Pakistan Revisited

Now that we know Osama bin Laden was cooling his heels among the heart of Pakistan's elite outside the capital city, Islamabad, we should re-evaluate our complicated relationship with Pakistan.

I'm glad the U. S.  flew helicopters into the country to dispatch bin Laden without so much as a whisper to our allies.  After giving billions to the country, proof that the money was not well spent seems obvious.  Pakistan is a nation of very well educated elites (Benazir Bhutto, a former assassinated leader is a famous one), as well as millions of poorly educated or misguided terrorist wanna bes.  Apparently the anti-western forces exist at the highest levels of Pakistan's military and government, and we now have proof Pakistan can not be trusted.  

Until bin Laden's death, our country tried to appeal to the pro-western forces by giving military aid hoping to get help with the war on terrorism.  Forty years ago I entered Pakistan by local bus from Kabul, through the Khyber Pass.  In those days, the U. S. was also giving aid to Pakistan as part of the cold war strategy of the time.  The U. S was building a highway system and while there were always anti-westerners in Pakistan, it wasn't a popular sentiment. As a traveler, as an American, I was welcome and safe at least as long as I was with my male traveling companion, masquerading as my husband.  Islam was important then as always.  But in those days the godless communists of the Soviet Union and their ally, India were the big threats to Pakistan. 

The first step in re-evaluating our relations with Pakistan should be to stop giving them military aid.  As it is we look like fools with regard to the search for bin Laden.  A few months of no funds to Pakistan would at least send them a message.  If we could pull out of Afghanistan so that our need of Pakistan weren't so obvious, that would be even better!