Stabilizing US-Pakistan Relations: A Way Forward

Abstract : Following 9/11, the US sought (and secured) a new relationship with Pakistan. The new relationship was essential if Al Qaeda and its Taliban sponsors were to be driven from Afghanistan. Forgotten immediately was that Pakistan was under multiple US sanctions for its nuclear weapons program and Musharraf's coup. Unspoken also in forging the new relationship was that a deep bitterness over perceived past misdeeds characterized each side's view of the other. But 9/11 overwhelmed the need for introspection or deep dialogue, and Pakistan once again became a major US ally. The new relationship, however, is fraught with the legacy of past interactions all of which ended in bitter "divorces". It comes as no surprise, then, that the latest installment, in which the US has invested $11 billion, is not playing out as hoped. This has made manifest by a threatening Taliban-Al Qaeda resurgence radiating from Pakistan's tribal areas a consequence of the Pakistan military's inability (or unwillingness) to act decisively. As a result, US policy is now in need of serious revision. This paper addresses the nature of US-Pakistan relations and offers some recommendations on how cooperation can be better structured to achieve mutual long-term interests.