A brilliant piece from C. Christine Fair (an associate
professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s Edmund A.
Walsh School of Foreign Service):
“The only way to
motivate change is by developing a coercive campaign that diminishes the
advantages of Pakistan’s use of militant proxies under its nuclear umbrella
while also increasing the costs of doing so. Washington DC has resisted
adopting punitive measures because it believes American assistance and presence
in the country can position itself to stave off state collapse and/or prevent
further nuclear proliferation. Unfortunately, Pakistan has used American assistance
to further develop the very assets—nuclear weapons and terrorists—that disquiet
Americans the most.
Washington must
cease incentivizing Pakistan to continue producing “good jihadi assets” while
fighting “bad terrorists who target the Pakistani state”. As long as Pakistan
has terrorists to kill, Washington will pay exorbitant amounts to Pakistan to
do so. Instead of continuing to incentivize Pakistan’s security establishment
to groom more terrorists, the US should incentivize them to abandon Islamist
terrorists as tools of foreign policy.”
Related:
Pakistan - The World’s Most Dangerous State
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/pakistan-state-sponsored-terrorism-by-brahma-chellaney-2016-10