Following US President Donald Trump's address on Afghanistan policy in August, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in a Senate Armed Service Committee hearing that the US is willing to work with Pakistan 'one more time' in Afghanistan. In another hearing, General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, alleged that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) maintains links with terrorist groups.
For Pakistan, neither calls for 'one last chance' nor allegations of ISI links with terrorist groups are anything new. As such, the same old US policy repackaged by a new administration is likely to get the same old response from Pakistan.
For US policymakers to get results with Pakistan, they must realise two things:
To fix Pakistan, the US must fix its approach to dealing with Pakistan, especially in terms of engaging the security establishment.
US threats are not seen as credible and are unlikely to work, given the safeguards Pakistan has against extreme measures from the US.
Read more ....
Update #1: US-Pakistan relationship in serious trouble: Expert (Economic Times)
Update #2: The U.S. says Pakistan must work with Afghanistan on terrorism. It won’t be easy. (Pamela Constable, Washington Post)
WNU Editor: Secretary of State Tillerson and U.S. Defense Secretary Mattis are to visit Pakistan at the end of this month .... Donald Trump’s men to take tough message to Pakistan (The Asian Age). I am willing to bet that nothing is going to come out of these meetings for the simple reason that Pakistan has its own agenda, and they are not concerned about U.S. threats. I have mentioned it a few times in this blog, but there is one thing that the U.S. can do that will send a clear and immediate message to Pakistan .... that one thing is to impose a very strict visa regime on those from Pakistan who want to travel to the U.S.. As much as there is a strong anti-U.S. sentiment in Pakistan, there is even a stronger desire among many Pakistanis (especially among the young) who want to immigrate to the U.S. if they are given the chance. Cutting this flow will send a clear message to everyone that if Pakistan is not willing to reign in groups that the U.S. regards as terror organisations, there will be consequences. the ball will then be in Pakistan's court, and they will then have to balance their interests with the terror groups that they support, and with the millions of Pakistanis who would be impacted by these travel restrictions.
4 comments:
A very good post by WNU.
In a college classroom I would much rather sit next to a Hindu from India than a Muslim from Pakistan.
With the former you can be friends. With the latter there is only contempt and taqiyya.
Many of my professors, classmates (teammates for class projects) and coworkers have been and are Indian. I make it a point to know if they are Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Christian, or Muslim.
some of my best friends are Jews
ah, AS
get some humor!
and yes, I am not only Jewish but very much so and not self hating...my son served in IDF and I have been in Israel a few times. I do have black friends--in fact a daughter in law. And muslim friends, something you seem incapable of...calm down..you seem a bit overwrought
I have humor.
I sued liberal logic on you.
It has been used many times by arch-liberal pundits. It is a meme. I found it at urban dictionary and I can find it at other places such as Slate, The Beast, Newsweek and other places if I look long enough.
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