Pakistan: With allies like this who needs Iran?

Here’s part of the problem when working with the likes of Pakistan in the Terrorism war:

Already because we don’t trust Pakistan, we opt instead to take out Osama Bin Laden all by ourselves.  One would think, in the scheme of anti-terrorism, taking out the Big Honcho is a big deal and everyone would want to do it.

But here’s the catch, Pakistan probably wasn’t interested in doing so for a number of reasons: 1 Bin Laden still holds a lot of power in Pakistan, 2 Pakistan has never really supported the US in its endeavors; 3 they thought they could keep him safe inside the confines of the country.

But lo and behold, things start to trickle out. Our forces make a few discoveries, and we find that Bin Laden is holed up within miles of the Pakistani equivalent to West Point. It stretches the imagination to think that officials in Pakistan were unaware of Bin Laden’s presence there.

And now, as if to prove their sovereignty, they arrest and jail a doctor who they say was helpful to the United States in getting Bin Laden.  According to a Reuters report, Shakil Afridi was sentenced to 33 years in jail for assisting the US in capturing the No. 1 terrorist in the world.

Does that sound like a country with our vested interests in mind? Heck no. That sounds a lot more like an enemy. And all that garbage about the drones and how they complain about them in public but when behind closed doors are happy we allow the reapers to do their thing in the tribal lands where the reigning authority has no power.

And, when you think about it, how can that even exist?  What kind of a country is it that has known enemies of their own state right inside their own state? Oh wait, all of them really.  But in some countries they are more surreptitious.

It’s getting harder and harder to understand the strategic(?) value of being friend’s with a country like Pakistan.  They don’t appear to track the same things we track, they do however, seem to like green backs, which we are way too happy to provide. And in exchange, what do we get? Not very much, and those who do help us end up in jail.

An ally is supposed to be a friend, someone who works with you to accomplish a necessary or desired goal.  But this is pretty one-sided. Symbiotic relationship my tuckus.  Whatever happened to quid pro quo?

The sad truth is that Pakistan is caught between a rock and a Predator. On the one hand, they would like the US to help clean up the wild tribal lands, while on the other hand they don’t dare come across as if they are “friendly” to the Americans, despite the massive amount of money they receive annually. That’s why Dr. Afridi is facing 34 years in prison; he mollifies the anti-American sentiment without actually being anti-American.

Our military influence in that area needs to shrivel up. We need to have a lot less of a presence in Afghanistan than we do now, and we need to try to eliminate any kind of association with Pakistan. We certainly don’t need to be beholding to them.

I know I know, you say, ‘but David Pakistan has the nuclear bomb.’ Well, so does India, and so does, secretly but I’ll let you in on it, Israel, and in just a matter of days so will Iran. In my mind, I say leave them unto themselves.  Let them work out their differences and when it’s all over, we can come back in with humanitarian aid and everyone will feel good about themselves again.