Among the greatest flaws of the State Department’s diplomatic process with the Taliban has been its near-complete refusal to address the Pakistan problem. Simply put, Pakistan is to the Taliban what Iran is to Hezbollah. Neither terrorist group would exist as a significant entity had it not been for decades of support, supply, and training.

Pakistani authorities deny Pakistan is a terror sponsor and instead say their country is a victim of terrorism. Both can be true, however. Pakistani authorities deny their terrorism culpability by massaging the definition of terrorism to exculpate those groups attacking Afghanistan and India. They are correct, however, when they say they have fought some militant groups inside Pakistan at great cost in terms of both blood and treasure.