Deteriorating Relations with Pakistan

Obviously the United States stepped into Pakistan in a pair of stealth hawk helicopters with a team of special forces to take out Osama Bin Laden. In a mission that almost ran perfectly (no U.S. casualties), we left only a single helicopter part behind. It was enough to say that we the United States were there, as we are the only ones who posses that type of technology. And it's also enough to say that U.S. Pakistan are practically gone.

To be clear, I do not think the Pakistan government is actively working against the U.S. Far from it. I also do not think it is the ISI who is actively protecting Osama Bin Laden. However, I do think there are people within the ISI who knew about Osama's whereabouts, and were currently protecting him. This is different than saying the ISI's agenda was to protect Osama. But I do think that there were those within the ISI who thought that protecting the influential muslim leader would be important for various reasons. Regardless, it would be embarrasing for a well known fugitive to be caught near West Point. And this is the situation with Pakistan.

Regardless, the United States have demonstrated several things by taking out Osama Bin Laden without ISI approval. First, is the fact that the United States do not trust the ISI. Understandable-as the only intelligence agency that the United States trust 100% is probably only MI5. Even if the ISI was on our side, it would be ideal that this would be a U.S. led operation, something that any nation would forbid to begin with. And given a lot of the ISI's actions in terms of funding jihadists which inevitably bite the United States in the ass, it's clear that the ISI are not to be trusted.

That being said, the U.S. "invasion" has done several things. It has demonstrated that we do not trust what would be considered our biggest ally in the war on terror. Especially since the U.S. continually strikes terrorist targets via drones despite the fact that we are not "active" within the region. It has shamed the Pakistani military, which is probably the most trusted institution within the country in the fact that they are unable to keep high value fugitives out of their country as well as keep their borders secure from outside forces. Though keeping the U.S. out of your nation seems to be much harder with stealth everything.

The fact is this. The U.S. has been, is, and probably always will be unpopular with the people. Pakistan doesn't exactly have the most western of cultures. Furthermore, the U.S. has traditionally been on fairly good terms with the government due to the fact that we supply the Pakistani army with a plethora with arms DESPITE the fact that we nominated India for a security council seat. However, with these recent actions, the United States will find itself being pushed out of Pakistani politics.

To further exacerbate issues, Pakistan has close ties with another powerhouse known as China. Both China and Pakistan share aeronautical programs. And even more alarming, is the sharing of U.S. Stealth Helicopter wreckage with China. China is wise to tap into any sort of American technology they can get their hands on, as well as improve relations with Pakistan which is largely anti-westerner. And when push comes to shove, Pakistan is happy to receive any sort of military aid when it comes to dealing with the boarder of Pakistan and India. And although it is a fair statement to say that Americans was the one to screw up the relations first-the U.S. led operation straight into Pakistan showcases that the Americans do not trust the ISI or the Pakistani military in either competence or trust. That being said, with repeated evidence of the ISI sponsoring state terrorism and trading military technology with China, it is obvious that the Pakistani military is not on the same page with U.S. foreign policy despite the massive amounts of aid we supply to Pakistan.

Ergo, the United States needs to drop all funding for the Pakistani military. It's clear that we are unpopular with the people. And with this, it is also clear that we will become unpopular with the government. It is also apparent that we are unpopular with the ISI. Considering the fact that we now have military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, the requirement for us to keep a presence in the area is no longer dependent on the Pakistani-especially with Kurdish support. Although some may argue that China may start to have a bigger role in the Middle East once we cut aid to Pakistan, I wager that Pakistan already has a more favorable view of China than America. At which point, we should cut funding for the Pakistani military. The U.S. tax payer dollars should not be used against the United States in any way shape or form.