Any aid to a questionable ally like Pakistan makes me wary, but selling stuff like the AMRAAM to Pakistan makes me downright nervous.
IMHO, any military aid we give/sell to Pakistan ought to be geared towards - and linked to - the specific mission of aiding U.S. efforts in hitting Taliban strongholds in northern Pakistan.
‘Can’t monitor military aid to Pakistan’: US to India
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2558066/posts
The US has virtually rejected India’s demand for a monitoring mechanism on military aid being given to Pakistan for the fight against terror. At the same time, it has also raised concerns about the links the ISI has with terror outfits and said that the strategic approach of the Pakistani spy agency needs to fundamentally change.
The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said that there are concerns about “the links the ISI has”. He admitted that there is a lot about the Pakistani spy agency that the US does not know and added that the matter is being taken up in all “engagements” that the US has with Pakistan. This comes after the Indian government revealed that there is fresh evidence to show the ISI and LeT planned and executed the terror attack in Mumbai together.
However, Mullen, who met Defence Minister A K Antony and Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee Air Chief Marshal P V Naik virtually rejected an Indian demand for a monitoring mechanism on the same.
Sources said that in his meeting with Mullen, Antony expressed concerns that the military aid being given to Pakistan could be used against India and is “disproportionate” to the terror threat the country faces. Antony also asked the US to constitute a “monitoring mechanism” to ensure that the estimated figure of over $1.5 billion is not used for other purposes. He is also expected to take up the matter with the US administration during his visit to the nation in September this year.
However, Mullen said that the weapons being given to Pakistan will not create an imbalance in the region and are being used for the fight against terror groups on the Afghan border. On whether a monitoring mechanism would be established, Mullen said,”the relationship and understanding that we have (with Pakistan) will provide an understanding (of) where the systems are being used.”
Mullen said increasing military assistance is an indication of the level of trust that Washington has in Islamabad. India’s concerns came after the US last year approved a $7.5 billion aid package for Pakistan that also supports a $400 million annual package to upgrade Pakistani military under the ‘Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund’.
US Tells India Arms Sales to Pakistan Will Continue
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2557887/posts
The top U.S. military officer told Indian leaders Friday the United States will continue to sell weapons to Pakistan, and that the sales do not pose a threat to India.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen says he is confident the weapons the United States is selling to Pakistan are being used for their intended purpose - to fight al-Qaida and related terrorist organizations. But he says he urged Indian leaders to continue to discuss their concerns with him and other U.S. officials.
“We certainly understand the concerns and at the same time I don’t believe that we’ve sold any weapons to Pakistan which greatly imbalance the capability between the two countries.”
The admiral said the United States does not monitor the exact location or use of each item it sells to Pakistan, but his confidence they are being used properly is based on the increased trust between the U.S. and Pakistani governments built up in recent years.
U.S. officials also noted that the United States has sold sophisticated weapons to India, and is working on more sales, possibly including fighter jets.
Admiral Mullen praised recent improvements in U.S.-Indian relations, including an agreement signed Friday by the American ambassador and India’s Home Minister to create a Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative. The initiative includes a plan for cooperation on cyber security, which Admiral Mullen cited as a key area for U.S.-Indian cooperation.
The admiral welcomed the recent India-Pakistan dialogue, but said he was “discouraged” when the talks broke down. And he said he shares concerns about the activities of Pakistan’s intelligence service, the ISI, which has been accused of supporting terrorist groups including the Haqqani network in Afghanistan and Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the Mumbai attacks in 2008. Mullen says the ISI needs to “fundamentally change” its strategic approach.
“The ISI is an organization that has operated within Pakistan in concert with what it believes are its own national interests. And at the same time, there’s an awful lot about them that I don’t know,” he said.
The admiral said some elements of the ISI clearly operate on orders from the Pakistani government, but he could not say whether all the group’s activities are under the government’s control.
Admiral Mullen said he expresses his concerns about ISI to Pakistani leaders on a regular basis, and he will do so again when he meets them later in this trip through the region.