President Trump was right to rebuke Pakistan, and he ought to have gone even further in doing so.
Naturally, Pakistan’s populist government doesn’t see it that way. It was enraged by this Trump tweet on Monday:
….We no longer pay Pakistan the $Billions because they would take our money and do nothing for us, Bin Laden being a prime example, Afghanistan being another. They were just one of many countries that take from the United States without giving anything in return. That’s ENDING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2018
This provoked a warning from Pakistan’s foreign minister that Trump’s words “could seriously undermine” Pakistan’s “vital cooperation” with U.S. peacemaking efforts in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s foreign minister is a seasoned political operator who understands U.S. politics. He knows the U.S. will take his words as a veiled threat to unleash the Haqqani network against the Afghan government. Pakistan’s new prime minister, Imran Khan, also responded to Trump.
Trump’s false assertions add insult to the injury Pak has suffered in US WoT in terms of lives lost & destabilised & economic costs. He needs to be informed abt historical facts. Pak has suffered enough fighting US’s war. Now we will do what is best for our people & our interests
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 19, 2018
But the foreign minister’s veiled threat to re-energize terrorist violence against Afghan and U.S. interests really helps explain why Trump finds the Pakistani government to be so useless in the first place. This new threat is an outrage that must not go unanswered. Yet the broader issue here is that Trump is correct about Pakistan’s policies on counterterrorism and Afghanistan.
While many Pakistani soldiers and some intelligence and police officers have courageously confronted terrorists, others in the government have conspired with those same terrorists. Instead of cooperating earnestly to stabilize the Afghan government and to prevent terrorist safe havens on their soil, Pakistan has regularly supported and occasionally even directed other terrorists in attacks on Afghan- and U.S.-allied interests. This contradictory policy reflects Pakistan’s broader struggle between forces of modernity and extremism.
Regardless, Pakistan’s double dealing had to change. And by cutting U.S. aid to Pakistan, Trump has signaled that he won’t accept the Islamabad establishment’s traditional game of taking U.S. money and then casually stabbing the U.S. in the back. Trump’s realism has also been beneficial in building stronger relations with India.
At the same time, the Trump administration wisely hasn’t burned all its Pakistani bridges. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in particular has maintained beneficial links with Pakistani military elements that recognize the terrorist threat to their country.
Reflecting all this, Trump should send out another tweet suggesting that it is he, not Pakistan, who holds most of the cards here. And he should warn Khan that if he wants to create problems for the U.S., Trump can create twice as many for him.
