A Con Job (on nonproliferation) by Pakistan's Pal, George Bush

[papau]

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-scheer29mar29.story

ROBERT SCHEER
A Con Job by Pakistan's Pal, George Bush
Robert Scheer

March 29, 2005

Trying to follow the U.S. policy on the proliferation of nuclear weapons is like watching a three-card monte game on a city street corner. Except the stakes are higher.

The announcement Friday that the United States is authorizing the sale to Pakistan of F-16 fighter jets capable of delivering nuclear warheads — and thereby escalating the region's nuclear arms race — is the latest example of how the most important issue on the planet is being bungled by the Bush administration.

Consider this dizzying series of Bush II-era actions:

We have thrown away thousands of Iraqi and American lives and billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars after crying wolf on Iraq's long-defunct nuclear weapons program and now expect the world to believe similar scary stories about neighboring Iran.

We have cozied up to Pakistan for more than three years as it freely allowed the operation of the most extravagantly irresponsible nuclear arms bazaar the world has ever seen.

We sabotaged negotiations with North Korea by telling allies that Pyongyang had supplied nuclear material to Libya, even though the Bush administration knew that the country of origin of those shipments was our "ally," Pakistan.

Now, Lockheed Martin has been saved from closing its F-16 production line by the White House decision to lift the arms embargo on Pakistan and allow the sale. The decision, which ends a 1990 embargo put in place by the president's father in reprisal for Pakistan's development of a nuclear arsenal, is especially odd at a time when we are berating European nations for considering lifting their arms embargo on China.<snip>

Yet Pakistan's ruling generals could be excused for believing that Washington is not seriously concerned about the proliferation of nuclear weapons. How else to explain invading a country — Iraq — that didn't possess nukes, didn't sell nuclear technology to unstable nations and didn't maintain an unholy alliance with Al Qaeda — and then turning around and giving the plum prizes of U.S. military ingenuity to the country that did?<snip>

[stellanoir]

1. the blatant hypocrisy here

is so under reported. Thanks for posting.

[FloridaPat]

2. Bush helps those who help him. What if the real truth is that al-qada

really does work for the US government and the whole point of foreign policy is to make everything unstable so no one can get ahead and do things in their own interest and not in the US interest. And everything goes through Pakistan. Even the $100,000 sent to the 9-11 terrorists that was found out by India but could never be traced back to the original sender by our $50 billion dollar a year intelligence agencies.

I'm beginning to think our whole government is way beyond a joke for freedom and democracy.

[Moderator]

3. papau

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