Pakistani Objections

So Pakistan seems to think that American and Afghan policy ought to be dictated by what is best for Pakistan. Now it certainly seems reasonable that in closed door sessions, the powers that be in Pakistan would think this way. It seems absurd to me that they would actually come out in public and say as much.

From the NY Times article:

Pakistani officials have told the Obama administration that the Marines fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan will force militants across the border into Pakistan, with the potential to further inflame the troubled province of Baluchistan, according to Pakistani intelligence officials.

Ok, so how is it America’s fault that your border is not secure? Should Afghanistan have to put up with insurgents just to make your life easier? This seems to be an unfortunate consequence of the Pakistani government not dealing with their own problems in a timely manner, and now the problem has redoubled, and there is little they can do about it. Better to have disruption in only one country than in two.

But then it gets even better…or I suppose worse. The article goes on to say that:

Pakistan does not have enough troops to deploy to Baluchistan to take on the Taliban without denuding its border with its archenemy, India, the officials said. Dialogue with the Taliban, not more fighting, is in Pakistan’s national interest, they said.

Yes, I suppose dialogue is your preferred option because the terrorists being forced through your porous border care more about destabilizing Afghanistan than about causing trouble in Pakistan, but what about Afghanistan’s national interest? I bet they have some harsh things to say about Pakistan’s policies in the tribal areas. Does Pakistan seriously believe that their issues trump those of Afghanistan? But then comes the real point, which was hinted at by the previous statement, but is put in crystal clear terms by the following:

A Taliban spillover would require Pakistan to put more troops there, a Pakistani intelligence official said, troops the country does not have now. Diverting troops from the border with India is out of the question, the official said.

So what Pakistan is saying is that they do have the resources, but they are unwilling to alter a strategic position which they have maintained for decades. Well, I have news for them. The threat from the Taliban is FAR more real than the threat of India sending tanks across the border. If the ISI wants to continue to believe that the real threat is coming from India, that’s their prerogative, but the policies of other countries shouldn’t be determined by the outdated defense posture of Pakistan.

I can certainly see where members of the Pakistani armed forces are coming from in relation to this, but it’s really a discussion they should be having behind closed doors with the US government. Doing it in public simply makes them look intransigent and incompetent, and ill prepared.