Author: Aziz Haniffa in Washington,
DC
Publication: India Abroad
Date: October 29, 2004
There is growing concern in Congressional
circles over the "credible prospect" that the Bush Administration will
move to supply F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan after the November election.
Senior Congressional sources told
India Abroad they could not understand the apathy of the Indian embassy,
and its $50,000 a month lobbying firm Akin Gump, to lobby Congress, especially
of the Senate Relations Committee members.
There has been, the sources said,
no attempt by the embassy, and its lobbying firm, to kill the prospect
and to make clear to the Bush Administration that the Senate would not
approve such a sale of sophisticated weaponry to Islamabad, ostensibly
to counter terrorism but in reality for possible use against India.
Though the concern is most pervasive
among Democrats, even moderate and progressive Republican Senators on the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, such as Chairman Richard Lugar (Indiana)
and Chuck Hagel (Nebraska) voice such fears.
Last month, Pakistan's Air Force
Chief Air Marshall Kaleem Sadaat said on the first day of an international
defense exhibition in Karachi that the US had indicated it would sell F-16s
to Pakistan.
He said after 9/11, Western countries
which had been "denying us access to their markets and products," had changed
their attitude and "they(the US) indicated they are ready to give us F-16s.
Work (on the sale) has stopped because of the (US) election."
"There is a possibility we will
get more F-16s.This is not a rumor. It is from the American government."
One senior Congressional source
on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee told India Abroad that as soon
as he saw Sadaat's remarks,"I button-holed one of my sources at the Pentagon,
and his response was:'Nothing has been decided yet--but that does not mean
a decision could not come down at any moment."
The source said Congress had not
been given an indication of any sale, but recalled that the Administration
had designated Pakistan a major Non-NATO ally "without consulting Congress,"
so a repeat performance could not be ruled out.
A week later, Sadaat repeated his
statements in an interview with Jane's Defense Weekly, and went on to say
that "18 (fighters) I consider to be the first instalment of what would
follow," in one of several deals between the US and Pakistan.
According to weekly, Pakistan is
asking that the F-16s be equippped with advanced medium-range air-to-air
missiles, along with additional fighter aircraft. Islamabad, the weekly
said, has outlined a requirement for beyond-visual-range missile, which
AMRAAM would meet.
Sadaat said the US believes F-16s
could help Pakistan in its fight against al Qaeda in the country's northwest
frontier province, noting that "the US government and (US) Central Command
believes it would be helpful to their cause also."
Defense and military analysts however
can't see how this argument can be made. They note that AMRAAMs would not
be useful against ground targets in Pakistan's northwest, whereas they
would be very useful in a war against India.
The possible sale of F-16s to Pakistan
gained more credence when Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told
Pakistan's Geo television network earlier this month that the issue of
F-16s "is still on the table and we have had discussions with the Pakistani
authorities about these matters, and I will leave it right there."
When President Bush's new Ambassador-designate
to Pakistan Ryan C Crocker came before the Foreign Relations Committee
for his confirmation hearing September 29, Senator Joe Biden of Delaware,
the ranking Democrat on the panel asked him about Sadaat's remarks.
According to the questions for the
Record submitted to Crocker made available to India Abroad, Biden asked
him point-blank whether "the Administration is planning to sell or deliver
F-16 aircraft to Pakistan? And if the Administration wishes to take such
a step, will you and the other members of the State Department pledge to
consult adequately with the members of this Committee before undertaking
such a drastic shift in US policy?"
"To the best of my understanding,
no decision has been taken regarding selling or delivering F-16 aircraft
to Pakistan," Crocker responded. "Should the Administration take any such
decision, the State Department will consult with Congress, including members
of this committee."
Congressional sources told India
Abroad, "As you can see from his (Crocker's) reply to the F-16 issue, this
is very, very far from providing any reassurance to India--all he's saying
is that he hasn't been brought into the loop on this question."
The source acknowledged that if
there's no deal, contrary to Sadaat's public comments, "Why doesn't the
Administration come out publicly and on the record and declare that there
is no such deal. Why can't they say, 'We are not even considering it, instead
of saying no decision has been made? And we do have Armitage on the record
saying, 'It's on the table.'"
What this and other sources on the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee found "galling" was that neither the
Indian embassy nor its lobbyist had contacted any of them, or their Senators,
to nip such a potential sale in the bud.
"Akin Gump doesn't appear to have
been doing anything to earn its pay,"one source said."I have not received
a single call, whether from the embassy or from their lobbyists. If they
don't want me to fight on their behalf, I certainly don't intend to keep
doing so."
Senior diplomatic sources told India
Abroad that they have made clear to the Administration that while they
have no qualms about massive economic largesse flowing to Pakistan, India
has concerns over sophisticated American military weapons being provided
to Islamabad, because over the years such systems and aircraft have always
been used against India.
"They are sensitive to our concerns,"
one official said.
In an exclusive interview with India
Abroad last month, Bush when asked if Pakistan, by virtue of being a Major
Non-NATO Ally, could receive sophisticated weapons and enter into a defense
and security partnership with the United States, replied, "Absolutely not."
The President said "(India Abroad,September
3). , "Our position on stability on the subcontinent has been clear, and
it would be wrong to assume that the designation of Pakistan as a Major
Non-NATO ally automatically means that there will be an infusion of sophisticated
weapons into Pakistan."
Such statements notwithstanding,
Congressional sources and others this reporter spoke to acknowledged that
the President, if re-elected -- or even if he loses the election to Senator
John Kerry and becomes a lame duck till the presidential inauguration January
20 --- could still use a presidential national security interest waiver
to push through such a sale, circumventing Congress.
The sources acknowledged that it
was unlikely "he would be able to push it through that quick," but the
possibility was always there because "they've got a Republican Congress.
There are a lot of things they (the Administration) can do with a Republican-controlled
Congress."
