The U.S. and Pakistan have had a rocky relationship ever since the latter was founded in 1947. With a half-century of ups and downs, it seemed things were finally reaching a happy existence in the last decade.
Pakistan, after all, became one of our key allies on “The War on Terror” following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. This was an interesting change in our relationship since it came only a few years after we had placed sanctions on Pakistan following its 1999 coup.
The coup was also the most recent in a series of events that would give the U.S. pause to deal with Pakistan. Between human rights violations, tensions with India over the Kashmir region and the possibility of nuclear proliferation, it’s surprising we ended up working with them.
Unfortunately, this strengthening of the Pakistani-American relationship was not meant to last. Once Osama bin Laden was found in Pakistan last year, it served as the catalyst to the end of talks between the countries.
However, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise how badly it affected the relationship. While there were always those who claimed we would find bin Laden in Pakistan, it was always under the assumption he would be living under harsh conditions in a network of caves.
When he turned up in a mansion in the populous city of Abbottabad, fairly close to the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, it’s not surprising diplomatic relations soured.
Surely, if any part of the country would seem to be heavily searched, it would be the area around the capital. For bin Laden to have been so close to the capital for what seems to have been some time, it would appear as if Pakistan hadn’t been doing as much as it claimed.
Thus the past year has not been the best in terms of how our two countries have communicated, and it only seems like it will be getting worse. Recently, Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani left his post, showing just how much things have deteriorated.
Although he’s been replaced, Haqqani served as one of the few reliable go-betweens for the two countries. While he was one of the most vocal critics against Pakistan’s military — rightfully so — he also constantly shoots down many of the ideas to come out of Washington.
Had a weaker-willed diplomat been in his place, it’s likely the American drone campaign would be far more spread out into the country. Having previously reported on the horrendous collateral damage these drones have already dealt, it’s easy to say he has been a good man to have in Washington.
Beyond showing just how bad things have gotten in just less than a year, however, Haqqani’s departure is unlikely to make things better. In his place, former information minister Sherry Rehman, who has played an important role in Pakistani President Asif Zardari’s cabinet, has been appointed.
While this may be a good pick, the Pakistani elections coming up in April may make such an appointment useless.
Whatever the case may be, it should be readily apparent things must be fixed in the coming months. Whether this means reevaluating our relationship with Pakistan — which, given the issue with bin Laden and its previous problems, wouldn’t be a terrible idea — or trying to patch it up, this is something our government needs to decide.
With today’s global issues, and especially the ones occurring in the Middle East, the last thing we need is to be left out of the loop, especially with another nuclear country. While stopping terrorism is important, so too should be stopping any failures of diplomacy.
 
Zachary Davis is a 21-year-old history junior from Warsaw, Poland. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_zdavis.
 
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Contact Zachary Davis at [email protected]