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http://sg.news.yahoo.com/021005/1/33gb2.html Agence France-Presse Saturday October 5, 14:14 PM US "disappointed" with India-Pakistan missile tests [The Arch-Demon himself is not capable of such abject hypocrisy. While the US and its NATO allies are frantically preparing to carpet bomb and destroy Iraq, ostensibly to prevent it considering the possible development of weapons of mass destruction and, for the fainter of heart, to promote democracy in Baghdad, the US-British client regime in Pakistan, which *does* possess nuclear weapons, has launched a missile with a range of 500 miles, which should make anyone in India and Iran extremely nervous. That the regime doing so is that of a general ['a key US anti-terror ally'] who staged a military coup d'etat, jailing, deporting and threatening to execute the country's last legally elected president, Nawaz Sharif, is, to the world's self-appointed monitor of weapons inspections and democracy, merely disappointing. As is the counter missile test by India, which currently has troops engaging in a joint military exercise with the US in...Alaska.] The United States said that it was "disappointed" at rival missile tests by India and Pakistan and singled out Islamabad's military government, a key US anti-terror ally, for an extra ticking off. "We're disappointed that ballistic missile tests are occurring in the region," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. "There is a charged atmosphere in the region and these tests can contribute to that atmosphere, and make it harder to prevent a costly and destabilizing nuclear and missile arms race." India earlier on Friday tested a medium-range surface-to-air missile nine hours after Pakistan tested its own nuclear-capable medium-range ballistic missile. The tests came after a resurgence of tensions over Kashmir, the Himalayan region both sides claim, and less than a week before elections in Pakistan. "Our primary concern is with weapons that can deliver weapons of mass destruction, which surface-to-air missiles cannot," said Boucher, heaping criticism on Pakistan. "In broader terms however, we look to India and Pakistan to not take steps that increase tensions in the region." The United States stepped into the simmering South Asian dispute several times this year when rocketing tensions sparked fears of the world's first nuclear war. Added to the terrible toll such a conflict would inflict, Washington is concerned a Pakistan-India confrontration would seriously detract from its anti-terror campaign in the region, which is focusing mainly on Afghanistan. Pakistan first test fired its home-grown Hatf-IV or Shaheen missile, with a range of up to 800 kilometres (500 miles), at 8:30 am (0230 GMT). India then tested its Akash missile, capable of travelling 25 kilometers (15 miles), off its east coast at 4:30 pm (1100 GMT), calling it a "routine" exercise. Britain also expressed regret for the missile tests, with Junior Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien saying "restraint is in the long-term interests" of both sides. Tensions between Pakistan and India have been on a knife edge since the deadly attack on India's parliament in December last year, an assault blamed on the Pakistan-based Islamic militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. In May, with Kashmir again a flashpoint, Pakistan test-fired three missiles in quick succession, including two short-range missiles named Abdali and Hatf III (Ghaznavi), which can respectively travel 180 to 290 kilometres (110 to 180 miles). It also fired the medium-range Hatf-V (Ghauri II) missile, which can fly up to 1,500 kilometres (940 miles) and strike deep inside India. India and Pakistan both carried out tit-for-tat nuclear tests in May of 1998. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
