Reassess ties with Pakistan
Now that we know where Osama bin Laden was hiding all these years, it's hard not to conclude that the Pakistani allies we've been giving so much support are either morons or fiends.
Are we to believe that no one in the Pakistani government, or military or intelligence agencies knew where Osama bin Laden was hiding for all these years? Or that Pakistani officials did realize the United States' bitterest enemy was living in luxury near that nation's capital, but kept it a secret while cashing our multibillion-dollar checks?
They were either incompetent or complicit. Either way, it would be emotionally satisfying to stop cutting those checks. It would make for a wildly popular announcement today during President Barack Obama's visit to Ground Zero.
But our future relationship with Pakistan shouldn't be guided by anger, however justified. It should be determined by what's in our national interest, and that may take some time to determine.
Pakistan has been an important, if deeply flawed, ally in the struggle against terrorists. Pakistani troops have fought and died pursuing enemies of the United States along that country's border with Afghanistan. Islamabad has allowed U.S. drone strikes and U.S. boots on the ground in its territory, despite civilian casualties and domestic opposition to the policy.
That's a lot of cooperation to walk away from, if Pakistani officials didn't know bin Laden was there. If we find out the Pakistani government did withhold the whereabouts of our gravest enemy, it's hard to imagine we could ever trust that government again.
With bin Laden dead, our interests in the region may change. U.S. officials need to assess whether it's time to declare victory in Afghanistan and leave. That's a complicated question urgently in need of an answer. If the war ends fairly quickly, Pakistan's strategic importance would diminish as U.S. troops withdraw.
But there are more pressing questions. How much of a threat is a decapitated al-Qaida, and is Pakistan still a key terrorism battleground?
Al-Qaida is more inspirational than hierarchical today, appealing to susceptible individuals around the globe via cyberspace. With bin Laden gone, Pakistan's assistance may not be so critical. But bin Laden must have had a network in Pakistan. Those people need to be found, interrogated, and where possible, prosecuted. At this point we don't even know if Pakistan's government is able or willing to help us do so.
Pakistan is also a nuclear power. Terminating our friendship could feed hostility toward the United States and the administration in Pakistan that has come to be so closely associated with us. That could help usher in a more radical government, putting nuclear weapons in the hands of extremists, which would not serve the interests of the United States.
In light of what we've learned this week, we must re-evaluate our relationship with Pakistan. Whether its leaders have been incompetent or duplicitous, neither is the basis for a great partnership. We may even decide to abandon our relationship with Pakistan at some point, but if we do, it should be after a detailed look at the facts and prospects, not because of pique.
