The enemy of the enemy is my "ally"…

For nearly the last half century the U.S and Pakistan have been in a mutual beneficial relationship with each other. It started during the Cold War, where the U.S and the U.S.S.R were in a bipolar world fighting for influence and dominance in the world. The U.S.S.R began to become very friendly with India and began to provide them with aid in order for them to have a major ally in South Asia. The U.S grew increasing concerned with this relationship as it felt that it jeopardized there national interest and security in Asia, and tipped the balance of power towards the U.S.S.R. So in response to this relationship the U.S supported and gave aid to Pakistan, which is the natural enemy of India in order to swing back the balance of power in Asia. The U.S Pakistani relationship became even more crucial to the U.S during the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, as the U.S began to move supplies and weapons through Pakistan to Afghani fighters in Afghanistan (Hilani). They helped armed the Taliban and Mujahedeen fighters in their resistance to the Soviets, and it could be argued that they change the course of the war with the introduction of the Stinger missile to the Afghan fighters (Grau). Pakistan benefited from this relationship by getting both economic and military aid from the U.S which allowed them to compete with their arch rival India.

However where U.S and Pakistan interests collide with each other is on the subject of the Taliban and Muslim terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda. Pakistan and Afghanistan have a long sense of animosity between the two countries and as a result they take any opportunity in order to weaken one another. Pakistan eligible harbors the Taliban and other Muslim fighters in order to weaken the Afghan government; therefore allowing them to gain an upper edge. They also do this as well to keep a check on its other arch rival India (Ghosh) or could be used to keep the U.S hostage in keeping giving aid to Pakistan. There are also reports that the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and their military have ties to the Muslim terrorists in Pakistan, which further offers a reason to protect them. Experts have suggested that Pakistan might allow terrorists to roam around in Pakistan in exchange for promising a ceasefire and not attacking Pakistani targets.

So why does the U.S put up with Pakistan if this is the case? It is because Pakistan location, resources and power make them invaluable allies, that the U.S is willing to tolerate them. One of the main arteries for U.S supplies and troop into Afghanistan is from Pakistan, which means if Pakistan cuts the U.S off from their land; that the U.S would most likely lose the war in Afghanistan. Pakistan is also a nuclear power so in order to make sure that no nuclear weapons make it into the hands of terrorists or other rogue nations; the U.S needs to have access to Pakistan to make sure of this (Ghosh). While Pakistan might harbor some terrorists in its land, they too are in a war with the extreme Muslim terrorists. They have suffered far worse causalities and death from this war compared to the U.S. They are also essential in hunting down terrorists between the Afghan and Pakistan border, and denying major places for the Muslim terrorist to operate. They have played a key role in helping the U.S capture or kill key terrorists such as Al Qaeda’s new number two Abd al-Rahman. They also continue to play a role in balancing the power in Asia with regards to China (Ghosh), which is considered by some to pose a bigger threat to the U.S than do terrorists. It is also most likely that if the U.S were to drop Pakistan as an ally that they would surely become allies with China, Russia or Iran.

Currently there is a debate in the government over the issue of funding aid to Pakistan, even though we might not be on the best terms with them. Many argue it is not worth wasting our time and money on Pakistan when they might be stabbing the U.S in the back. However I would say the majority of policy makers in Washington would still support sending aid to Pakistan and developing closer ties with them; because the U.S stands to benefit more with an alliance with Pakistan than it does to lose Pakistan as an ally. The war in Afghanistan is difficult as it is without the additional stress of losing a major supply route in Afghanistan if the U.S-Pakistan relation were to fall apart. It would also not fix the issue of being able to go after terrorists that are hiding in Pakistan with or without Pakistan government help. On the contrary it would make it extremely more difficult as they would no longer even try to get rid of the Taliban and terrorists flooding into Afghanistan. The U.S would no longer be able to continue their use of drone strikes to strike key targets in Pakistan, and thus the only other option to continue the war on terror would be to invade Pakistan. With would further drag down the U.S, draw more Muslims into fighting the U.S and risk a conflict with a nuclear armed country. Pakistan also provides a key position and ally in case of an attack by Iran on Israel in which the U.S would probably be dragged into. It is also in the U.S interest to keep sending aid to Pakistan because they still need to keep the current Pakistani government in place, and not let a more extreme anti U.S government rise to power.

It will be seen in the future if the U.S decision to support the overthrow of Mubarak will hurt or help U.S interest in the Middle East. As for now Pakistan provides the U.S with a sense of stability in the region and if the U.S were to lose Pakistan as an ally; would shake the U.S off its balance in the Middle East. So the U.S can think of Pakistan as its little brother; while he may annoy you to no end, at the end of the day you still need him and are better with him than without.

Bibliography

Hilali, A. Z. U.S- Pakistan Relationship. V.T: Ashgate Publishing Company. 2005. Print.

Lester W. Grau, Gress, Micheal A. The Soviet Afghan War. KS. The University Press of Kansas. 2002. Print

Ghosh, Palash R. “Why Would Pakistan Harbor Terrorists?” International Business Times. The International Business Times Inc, 21 May.2011 Web. 20 September 2011.