After Action Report-General Barry R McCaffrey USA (Ret) Afgahanistan

[reed11b]

been a bit mystified by our support of Pakistan over India prior to 9/11. Why do we chose to support a very unstable fundamentalist nation and see this as being in our best interest? I know India is hardy our twin politically and culturally, but they seem to be far more compatible than Pakististan has ever been. I do realize that current world situation requires us to try and work well with Pakistan.
Reed

[jkm_101_fso]

I would hardly say that we favor Pakistan. They are more critical to our interest (terror), compared to the Indians. We just hooked them up with a sweet nuclear deal, for a Non-NNPT country:

NEW DELHI — India’s prime minister went to the Group of 8 summit meeting in Japan on Monday with his government intact and enough political strength to complete a landmark nuclear agreement with the United States, ending months of speculation that either his government or the agreement, on which he has staked his reputation, would collapse.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/wo...a/08india.html

[Entropy]

been a bit mystified by our support of Pakistan over India prior to 9/11. Why do we chose to support a very unstable fundamentalist nation and see this as being in our best interest? I know India is hardy our twin politically and culturally, but they seem to be far more compatible than Pakististan has ever been. I do realize that current world situation requires us to try and work well with Pakistan.
Reed

We do because we don't have a choice. We didn't much like Pakistan's government in the late 1970's because of their nuclear program, but after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan they became an ally of necessity. Then aid was suspended again in 1990 after the war. It's been an on again-off again relationship all along. It's no wonder they consider us an unreliable ally.