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US looking to shift funds for Pakistani F-16s
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 24 - 07 - 2008

The United States wants to shift about 226
million dollars in aide for Pakistani counterterrorism effort to
upgrade the country's fleet of F-16s, according to dpa.
The money was originally allocated for counterterrorism activities
in the lawless tribal regions of the country near the Afghan border,
where the Taliban and al-Qaeda have sought refuge.
But Pakistan has undergone economic turmoil and rising fuel prices
and requested assistance for its US-built F-16s, State Department
acting deputy spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said Thursday.
"The (Pakistani) government came to us, asked us if we could
assist them. And we decided that this would be a good option for
them," Gallegos said.
But some members of Congress have protested the move, citing US
frustrations about Pakistan's lagging response in combating the
Taliban and raising questions about how sophisticated upgrades to the
fighter planes would help the war on terrorism.
"Congress provided these funds specifically for counterterrorism
and law enforcement activities," said Representative Nita Lowey, a
Democrat who chairs the House budget committee's subpanel on foreign
operations.
"It is incumbent on the State Department and Pakistan to
demonstrate clearly how these F-16s would be used to fight al-Qaeda
and the Taliban in order to get Congressional support," she said.
Gallegos said the advanced avionics and communication upgrades
will improve coordination with ground units hunting the Taliban and
al-Qaeda and facilitate precision airstrikes.
The New York Times first reported the policy on Thursday, ahead of
President George W Bush's meeting Monday with Pakistan's recently
elected prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani.


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