The Strategic Security blog run by the Federation of America’s Scientists posted an interesting item this week about arms sales, and transfers, to Pakistan over the last few years. Summarizing a report from the Congressional Research Service, Matt Schroeder writes:
FAS also notes that Joe Biden recently warned “big ticket weapon systems intended primarily to maintain the balance of power with India,” specifically the 36 F-16s that were negotiated last summer, would be in jeopardy if the current emergency rule were to continue. I’m not sure I have any great insight into this conundrum. Certainly, it’s hard to make the case that American weapons have aided Pakistan’s fight against the Taliban in the tribal areas bordering Pakistan–and there’s no reason to think that the F-16 would change things. But there are certainly other factors at play, among them that the Pakistanis are a Chinese client as well–and are considered the prime candidate for the export of China’s new J-10 fighter. If the Pakistanis are going to get their big-ticket systems from somewhere, I’d prefer they buy American. And insofar as these systems are meant to maintain the balance with India, the United States certainly has a vital national interest in making sure that Pakistan is not perceived as weak by their rivals in New Delhi. Still, it will be interesting to see whether there is a rethink here in favor of attack helicopters, and other COIN oriented weapons systems, and away from items like the TOW anti-tank missile and P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft that have characterized these transfers in the past. If readers want to send in their thoughts on this, I’d be happy to post an update with fresh ideas at the bottom of the post here.
