U S Strategy Toward Pakistan

The killing of Osama bin Laden highlighted the tense relationship between the US and Pakistani governments. This book considers the evolving nature of this relationship and Pakistan's place within the global order. Whereas standard accounts focus on the US-Pakistan relationship in isolation, Pakistan: The US, Geopolitics and Grand Strategies provides a broader geopolitical perspective. It analyzes Pakistan's relations with the US after a decade of the war on terror as well as Pakistan's regional relations, which provides the reader with a complete understanding of Pakistan's interests. Contributions from experts in both Pakistan and the West mean that this book will be vital reading for anyone seeking to understand this troubled nation.

The Council on Foreign Relations sponsors Independent Task Forces to assess issues of current and critical importance to U.S. foreign policy and provide policymakers with concrete judgments and recommendations. Diverse in backgrounds and perspectives, Task Force members aim to reach a meaningful consensus on policy through private and non-partisan deliberations. Once launched, Task Forces are independent of CFR and solely responsible for the content of their reports. Task Force members are asked to join a consensus signifying that they endorse "the general policy thrust and judgments reached by the group, though not necessarily every finding and recommendation." Each Task Force member also has the option of putting forward an additional or a dissenting view. Members' affiliations are listed for identification purposes only and do not imply institutional endorsement. Task Force observers participate in discussions, but are not asked to join the consensus. --Book Jacket.

Daniel S. Markey examines Pakistan's complex role in U.S. foreign policy and advocates for a two-pronged approach that works to confront and quarantine immediate threats to regional security while simultaneously attempting to integrate Pakistan into the broader U.S. agenda in Asia.

Ahead of President Obama's December review of the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan, a new Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)-sponsored Independent Task Force report on U.S. Strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan finds that the current approach to the region is at a critical point. "We are mindful of the real threat we face. But we are also aware of the costs of the present strategy. We cannot accept these costs unless the strategy begins to show signs of progress," says the Task Force. While the Task Force offers a qualified endorsement of the current U.S. effort in Afghanistan, including plans to begin a conditions-based military drawdown in July 2011, the Obama administration's upcoming December 2010 review should be "a clear-eyed assessment of whether there is sufficient overall progress to conclude that the strategy is working." If not, the report argues that "a more significant drawdown to a narrower military mission would be warranted." The Task Force, chaired by former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage and former national security adviser Samuel R. Berger, and directed by CFR Senior Fellow Daniel S. Markey, notes that nine years into the Afghan war, the outcome of the struggles in the region are still uncertain and the stakes are high. "What happens in Afghanistan and Pakistan matters to Americans," affirms the report. It warns that "militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan pose a direct threat to the United States and its allies. They jeopardize the stability of Pakistan, a nuclear power that lives in an uneasy peace with its rival, India." The Task Force supports the U.S. investment in a long-term partnership with Pakistan, but underscores that it is only sustainable if Pakistan takes action against all terrorist organizations based on its soil. Concrete Pakistani actions against terror groups "are the bedrock requirements for U.S. partnership and assistance over the long run." In Pakistan, "the United States aims to degrade and defeat the terrorist groups that threaten U.S. interests from its territory and to prevent turmoil that would imperil the Pakistani state and risk the security of Pakistan's nuclear program." The Task Force notes that these goals are best achieved through partnership with a stable Pakistani state, but that "the challenge of fighting regional terrorist networks is compounded by the fact that Pakistan draws distinctions between such groups." Flood-ravaged Pakistan also faces "enormous new stresses on the state-already challenged by political, economic, and security problems-increasing disaffection among its people, and weakening its ability to fight extremists in its territory." In Afghanistan, "the United States seeks to prevent the country from becoming a base for terrorist groups that target the United States and its allies and to diminish the potential that Afghanistan reverts to civil war, which would destabilize the region." Afghanistan faces the challenges of "pervasive corruption that breeds the insurgency; weak governance that creates a vacuum; Taliban resilience that feeds an atmosphere of intimidation; and an erratic leader whose agenda may not be the same as that of the United States."

More than two million Americans have served in Afghanistan or Iraq; more than 5,000 Americans have been killed; and over 35,000 have been grievously wounded. The war in Afghanistan has become America's longest war. Most Americans do not understand the background of, or reasons for, the United States' involvement in these two wars. Using primary and secondary sources, author Dan Caldwell describes relevant historical, political, cultural, and ideological elements related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He demonstrates how they are interrelated. Beginning with the history of the two conflicts within the context of U.S. policies toward Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan because American policy toward terrorism and Afghanistan cannot be understood without some consideration of Pakistan he outlines and analyzes major issues of the two wars. These include intelligence quality, war plans, postwar reconstruction, interagency policymaking, U.S. relations with allies, and shift from conventional to counterinsurgency strategy. He concludes by capturing the lessons learned from these two conflicts and points to their application in future conflict. His book is a one-volume resource for anyone who wishes to understand why and how the U.S. became involved in these two wars and in the affairs of Pakistan concurrently.

This book historically maps and examines the evolving, contemporary geostrategic and geopolitical imperatives of the United States within Pakistan and the South Asian region, especially after September 11, 2001. It offers a detailed and theoretical account of the rapidly changing context of US foreign policy towards Pakistan after 2001. The history of the US-Pakistan relationship has been a complex and inscrutable mix of cooperation and conflict has turned even more challenging after 9/11. This book covers the latest developments and relevant themes from world politics as it discusses the impact of the unprecedented rise in religious extremism in Pakistan, stemming from the US War on Terror as well as Pakistan’s economic vulnerability and military dictatorship, India’s offer to support the US in its war in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s nuclear capability, and the US administration’s decision to end financial aid to Pakistan. The study highlights the fact that, from the receding of British influence in the region through the Cold War and post-Cold War phases to the post-9/11 period, US-South Asia policy has been informed by the theoretical paradigm of the grand strategy of primacy. This topical book will be useful to scholars and researchers of international relations, politics, political studies, strategic and defence studies, security and peace studies, foreign policy, area studies, and South Asian studies. It will also interest diplomats, politicians, policymakers, security experts, journalists, and think tanks interested in India, Pakistan, and the United States on issues of international politics, world affairs, and terrorism.