It’s no secret that radical Islamic militant groups plague Pakistan. These organizations, such as Tehrik-i-Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba, despise the democratization of the Middle East and the country’s relationship with the U.S., having carried out numerous acts of terror in and outside of Pakistan. Ten Pakistani, trained and aided by that nation’s military by their own admission, carried out suicide terror missions inside India in 2008, resulting in more than 160 deaths.
Recently, Pakistani soldiers violated ceasefire, crossed into the Indian Territory and attacked two Indian soldiers. In a display of medieval culture, they took the dead soldiers’ heads as trophies. Barbaric acts like decapitation are unacceptable in armed combat, especially when there is no active military engagement. The international community collectively considers cruelty of these sorts, even between armies, as uncivilized.
The unprovoked attacks have shamed India’s do-nothing government into sending a clear message to the Pakistanis that such acts will not be tolerated and that India is prepared for anything. The military of the world’s biggest democracy is outraged and has bolstered its numbers alongside its border with Pakistan.
Seeing as India’s military strength can outpace and outlast them, by their own defense minister’s admission, Pakistan might need to reach out to friends like the U.S. for help. If that happens, the U.S. should not offer them support. Both nuclear powers have always had a love-hate relationship since their independence in 1947, resulting in four full-on wars.
President Barack Obama should remember that housing Osama bin Laden, jailing the doctor that helped us locate him, aiding the Taliban and openly operating terror camps are not things allies do. With the two nations on the brink of open battle — perhaps nuclear war — the U.S. must prepare for the worst. The U.S. should stop paying money to Pakistan for its unfruitful and unwilling cooperation in the War on Terror and let India and Pakistan work out their own issues.
