s to keep India happy

[Salahadin]

Karachi News.Net
Saturday 4th April, 2009 (ANI)


Washington, Apr. 4 : The US Congress is moving toward imposing benchmarks for providing the Pakistani government with billions of dollars of U.S. military assistance, among them being prohibiting additional U.S. spending on Pakistan's F-16 jet fighter fleet, which the Bush administration agreed to upgrade.

Lawmakers have argued that the planes are part of Pakistan's defense strategy against neighboring India but that they have little use in counter-insurgency efforts against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

The proposed restrictions, introduced in House legislation Thursday, have made both the White House and the Pakistani government uneasy.

The bill sponsored by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman (Democrat-California) would authorize three billion dollars in aid to train and equip the Pakistani military over the next five years, along with 7.5 billion dollars in economic and development assistance.

It would also limit the kinds of military equipment Pakistan could receive and the ways in which it could be used, and require regular audits and presidential certification of counterinsurgency progress.

A bill with similar aid amounts is being drafted in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, although Senate discussions with the White House on benchmark provisions are ongoing.

Introduction of that legislation is not planned until after the two-week congressional recess.

The bill would set up a program to monitor Pakistani progress in a number of areas, including defeating extremists and protecting human rights, and require Obama to provide specifics underlying his own assessments.

President Obama has said that the United States must "demonstrate through deeds as well as words a commitment [to Pakistan] that is enduring."

He has called on Congress to pass the still-unseen Senate bill. t the same time, Obama pledged, there would be no "blank check."

Recalling "mixed results" from previous billions in aid, he said that "Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out al-Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders."

But the White House and U.S. military commanders, citing Pakistani political sensitivities and the need for flexibility, would like to set their own metrics


US Congress may prohibit spending on Pak F-16s to keep India happy

 

[Goodperson]

Not sure the restrictions seem to only for Aid however I think Pakistan can very well go ahead and purchase them.

 

[Patriot]

This is from 3.5 Billion Aid for Counter Insurgency Only.The F'16's are purchased from extra 2 Billion Foriegn Millitary Funds Programe.They will most likely deliver F-16's as US is trying to build trust with Top Pakistani Millitary Commanders.

 

[sms]

Strings will be attached to the aids from US fro anti terrorism activities. That money may come with lot of check and audits. About F16, US amy not want to displease Pakistan to meet their objectives in Afganistan.

 

[Quwa]

The U.S. isn't even for paying for the new F-16s, they were quite clear that it was Pakistani money. Though I do not get everyone's problem, the U.S. routinely uses their fighters in counterinsurgency operations, why shouldn't Pakistan? It is clear that this whole Global War on Terror business is not sincere on anyone's end, except for the many Pakistani civilians and soldiers getting killed so needlessly.

 

[BaburCM]

Quite interesting how this will affect our cooperation in the WoT... Will this also affect the MLU of the current F-16 fleet? If not, PAF should drop the F-16 purchase and concentrate on acquiring more FC-20s and improving the JF-17s. We should also concentrate on the J-XX. The new 18 F-16s aren't cheap. The MLUs will be sufficient to fill the gap until we acquire new FC-20s and induct new JF-17 airframes.

I've been a staunch opposer of the F-16 purchase. The amount of ridiculous strings attached with the deal were simply not worth the hassle. The amount of blackmail and crap that Pakistan has had to receive for these F-16s is beyond imagination. Besides, Pakistan will be getting FC-20s which are currently at par with F-16 Block C/D and without any strings attached. The FC-20s will only get better with the planned upgrades. I think that opens the door for an increase in the number of the FC-20s which can only be beneficial for PAF. This news shouldn't be surprising. PAF has always been prepared to fill the F-16 gap in case the deal didn't go through. The F-16s wouldn't add any additional punch to our fleet except that it would save induction time. We already have most of the infrastructure and expertise in place to induct the F-16s. Those are the only advantages why PAF would want to go for an additional 18 F-16s.

 

[batmannow]

WELLCOME obamma bhai
bye bye BUSH BHAI

 

[maverick2009]

F16block 52 ARE VITAL for PAF they have the better radar and the AMRAAMC5 BVR missle which the J10 cannot match.

J10 will develope but i,m sure even the PAF wud rather have the F16s with AMRAAMS

 

[BaburCM]

F16block 52 ARE VITAL for PAF they have the better radar and the AMRAAMC5 BVR missle which the J10 cannot match.

J10 will develope but i,m sure even the PAF wud rather have the F16s with AMRAAMS

I beg to differ. PAF has a sane approach which is to integrate Western avionics and weaponry into JF-17. The same strategy could also be applied to the FC-20 project. I know that the acquisition of Western avionics and weaponry is also prone to sanctions. However, it's a much better alternative and worth the risk as compared to having fighters that are restricted in every imaginable way. We could have a mix of mid and high end avionics/weaponry integrated into our new Chinese fighters. Seriously, what difference will 18 new F-16s make anyway? The MLUs, however, indeed will make a difference as a temporary stopgap measure due to their numerical advantage. Never forget that the strings attached are a serious matter of concern. The F-16s will always be unannounced inspected. The F-16s cannot have any modifications made to them to carry nukes. The F-16s can only be used when prior permission is taken from the US. Just a handful of ridiculous restrictions. Additionally, Pakistan is always prone to sanctions which means that spares will always be an issue. We should know better by now. Taking all of these restrictions into account FC-20 is currently the safest bet for PAF. The FC-20 fulfils all of the necessary requirements of PAF. I'm sure that the new avionics tested on the FC-20 is a vast improvement.

 

[godsavetheworld]

Its all a part of "conditional aid" Pakistan will no longer enjoy the monopoly it had during Bush Administration. When it took all the money to build up against India, in the name of fighting terror.

THere is no coherence between the Pakistani government and the army. And Obama was quick to realize that, thats why instead of spending on the military, he has decided to spend on improving internal security of Pakistan, which dont require F-16's tbh.

 

[Patriot]

F16's will be provided most likely if Army does not take over again.General Mike Mullen has said they are trying to build good trust with Pakistan Army Top Military Officers and I am sure they are not fool to cancel F16 deal.Actually, Obama will be providing far more Aid then Bush ever did and not to mention he has slowed down the process of US-India Alliance.

 

[godsavetheworld]

F16's will be provided most likely if Army does not take over again.General Mike Mullen has said they are trying to build good trust with Pakistan Army Top Military Officers and I am sure they are not fool to cancel F16 deal.Actually, Obama will be providing far more Aid then Bush ever did and not to mention he has slowed down the process of US-India Alliance.

I dont know based on what facts you make this comment. But contrary to what you think, Obama has infact ramped up cooperation with India. We havent seen Bush come out and openely acknowledge India's efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, neither was he interested in what India had to say about Afghanistan. And the article we are debating, actually proves growing India-US alliance.

 

[BaburCM]

Its all a part of "conditional aid" Pakistan will no longer enjoy the monopoly it had during Bush Administration. When it took all the money to build up against India, in the name of fighting terror.

THere is no coherence between the Pakistani government and the army. And Obama was quick to realize that, thats why instead of spending on the military, he has decided to spend on improving internal security of Pakistan, which dont require F-16's tbh.

That's just a load of typical Indian BS doses. I'm just sick and tired of Indians claiming that aid to Pakistan has been diverted to a so-called weapons build up. All this bla bla bla just confirms how obsessed Indians are with Pakistan. The aid that the US has provided doesn't even make up for the bill on the WoT. The aid that has been provided is simply peanuts. The Americans were spending a staggering 8 billion each month in Iraq. They paid Pakistan merely 10 billion dollars over a period of roughly a year. Pakistan has had to pay for their own expenses in the WoT! That's the comparison there for you. Even if we diverted the weapons or other resources for weapons build up, what's actually wrong with that? Aren't you busy diverting resources against Pakistan? Isn't India acquiring weapons that will be used against Pakistan? Why is it always that whenever Pakistan acquires weapons that the Indians pee in their pants? What on earth is wrong with you Indians?

Obama doesn't represent anything. In fact, Obama heavily depends on Pakistan. He realizes that too. Now, for any substantial progress in Afghanistan, Obama requires help from Pakistan. The F-16 deal doesn't pose a challenge to Pakistan. I've already stated why PAF is so eager to acquire these machines. It will spare time and a lot of hassle. The familiarity aspect is a huge factor. Also, perhaps we could learn one or two things and apply them to our new fighters. The F-16s are after all battle proven machines. The Americans are only willing to provide these fighters because they know that Pakistan has access to fighters with similar capability from China. The Americans would never provide Pakistan with equipment that they deem high tech.

 

[H2O3C4Nitrogen]

Fully Agreed with BaburCM . Paf should not go for 18 F16s it should rather go for aquiring License of Local production Of these aircrafts. I mean F16s should come with compleet transfer of tech in return of Pak asistance in US wot . But that would definately not happen . Paf should look for trustable sources in light of wat it faced in the form of Presller amendements couple of years back which left our F16s rot in sahara desert..

 

[qsaark]

I beg to differ..... I'm sure that the new avionics tested on the FC-20 is a vast improvement.

I appreciate your stand on the F-16 issue. I also believe that we should not buy any military hardware from the US, because it is way too risky and embargo-prone. The world will not come to an end for us if we don’t get 18 Block 52+. Of course the real challenge will be to avoid getting into any war with India at least for the time being, which should not be very difficult. We have to work hard to improve our economy so more money is available to spend on our defense. We know that in next 10-15 years, we would have to fight a war with India on the water issue.