U.S. to Help Upgrade Pakistan Fighter Fleet
25 July, 2008: WASHINGTON - The White House confirmed on July 24 that it planned to shift $230 million from counter-terrorism programs to aid for Pakistan to upgrade Islamabad's aging F-16 fighter jets.
The news came as U.S. President George W. Bush prepared to host Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on July 28 for talks set to focus on cooperation to fight Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists and Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said a New York Times article detailing the shift was "accurate" but rejected criticisms that Pakistan chiefly views the jets through the lens of its nuclear rivalry with neighbor India.
"The F-16s that they have are used in counterterrorism operations. We made them available to the Pakistanis and they need to be maintained," Perino told reporters.
Pakistan's new government "is facing a lot of pressure from a severe fiscal situation" stemming partly from soaring food and energy costs, and "they need assistance from the United States," the spokeswoman said.
But the Times reported that some U.S. lawmakers have greeted the proposed shift with anger, saying that Pakistan does not use its F-16s in support of the campaign against fighters in its remote tribal areas out of a fear that civilian casualties could fuel support for the extremists.
Asked what the U.S. would get in return for the move, Perino replied: "The F-16s are used in their counter-terrorism operations, so we get support in our national security efforts."
The package for the fighters would run about two-thirds of the $300 million that Pakistan will get this year in U.S. aid for military equipment and training, the Times said.
In 2007, U.S. lawmakers specified that the monies should to go to law enforcement or counter-terrorism.
The daily cited unnamed US State Department officials as saying that the upgrades would sharpen the fighters' ability to carry out accurate air strikes, reducing civilian casualties.
The move came with Gilani expected to face searching questions about his fledgling government's commitment to battling Islamist extremists, particularly in the remote tribal areas along Afghanistan's border, where terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding.
Bush said earlier this month that he was "troubled" by the movement of extremists from Pakistan to Afghanistan and would discuss the threat with Gilani when he visits.
U.S. military commanders have reported a 40 percent rise in militant attacks on parts of eastern Afghanistan since Pakistan's new government launched peace talks with Taliban rebels in the tribal belt.
Legislation was introduced in the U.S. Congress on July 15 proposing non-military aid to Pakistan be tripled to $7.5 billion over five years, but linking security aid to counter-terrorism performance.
Washington has already pledged $750 million in development aid to the tribal areas over the next five years, in addition to the $10 billion in military aid it has channeled to Islamabad since 2001.
Friday, July 25, 2008
U.S. to Help Upgrade Pakistan Fighter Fleet
U.S. to Help Upgrade Pakistan Fighter Fleet
25 July, 2008: WASHINGTON - The White House confirmed on July 24 that it planned to shift $230 million from counter-terrorism programs to aid for Pakistan to upgrade Islamabad's aging F-16 fighter jets.
The news came as U.S. President George W. Bush prepared to host Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on July 28 for talks set to focus on cooperation to fight Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists and Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said a New York Times article detailing the shift was "accurate" but rejected criticisms that Pakistan chiefly views the jets through the lens of its nuclear rivalry with neighbor India.
"The F-16s that they have are used in counterterrorism operations. We made them available to the Pakistanis and they need to be maintained," Perino told reporters.
Pakistan's new government "is facing a lot of pressure from a severe fiscal situation" stemming partly from soaring food and energy costs, and "they need assistance from the United States," the spokeswoman said.
But the Times reported that some U.S. lawmakers have greeted the proposed shift with anger, saying that Pakistan does not use its F-16s in support of the campaign against fighters in its remote tribal areas out of a fear that civilian casualties could fuel support for the extremists.
Asked what the U.S. would get in return for the move, Perino replied: "The F-16s are used in their counter-terrorism operations, so we get support in our national security efforts."
The package for the fighters would run about two-thirds of the $300 million that Pakistan will get this year in U.S. aid for military equipment and training, the Times said.
In 2007, U.S. lawmakers specified that the monies should to go to law enforcement or counter-terrorism.
The daily cited unnamed US State Department officials as saying that the upgrades would sharpen the fighters' ability to carry out accurate air strikes, reducing civilian casualties.
The move came with Gilani expected to face searching questions about his fledgling government's commitment to battling Islamist extremists, particularly in the remote tribal areas along Afghanistan's border, where terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding.
Bush said earlier this month that he was "troubled" by the movement of extremists from Pakistan to Afghanistan and would discuss the threat with Gilani when he visits.
U.S. military commanders have reported a 40 percent rise in militant attacks on parts of eastern Afghanistan since Pakistan's new government launched peace talks with Taliban rebels in the tribal belt.
Legislation was introduced in the U.S. Congress on July 15 proposing non-military aid to Pakistan be tripled to $7.5 billion over five years, but linking security aid to counter-terrorism performance.
Washington has already pledged $750 million in development aid to the tribal areas over the next five years, in addition to the $10 billion in military aid it has channeled to Islamabad since 2001.
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