Islamabad Rebels against the United States

Now the West is faced with failure in Pakistan as well.

After U.S. unmanned drone strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in a mistaken attack on two border outposts, Islamabad cannot just return to business as usual. The United States already violated Pakistan’s sovereignty twice this year, exclusive of the unmanned drone attacks: once in the affair surrounding U.S. agent Raymond Davis in January and again with the assassination of Osama bin Laden in May.

U.S. troops and their NATO allies also mistakenly kill civilians or local military personnel in Afghanistan, but it stands to reason that unlike the weaker government in Kabul, the Pakistani government can’t be put off with excuses and apologies.

Pakistan’s government and military are as dependent on American assistance as the U.S. military in Afghanistan is dependent on Pakistan’s cooperation, although doubts have arisen about Pakistan’s motives lately.

Pakistan’s reluctance to be dominated and pushed around by the United States is as understandable as America’s doubts concerning Pakistan. It doesn’t help when Pakistan refuses to take part in international attempts to find a solution to the Afghan situation — for example, with the planned Bonn Conference.

Pakistan thus only succeeds in proving it is an unreliable partner. If the U.S. military is not to be trusted, Pakistan’s powerful military intelligence apparatus has proven often enough that it engages in dirty double-dealings.

By brushing off the Bonn Conference, its failure is ensured because other key players like the Taliban and Iran will also not be in attendance.

It’s also clear that even after 10 years of intervention in Afghanistan, there’s still no plan for how to deal with this important neighboring state. The West is faced with not only failure in Afghanistan, but in Pakistan as well.