F-16s to Pakistan—Why Now?

Come On ! All Ye Idiot Brown Coolies on the Chowk can`t you see the link between F-16 and Bush?


Lockheed Martin & the Bush arms gravy train

Lockheed Martin is now reputedly the world`s largest weapons manufacturer. George W. Bush`s direct connection with this huge ``defence & aerospace`` corporation began when he was Governor of Texas. There Lockheed attempted to gain a contact to become official benefits screeners for welfare and Medicaid in that state, a privatisation policy ``Dubya`` supported but could not get passed. Not surprisingly, for if the arms makers are to both dominate foreign policy and control social welfare as well, there seems little point in having a US government at all.

Later, Lockheed Martin Vice-President for corporate strategy & development Bruce Jackson served as Finance Chairman for the 2000 Bush campaign - and also as Chair of the Republican Party foreign policy platform committee, about as blatant a conflict of interest as an arms company executive could attempt. ``I wrote the Republican Party`s foreign policy platform,`` Jackson is reported as boasting. Unsurprisingly he is also a board member of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC).



Bruce Jackson

Presumably it was on the basis of enormous additional profits expected during a Bush administration rather than mere executive greed that the CEO`s pay at Lockheed Martin rose more than fourfold from US$5.8 million in 2000 to US$25.3 million in 2002.

Some ``Lockheed people`` on board with Bush


*Peter B. Teets, former Lockheed Martin Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed Undersecretary of the Air Force and Director of the National Reconnaissance Office.

*Former Lockheed executive Everet Beckner has been appointed administrator for defence programmes at the National Nuclear Security Administration. (Lockheed Martin jointly with the Bechtel Corporation and a third company has a contract to run the NNSA Nevada Test Site where it is planned to test nuclear weapons again. Lockheed will also earn almost two billion per year running the Sandia Laboratories nuclear weapons design facility in New Mexico). ***

*Stephen Hadley, formerly a lawyer with Shea & Gardner representing Lockheed Martin, was appointed Deputy National Security Advisor.

*Otto Reich, formerly a lobbyist for Lockheed Martin when they were seeking to reverse the ban on US hi-tech weapons sales to Latin America, was nominated for Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs.

*Norman Mineta, Secretary for Transportation, and Michael Jackson, Deputy Secretary for Transportation, were both Lockheed Martin vice-presidents before their appointments by President Bush.

*Lynne V. Cheney, wife of US Vice-President Dick Cheney, was a board member of Lockheed Martin for the period 1994-2001, picking up a handy US$120,000 per year for the privilege. (Mrs Cheney other lucrative directorship`s include AXP Mutual {an American Express subsidiary}, the Union Pacific Resources Group, & the Reader`s Digest Association. As a director of Union Pacific when it merged with Anadarko Petroleum, Lynne Cheney received Anadarko stock worth $250,000 to $500,000. Her husband`s major source of vast wealth, Halliburton, had done business with Anadarko Petroleum since 1959.

***The grand architect of this new nuclear strategy, the Dr Strangelovian figure Keith Payne, believes that a full-scale nuclear war could reasonably be fought and won, since America might suffer ``only`` twenty million casualties. Payne`s National Institute for Public Policy (NIPP) receives substantial funding from arms makers and has a Lockheed Martin executive on its board.

`` The problem with democrats is that they trust no one. Capitalist democrats are a bunch of lousy guys who`d sell their own mothers if the price is right. Kind of bastards who`d kill their fathers and f*** their own mothers. No exaggeration really. Love and loyalty doesnt mean much until you attach a price to it. So loyal and steadfast ally that the author speaks of doesnt amount to anything really. Pakistan, in the words of a retired Paki general, is simply a condom that US uses and discards at will. And sooner this dawns on Pakistani elite the better it is.
``

Thats aptly Put......and very well said.... vagabond78

wake up and smell the coffee(lahore dunkin donuts coffee at that)...the F-16s are for mushy getting on board the new world order...a world order in which India keeps Indian Kashmir and Pakiland keeps paki Kashmir....

say goodbye to ``Kashmir banega Pakistan``.....

and i agree with haroon`s post too--the money saved with a smaller army can be put into developing infrastructure and home-grown institutions like the IITs.

that h2rami Bush of the skulls and Daggers fame is up to his cheap tricks again. This time he is trying to feed his constituency where the F-16 asembly line is situated and taking kick backs from these arms sales (remember, his papa is one of the biggest arms dealers in the world now)!!!

Re: # 12

correction- the reference was to the Skull and Bones Society of Yale where the Bush duo studied.

this is a very good analysis ghori sahib. spot on.
sadly, our spineless fauji leadership are so delighted at this sop from washington that they fail to notice that already the F-16 is an outdated fighter craft. it was state of the art in the 80s. now it is the 21st century and the F-18, Su-37, F22 and Eurofighter are the 5th Generation planes. I believe India has, or can easily get, any of these above if it wants them. No one will sell any of these latest to Pakistan--even if we could afford them!

I think pakistan`s best strategic plan would be to cut down the size of its conventional army and put most of the funds into maintaining and developing its nuclear forces as the backbone of its defence.

What US realises is that India is destined to become a world power due to its economic potential, natural and human capital, everything. So it`s better that she remains at their side than anyone else and that`s why this talk of strategic alliance, partnership and stuff. But India is not foolish to get into an arms race with China and indeed she has a security
``understanding`` with Russia and China committing herself to a multi-polar world. So I think a degree of estrangement will continue between the worlds oldest and worlds biggest democracy despite the talk of being ``natural allies``.

The problem with democrats is that they trust no one. Capitalist democrats are a bunch of lousy guys who`d sell their own mothers if the price is right. Kind of bastards who`d kill their fathers and f*** their own mothers. No exaggeration really. Love and loyalty doesnt mean much until you attach a price to it. So loyal and steadfast ally that the author speaks of doesnt amount to anything really. Pakistan, in the words of a retired Paki general, is simply a condom that US uses and discards at will. And sooner this dawns on Pakistani elite the better it is.

We in India of course know all of these facts. Because democracy practised in India is baser than propounded by champions of democracy (read US and the West). And we`re proud of it. So please call us democrats for now. Hindus, Indians - these terms are really insulting.

Cheers

Soap and Shampoo contreversy.

The Indians banned the import of foreign produced soap and shampoo into India. This is where the joke came about, `Indians smell like Pakoras`. however, unfortunately for the pakora dissing Pakistanis, the Indian`s began to produce their own soap and shampoo. The money saved was somehow put into the education sector. Just another one of those progressive 100-years-ahead thinking of the Indians.

A wrong if not an outright foolish decision. F-16 is now more of playing domestic politics rather than a military need.

US is not giving them for free either. And US could anytime make them useless by stopping the spares. If this lesson has not been learnt in last 40 years, it is being too naive.

It was better to pour this money into the XF-17 co-production project with China. Its prototype is already out.

Unless, the precision bombing required on the hide outs of Talibans/Al Qaida in Hindu Kush Mountains require this capability. That could only be a valid cause.

nhk

#4 by haroonellahi

Soup and Shampoo controversy? What is that? Can you elaborate please?

Thanks.

Re: # 5
harish that is another of the young mans jokes - in days of yore when there was a ban on the import of sundry goods the elite used to joke about the stink of the Indians. Little realising that soon companies like HL would be jewel in the crown of Unilever precisely because of this......