Clinton intervenes for Pakistan on arms deal
Clinton intervenes for Pakistan on arms deal
WASHINGTON (Reuter): President Bill Clinton said on Tuesday U.S. refusal to complete a US$1.4 billion arms sale to Pakistan was unfair and told Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto he would ask Congress to find a solution.
Relations between the once-close allies have been clouded by the U.S. failure to deliver paid-for military equipment, including 28 F-16 warplanes, to Pakistan because of concern it is developing a nuclear weapons capability.
"I don't think what happened was fair to Pakistan in terms of the money," he said at a joint news conference after White House talks with Bhutto.
"I don't think it's right for us to keep the money and the equipment," Clinton said after talks with Bhutto. "That is not right, and I am going to try to find a resolution to it."
Bhutto flatly declared: "We have no nuclear weapons. We have enough knowledge and capability to make nuclear weapons ... But we have voluntarily chosen not to."
Although Islamabad has already paid for the military items, delivery has been frozen under terms of the so-called Pressler Amendment, enacted by Congress in 1985. It blocks arms sales to nations suspected of developing nuclear weapons.
"I plan to work with Congress to find ways to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and to preserve the aims of the Pressler Amendment while building a stronger relationship with a secure, more prosperous Pakistan," Clinton said.
"We are trying to find ways to fulfill our obligations ... to ourselves and to the world to promote non-proliferation and improve our relationships."
Bhutto, who has asked that the United States either deliver the equipment or return Pakistan's money, said she was "encouraged by my discussions with the president ... and the understanding that he has shown for Pakistan's position."
"I welcome the Clinton administration's decision to work with Congress to revise the Pressler Amendment," she said.
White House officials stressed that stiff opposition exists in the Republican-controlled Congress to major changes in the law named for its author, Republican Senator Larry Pressler of South Dakota.
"They're not going to get money or planes any time soon," said White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry.
A senior administration official said one option under consideration was to sell the airplanes to a third nation and then turn the money over to Pakistan. The official said Thailand has expressed an interest in F-16s in the past.
The ban with respect to Pakistan began in 1990 when then- President George Bush told Congress he could not give assurances that Pakistan was not developing nuclear weapons. That terminated annual aid of over $600 million and froze the transfer of the $1.4 billion in already-purchased arms.
U.S. officials have said they are sounding out Congress on the issue but have not formally requested repeal of the law.
Pressler opposes any changes in the law or waivers to it.
"I find simply preposterous any proposal that would transfer even one F-16 to Pakistan without first securing that nation's compliance with the Pressler amendment and its signature on the nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty," he said.