THE ALLIANCE THAT MATTERS:

Boeing set to grab $6-bn A-I pie (BYAS ANAND, APRIL 11, 2005, India TIMES NEWS NETWORK)

This would, probably, be the biggest corporate victory for the US in India. State-owned behemoth Air-India is planning to award its over $6 billion mega order for purchasing 50 aircraft to the US-based aircraft-maker Boeing.

Together with its low-cost start-up A-I Express — which has already selected Boeing for its comparatively smaller $1-billion order for 18 planes, this would make the biggest order bagged by any single aircraft manufacturer in recent times.

If the Cabinet clears the order, it will be the strongest message yet to the US that India is willing to play hard for great power stakes. Washington’s recent avowals to enable India become a great power in the 21st century have strong economic underpinnings, and for the first time, India is in a position to leverage its economic clout for strategic ends.

Just as the F-16 deal would enhance India’s larger strategic goals with the US, the civilian aircraft order would be a strong political statement.

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The right stuff: F-16s to Pakistan is wise decision (William B. Milam and Sarmila Bose, 4/11/05, CS Monitor)

The negative chorus that has greeted the American decision to sell F-16s to Pakistan is off-key. From the criticism, it is clear that the importance of Pakistan to the long-term interests of the US, the West, and - perhaps less obviously - India, is still poorly understood.

Most observers assume that the decision was motivated by the US need for Pakistani cooperation in the war on terror. Critics emphasize that Pakistan remains a military government with a democratic facade, and that it hasn't been fully cooperative on other issues (notably A.Q. Khan and his nuclear proliferation network). We think America's longer-term interests in the region argue strongly for supporting the decision. Those interests start with Pakistan's geo-strategic and political importance. The second most populous Islamic country, situated next to democratic India, it is also a neighbor of Afghanistan and a gateway to Central Asia.

While we remain disappointed at the halting progress Pakistan has made toward democracy, we do know that it has been there before (albeit unsuccessfully), and probably has a better chance of getting there again in the next decade than many of the Islamic countries of the Middle East that have yet to make a first try.

As a stable Islamic democracy of 150 million people, Pakistan would be a political model in the Muslim world. However, a real democracy requires evolution toward a more "modern" society and the "enlightened moderation" that President Pervez Musharraf continues to advocate. On this, the president needs US help, too - on social development such as improving education and health, and on the political front to head off the religious parties seeking his removal because of his moderation and his cooperation on the war on terror.

A democratic, moderate, and modern Pakistan would be a better neighbor for India, one able to transform - if India were willing - the age-old hostile relationship into something mutually constructive.

Critics may well ask, "Can't we bring this about without selling F-16s to Pakistan?" The answer probably is no, given the history of the US-Pakistani relationship, and the doubts that many Pakistanis harbor about American willingness and ability to sustain a relationship.

This is precisely why the sale of the F-16s is the sort of measure that serves US interests.