Pakistan is ruled by a military general, Pervez Musharraf, who assumed the presidency in widely condemned coup, and has since awarded himself powers to dismiss parliament unilaterally and remain in his post until 2007. It is armed with nuclear weapons and has fought three wars with its neighbour India, also armed with nuclear weapons.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed "great disappointment", saying the move would exacerbate India's security concerns.

Washington’s move is particularly helpful, coming at a time when thawing relations between the two regional powers appeared to be leading towards a breakthrough with the proposal of the “peace pipeline”, a natural-gas pipeline to run across the Pakistani-Indian border.

Asia Times reports that, “Progress in the peace process between India and Pakistan which began in January last year has led to the unravelling of several differences that were considered insurmountable just a few months back, including such matters as a bus service between Indian and Pakistan administered Kashmir. With the bus service in place, the gas pipeline is seen as the first big ticket breakthrough, moving far beyond confidence-building measures, such as the removal of travel and transport restrictions between India and Pakistan, that are more symbolic in nature.”

Washington’s problem is with where the gas pipeline will originate: Iran. In her recent visit to New Delhi “Rice made it clear to her Indian counterpart, Foreign Minister Natwar Singh, that if India proceeds with the pipeline, it could invite US ire under the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act”.

The F-16s appear to be Washington’s reward for Islamabad’s agreement to support action against Tehran. There have been a number of reports by over the past months that Pakistan had agreed to host American troops and intelligence assets near its long border with Iran in Balochistan province in preparation for a possible attack on Iran, including the training of special US forces in Karachi. The deal may also be a reward to Pakistan for providing material evidence of its involvement in proliferation of nuclear materials to Iran, which could then be used by Washington to make its case against Tehran.

In short, the US is arming a country with a self-appointed General-President, a country that was involved in the greatest arms proliferation scandal of a generation, exacerbating a perilous nuclear stand-off in the region, and all to isolate, threaten and possibly attack Iran; which doesn’t have nuclear weapons and poses no threat to America.

“The daily work of democracy itself is the path of progress. It teaches cooperation, the free exchange of ideas, and the peaceful resolution of differences.” George W. Bush - November 6, 2003