Pakistan hasn’t quit its habit of courting insurgents, and extremist networks with current or former ties to the government pose a significant risk to the US and Pakistan’s elected government itself, a new study concludes.
A rising number of terrorist plots in the US with roots in Pakistan stems in part from an unsuccessful strategy by the US-backed government in Pakistan to blunt the influence of militant groups in the country, the report by the RAND Corp said.
The report, which was due to be issued yesterday, says the May 1 failed car bombing in New York’s Times Square is an example of how militant groups, some with shadowy government backing, can increasingly export terrorism far beyond the country’s borders.
The US isn’t getting its money’s worth for all the billions of US dollars in aid pledged to the strategically located, nuclear-armed nation, the report concludes.
The US should withhold some aid until Pakistan makes “discernible progress,” authors Seth Jones of RAND and C. Christine Fair of Georgetown University wrote.
RAND is a non-profit study group frequently hired by the Pentagon.
The report was produced by a division of RAND that receives Pentagon funding, but was not specifically commissioned by the government.
The authors chart long government support or tolerance for some extremist or terrorist groups, including Taliban networks in the border regions near Afghanistan.
The report says the US has had limited success in encouraging Pakistan to cut ties to extremists, while Pakistan’s army has had limited success in a series of military campaigns against extremist networks over the last year.
The report examines how Pakistan has furthered US goals in hunting some terrorists and sometimes undermined US interests at the same time.
It notes, as numerous US leaders have done, that anti-US sentiment is high in Pakistan, while support for government campaigns against militants is low. There is enduring suspicion among government leaders that the US has ulterior motives or is insincere in offers of help.
The US should lessen its reliance on Pakistan where it can, the report concluded, such as seeking additional alternate land routes for resupplying the war in Afghanistan. One such alternative would be a route through Iran, the report said.
Iran and the US have no diplomatic ties and a record of three decades of antagonistic relations. Once-promising cooperation after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 fizzled.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
Polish presidential candidates offered different visions of Poland and its relations with Ukraine in a televised debate ahead of next week’s run-off, which remains on a knife-edge. During a head-to-head debate lasting two hours, centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing pro-European coalition, faced the Eurosceptic historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing populist Law and Justice party (PiS). The two candidates, who qualified for the second round after coming in the top two places in the first vote on Sunday last week, clashed over Poland’s relations with Ukraine, EU policy and the track records of their