A blunt assessment by Mr. Riedel of the U.S. relationship with Pakistan and recommendations for what should be done. Pakistan is a dangerous country and only marginally supportive of some or our efforts in Afghanistan and in the region.
Our present policies are not working well, yet we cannot afford to isolate them and totally alienate the people.
Targeting bad actors may offer some relief, but that policy is unlikely to change the country from military to civilian control. They have nukes and who knows what pressure would cause them to use them.
"It is time to move to a policy of containment, which would mean a more hostile relationship. But it should be a focused hostility, aimed not at hurting Pakistan’s people but at holding its army and intelligence branches accountable. When we learn that an officer from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, is aiding terrorism, whether in Afghanistan or India, we should put him on wanted lists, sanction him at the United Nations and, if he is dangerous enough, track him down. Putting sanctions on organizations in Pakistan has not worked in the past, but sanctioning individuals has — as the nuclear proliferator Abdul Qadeer Khan could attest."
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