Bush’S Jet Fighter Sale To Pakistan ‘Reckless’, Says Senate Foreign Relations Chairman

Bush’s F-16 fighter sell-off to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf lets him ‘off the hook’ for his tyrannical activities, says Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE). Bush’s Jet Fighter Sale To Pakistan ‘Reckless’, Says Senate Foreign Relations ChairmanBy Cliff Montgomery – Jan. 9th, 2008Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden (D-DE), offered a crushing analysis last week of the Bush Administration’s recent decision to go ahead with its planned sale of eighteen F-16 fighter planes to Pakistan–the country now reeling in political chaos thanks to last month’s assassination of former prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.Sen. Biden declared Bush’s sale to be “reckless”, and added that the F-16 fighter sell-off to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf lets the dictator “off the hook” for such tyrannical activities as his November suspension of civil liberties, and his detention of numerous Pakistanis whose only ‘crime’ is disagreeing with him.”The decision to go ahead with a half-billion-dollar sale of advanced fighter aircraft to Pakistan shows how dangerously misguided President Bush’s policy is,” said Biden in a prepared statement.Biden’s statement also posed a simple question: “How can the White House even think of green-lighting such a sale at such an incredibly sensitive time?”On New Year’s Eve 2007–a day when the administration knew reporters would not be asking many questions–the Pentagon quietly admitted in its daily roundup of Defense contracting activity that Lockheed Martin Aeronautics of Fort Worth, TX, had won a $498 million contract to build twelve F-16C single-seat jet fighters and six F-16D two-seat jet planes for Pakistan.”All 18 of these new aircraft will be delivered by 2010. Lockheed Martin appreciates the trust placed in us to produce the F-16s for the Pakistan Air Force,” Lockheed Martin declared in a later statement e-mailed to Government Executive magazine.In 2006, the Bush Administration first penned the deal with the tyrant Musharraf which OK’d the sale of the 18 jet fighters, and provided the Pakistani dictator with an option to purchase another 18 U.S. planes.Later that year, Lockheed Martin–the Pentagon’s biggest contractor–was given a $144 million contract to provide the materials and parts needed to construct the F-16 jet fighters for Pakistan.June Shrewsbury, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 programs vice president, proudly declared in December 2006 that this $144 million deal was “another great day for the F-16 program and for our customer.””We remain committed to providing Pakistan with the most technologically advanced and proven fighter available on the international market today,” Shrewsbury continued.”We value our long-standing relationship with the government of Pakistan, and the confidence they have placed in the F-16 in support of their nation’s security,” she added.The Bush White House also green-lighted an arms deal last year with Musharraf, allowing the dictator to upgrade his outdated single-seat F-16A combat aircraft with new U.S. weapons and machinery.The eighteen Lockheed F-16s are scheduled for delivery to the Pakistani military by 2010.But Biden, a former 2008 presidential candidate, contends that the principal reason for Pakistan’s purchase of the F-16s is not to combat terrorism, but rather for use as a weapon of intimidation against its regional nemesis, India.”The day after President Musharraf announced his state of emergency, I publicly called for a possible suspension of big-ticket military sales like F-16s, and called Musharraf to warn him that his acts would have consequences,” declared Biden in his statement.The Bush Administration sale of F-16 fighter jets to the tyrant Musharraf “sends exactly the wrong message to the Pakistani generals, and to the Pakistani people,” said Biden’s press release.”This is the time we should be putting the pressure on the government and military to fully investigate the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and to hold free and fair elections–not let them off the hook,” added the senator in his Jan. 2nd statement.A spokesperson for the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Ohio facility that issued the F-16 jet fighter contract, did not return requests from Government Executive for a comment.Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!