The 3 biggest challenges in forcing Pakistan to give up support for terrorists

In President Trump’s Monday speech to the nation, followed by remarks at the State Department by Rex Tillerson on Tuesday, the U.S. intends to resolve the Afghan quagmire by linking Pakistan and India to Afghanistan. Many hawks will (rightly) approve this approach.

According to Dan Markey, there were more al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan on Sept. 11 than anywhere else in the world. Pakistan has been and remains active in aiding and abetting terrorism throughout the region. However, we face three challenges when it comes to compelling Pakistan to give up its support of Salafist-Jihadist terrorist organizations: the security trilemma with China, Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, and Pakistan’s domestic politics.