Re: WHY WOULD MUSHARRAF SAY THAT
CheGuvera:
Really, and those block “52+” F-16s – (I don’t know where you get the “+****” from, cause the latest block operational in USAF in '01 and to this day is block 52), lets not count UAE’s block 60s and Israeli F-16I’s (on par with block 60) in USAF – would have flown all the way from the US bases in Europe and North America, or would they have staged them somewhere in the M.E???
Infact you are factually wrong and betray a lack of rudimentary knowledge of military and strategic matters cause F-15s (the mud-movers) and F-117’s based in regional/local theater, not f-16’s (mostly used in air superiority and SEAD roles), coupled with long range bombing runs by B2’s and B-1B’s based in North American, UK and Diego Garcia in Indian Ocean (a big glaring target for Pakistani tactical nuclear strike) form the spearhead of US Air Offences…
However, before the big boys can move in, the USAF has to establish complete air superiority and for that to happen it has to use assets located in forward bases in areas located close to the target country…In Pakistan’s case it would have to been bases provided by either India, Uzbekistan, M.E. countries, Diego Garcia, and/or US carrier battlegroup, loitering off the coast of Pakistan…and guess what all juicy target for Pakistan’s tactical nuclear weapons launched from the many operational mobile (by nature almost impossible to track/detect even by the most sophisticated of reconnaissance/or satellite surveilence) launchers, such as Ghauri or M-11 (Shaheen I) pakistan possessed at the time…
The bottom line is for US to have carried out a strike against Pakistan, it could not have done so by either exposing its own assets/arsenal in the region or those of its enablers/supporters/allies…a tactical nuclear strike against those targets and beyond was not and never will be the price US would have been ready and still not ready to pay…
Mushie had no care in the world of saving Pakistan at the time, let alone the “lives of Paki soldiers”, he only had one objective to undo the isolation of his regime and its pariah status in global politics/affair…
I’m not getting involved in a discussion with someone who cant accept the US has a stronger army than the Pakistani Army based on more sophisticated technology.
If you dont know that a US missiles fired from the USA can reach Pakistan with a nuke on the end of it, then there’s really no point in discussing it. Even a Trident missile fired from the South Pole from a submarine could reach Pakistan.
As for the last part, indeed, why would Musharraf be trying to save Pakistani lives. He could not be so good to actually want to save the lives of his countrymen and Army, could he? :halo: