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Partnering with the U.S. could strengthen Pakistan

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12.17.2009 at 08:09am

How partnering with the U.S. could strengthen Pakistan’s sovereignty – David Ignatius, Washington Post opinion.

The United States and Pakistan, always prone to bickering, need a big idea to unite and sustain them through the testing battle in Afghanistan. So here’s a strategic concept I’ve been trying out with officials in both countries: By partnering with America, Pakistan can gain sovereignty over all its tribal territory for the first time in its history – and thereby finally complete the task of building its own nation. This is a classic example of what strategists call a “positive sum” game, where, by working together, Washington and Islamabad could gain benefits that they would not achieve alone. But instead of cooperating, they have been trading resentful messages over the past month in which the United States requested Pakistan’s help in closing Taliban havens and Pakistan responded, in effect, “Don’t tell us what to do.”

Here’s the cold, hard truth: U.S. success in Afghanistan depends on Pakistan gaining sovereignty over the tribal belt. If the insurgents can continue to maintain their havens in North Waziristan and other tribal areas, then President Obama’s surge of troops in Afghanistan will fail. It’s that simple…

More at The Washington Post.

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