World: Should the West Arm Pakistan?

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan has thrust upon the Carter Administration a question whose answer is not as obvious as it seems: whether—and to what extent—to arm Pakistan. The U.S. suspended both military and economic assistance to Islamabad in April 1979, after concluding that Pakistan was secretly engaged in building a uranium-enrichment plant capable of making atomic bomb materials. That cutoff was required under U.S. laws aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. Furthermore, Washington has reason to worry about the longevity in office of Pakistan's President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq. Ever since he seized power 18 months ago, Zia has...