The Bush Administration announced plans to sell F-16 and F/A-18s to Pakistan in appreciation for its support in the war on terror.
Pakistan's nuclear rival, India, threw a fit and so now Washington has announced plans to sell the fighters to India as well.
Why is the U.S. selling arms to these nations who are already armed to the teeth and don't like one another? They've fought three wars already. Now they're nuclear armed, and the last major confrontation that they had over Kashmir and a terrorist attack on the Indian government two years ago led to 1.5 million soldiers from both sides being deployed to their common borders and waiting for the order to start fighting.
Until Pakistan and India move their militaries away from their borders, sign a non-aggression pact, settle the Kashmir issue and resume trade and travel, the U.S. government should not be selling top-model fighters like the F-16 to either side. They're liable to use them on one another or adapt them to carry their nuclear bombs.
A nuclear exchange between these two rivals will have worldwide effects as radioactivity will not be contained to Pakistani and Indian territory, so it's in our best interests to help keep the lid on and not provide first-strike weapons to either side.
The U.S. can find better rewards for Pakistan that won't threaten India's security, thereby necessitating the need for Washington to offer India a similar deal. That would also be true in the opposite direction.
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