Wikileaks on F16 and the Pakistanis

[Prakat]

These are excerpts from the Wikileaks cables that tell the hilarious story behind Pakistan and the F16s that the US sold them. Background 5. © Following a history that includes three wars and numerous military engagements with New Delhi, the Pakistan military's doctrine and tactics primarily have been designed for a territorial war with India. To counteract India's overwhelming superiority, Pakistan developed both its aviation and strategic/nuclear programs. Initially, the F-16 program was viewed only in the Indian context. The escalation of Indo-Pak tensions following the Mumbai attacks demonstrated to the Pakistanis that the threat from India still exists. The Pakistani F-16 program, however, will be no match for India's proposed purchase of F-18 or equivalent aircraft. 6. © However, the Pakistani military now faces a growing extremist militancy on its western border with Afghanistan, and it is using F-16s in that fight. F-16s are not the ideal tool for counter-insurgency operations, but they are all the Pakistanis have or are likely to acquire near term to conduct air operations. Their current F-16 capability is limited, however, and does not allow for night combat, precision bombing, or coordinated Close Air Support. The U.S. is responding to Pakistan Air Force (PAF) requests for increased Close Air Support training and is working to increase intelligence sharing to help Pakistan better target militants in the border areas. When complete, the ongoing F-16 program would provide Pakistan with night operations and improved targeting capability. 7. © When Pressler Amendment sanctions were imposed in 1990 after Pakistan's nuclear tests, the U.S. could not legally deliver 28 F-16 aircraft that Pakistan had purchased with national money. However, Pakistan was required to pay for storage of the purchased F-16s in Arizona. :hysterical: Even though the U.S. resolved this issue in 1998, it left a legacy of distrust that continues even today. After 9/11, the U.S. dropped sanctions and renewed the bilateral relationship; the U.S. agreed in 2006 to a $3.5 billion arms transfer package that included a revival of the F-16 program. At the time, Pakistan was enjoying seven percent economic growth under a military government where defense acquisitions did not face public scrutiny. Today, Pakistan has a civilian government that in 2008 was forced to sign a $6.7 billion IMF Standby Agreement to stave off economic collapse. THEN CAME THE NEW DEAL THAT GOT FUNNIER The decision to pursue this $3 billion deal was difficult for Pakistan. Air Chief Marshal Tanvir overcame the Finance Minister's concerns about the cost of the planes and the diversion of spending from social programs. Tanvir's military colleagues warned him the U.S. would repeat the Pressler Amendment sanctions experience of the l990s when the Pakistanis paid for F-16s that were never delivered. Now, the Air Chief, who is pro-American, is embarrassed and weakened by the perception among his colleagues that the sale -- for whatever reason -- will not be successful. Much of his aggressive demeanor relates to his weakened standing. Mid-Life Upgrades 7. © In August 2007 (ref C), Ambassador advised the Air Chief Marshal of a letter signed by the Secretary in July 2006 assuring the HIRC (now HFAC) and SFRC Chairmen that the MLUs would not be performed in Pakistan. At the time the LOA was signed on September 30, 2006, neither post nor Pakistan was aware of the Secretary's letter. The LOA does not state that the MLUs can be performed in Pakistan, but Pakistan inferred that the clause relating to U.S. training of Pakistani technicians meant that the MLUs would occur in Pakistan. 8. © The Deputy Secretary in his meetings made it clear that the Secretary's decision was final. But we need to provide the background of our decision and smooth the way for helping Pakistan perform the MLUs in a third country. Pakistan cannot carry out the upgrades elsewhere without our help. Basing "We'll sell you the planes but you can't keep them in your country" 10. © Reftels explain in detail the problems of the proposed security plan for basing the new F-16s in Pakistan. Simply put, the requirement to base separately the F-16s and foreign-origin SAR and support aircraft is impractical and will undermine the safety and effectiveness of air operations. 11. © Recommendation: Use Air Chief Marshal Tanvir's visit to brief key Congressional interlocutors and build support for Congressional approval of alternative basing proposals that both protect U.S. technology and allow the PAF reasonable air operations. :hysterical: Encrypted Software They sold them the car but kept the key to the hood 12. (S) Additional Secretary MG Malik in his letter to DSCA cites as additional evidence of our lack of transparency the fact that the LOA did not contain provisions explaining the need for encrypted devices. He fears the U.S. will be able to limit the capability of the F-16s by withholding access to the cryptokeys. 13. (S) Recommendation: We need to explain to the Pakistanis that the provision was in the LOA and many countries are subject to the same restrictions. The Pakistanis do not fully understand our requirements for sharing encrypted devices and need to be reassured that the aircraft will still fly without the cryptokeys. A briefing for Air Marshal Tanvir and/or his staff could resolve this misunderstanding. Link-16 14. (S) When Pakistan signed the LOA, they were aware that ISLAMABAD 00004008 003 OF 003 the Link-16 command and control technology had not yet been approved for release to Pakistan but assumed it would occur in a timely fashion. The delay in approval concerns them. Digital Radio Frequency Memory capability. "Hello. Yeah, sorry, we will be sending you the airbags separately...When? No idea." Pakistan awaits final National Defense Policy Committee (NDPC) approval to equip Pakistani F-16s with a high technology jamming capacity against air-to-air missiles. Approval has been pending since September 2006. Payments 12. © After the 2005 earthquake, the GOP cut back on its acquisition of F-16s, so there is precedent for altering the program due to economic concerns. Privately, some GOP civilian and military leaders recognize the program needs to change, but they currently are focused on impractical ideas like delaying payments without altering delivery schedules. Some USG agencies appear to have begun informal negotiations with the Pakistanis, a matter of some concern to Post given the historical miscommunication that has plagued this program. The schedule will be an immense strain on Pakistan,s fiscal and foreign exchange resources, posing sever constraints on Pakistan,s ability to invest in the social and fiscal infrastructure. This will jeopardize Pakistan,s growth and poverty alleviation prospects in a particularly challenging period. We, therefore, request that the payment schedule be back loaded in a manner that most of the payments fall in the last three years of the programme. COLD FEET BEFORE THE SALE SUBJECT: EMBASSY RECOMMENDATION ON ENGAGING GOP ON F-16 SALE REF: ISLAMABAD 017768 Classified By: Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Reasons 1.4 ( and (d) 1. © Summary: Post requests senior officials from SCA, PM, H, and OSD convene Pakistani Ambassador Durrani and reinforce the importance of the September 15 Offer Expiration Date (OED) for signing the F-16 Letter of Acceptance(LOA.) End Summary 2. © Over the weekend, Ambassador Crocker engaged President Musharraf's Chief of Staff, LTG Hamid Javaid, on the F-16 purchase agreement. (Note: The GOP had scheduled the LOA signing for September 9 but then last week canceled the ceremony and issued a set of new demands, detailed reftel.) The Ambassador stressed that the Offer Expiration Date was September 15 and that the GOP must understand there was no flexibility with that deadline. It was too late to be presenting new demands; missing the September 15 date would create potentially serious ramifications for the entire F-16 package agreement. 3. © Post believes it would be beneficial for senior officals from SCA, PM, H, and OSD to convene Ambassador Durrani and reiterate the points Ambassador Crocker made over the weekend. Following are those points: -- It is too late to try to renegotiate the Letter of Acceptance. September 15 is a hard deadline. (Note: While we have heard the Defense Secrutiy Cooperation Agency might be able to extend the date to September 30, we most certainly are not/not mentioning that to GOP officials. End Note.) -- Missing the deadline could have serious ramifications, both on this F-16 sale and on future defense purchases. -- Lockheed Martin has offered you the best price possible. The offer of that price expires September 15. Do not think there is a better deal out there if the offer expires. -- Because of production issues, missing the deadline could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs to you. -- It is simply too late to be discussing off-sets or financing issues. -- It is inappropriate to be making demands unrelated to the LOA. -- The USG has been consistent in its position that Pakistan must have adequate national funding up front for the sale to proceed. CROCKER

[Tapioca]

When Pressler Amendment sanctions were imposed in 1990 after Pakistan's nuclear tests, the U.S. could not legally deliver 28 F-16 aircraft that Pakistan had purchased with national money. However, Pakistan was required to pay for storage of the purchased F-16s in Arizona.

That is a good one :D

[ganeshran]

US never trusted the Pakistanis with the F16. Hence lot of dilly dallying for the sale. Anyways now the F16 is an ancient aircraft and should start to be phased out. US already stopped buying them.

[Prakat]

U.S covered all its bases in the LOA that was drafted and finalized for the deal. Pakis were also given the U.S. army's used F16s as part of another agreement.

[achilles]

Interesting expose. I'm sure someone in Pakistan will have a lot of answering to do

[THX_1138]

can we have this verified to be indeed a true leak? also keep in mind that wikileaks does not imply reality, it simply was a documentation of events, or at times memos submitted by interns and other observers who might have their own slant to things. there is enough distrust between united states and pakistan, but i find it hard to believe that pakistan was and is treated like the doormat the above supposed leak suggests it was. if however, this is all legit, massive LOLs.