It has now been almost three months since President Joe Biden pronounced the War in Afghanistan over. He predicated the U.S. withdrawal on the fact that it would not undercut American security. “I also know that the threat from terrorism continues in its pernicious and evil nature. But it’s changed, expanded to other countries. Our strategy has to change too,” he declared , explaining “We have what’s called over-the-horizon capabilities, which means we can strike terrorists and targets without American boots on the ground — or very few, if needed.”
That was a lie. The Islamic State-Khorasan is now present in nearly every Afghan province. Just as the U.S. intelligence community underestimated the speed with which the Taliban would overrun Afghanistan, so too did they botch assessments of the degree to which terrorist groups would thrive after the U.S. withdrawal. Those like former envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who argued that the United States could use the Taliban against the Islamic State, were foolish.
The terrorism problem emanating from Afghanistan, however, pales in comparison to that of Pakistan.
While the Taliban emerged as an indigenous movement in 1994, Pakistan quickly co-opted them. After 9/11, Pakistan played a double game, charging the U.S. exorbitant prices to transit supplies across its territory while diverting a portion of that money to fund the Taliban in order to keep the racket going. Sheltering al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was the icing on the cake. The final Taliban offensive was not spontaneous — jihadi eulogies and burials suggest thousands of Pakistanis took part in the final offensive.
The humiliation of America’s defeat has only encouraged terrorist-sympathizing Pakistani officials. While Pakistani diplomats might whisper sweet nothings to their American counterparts and assure them that Islamabad will stand against terrorism, recent Pakistani actions suggest the opposite. Thirteen years ago, Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, staged terrorist attacks across Mumbai, killing six Americans, including a 13-year-old girl, and 160 others. Rather than crack down on Lashkar-e-Taiba, Pakistani authorities continue to coddle them. They refuse to allow video testimony in court and instead demand that Indian witnesses of the Mumbai attacks travel to Pakistan to testify in court, a demand akin to making victims of a mafia hit travel to Sicily.
The mockery of justice is now the rule rather than the exception. Earlier this month, the Lahore High Court overturned the conviction of six men whose organization prosecutors alleged funded Lashkar-e-Taiba. This followed the acquittal and release of several terrorists convicted in the kidnap and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
President Joe Biden, Pakistani leaders laugh at you.
To offer Pakistan concessions in exchange for counterterrorism cooperation ignores the last 20 years of bilateral relations. It’s like offering an arsonist matches and gasoline in exchange for a promise not to start fires. The nexus of terrorism today is not in Kabul or Kandahar, but instead in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. It is time for the White House and State Department to recognize the obvious: To Pakistani authorities, the fate of the murderers of Americans in Mumbai, Karachi, or Kabul is a barometer of American credibility. That they remain free suggests weakness. If Islamabad is to understand the depth of American anger and resolve, the targets of the over-the-horizon strategy should be those terrorists who believe their Pakistani residence or citizenship makes them immune from consequence.
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