Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Pakistani defense minister: No gambling going on in this casino

Pakistan’s defense minister utterly rejects American allegations that his government is playing footsie with the Haqqani network. If the U.S. government has such information, it should pass it on, he says with some indignation. Meanwhile, a little grasshopper/ant writes to ask if there is anything he can read to understand why Pakistan feels so threatened ...

By
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons

Pakistan's defense minister utterly rejects American allegations that his government is playing footsie with the Haqqani network. If the U.S. government has such information, it should pass it on, he says with some indignation.

Pakistan’s defense minister utterly rejects American allegations that his government is playing footsie with the Haqqani network. If the U.S. government has such information, it should pass it on, he says with some indignation.

Meanwhile, a little grasshopper/ant writes to ask if there is anything he can read to understand why Pakistan feels so threatened by India. “i’m a naive westerner and can’t figure out why pakistan anticipates that india would want to invade – what does it have of value that india might wish to dispossess it of ? i understand the rudiments of the kashmir conflict and a disputed border, but i’m having trouble extrapolating that to existential threat levels.”

Anyone got a good suggestion?

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1
Tag: Pakistan

latest

Will China’s Elite Ever Rise Up?

A Tale of Two Germanies

The Great Turn Inward

‘We Don’t Want to Lose Our Second Motherland’

All the Palestinians Got From Oslo Was KFC
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    The Scrambled Spectrum of U.S. Foreign-Policy Thinking
  2. 2
    Who Are Xi’s Enemies?
  3. 3
    The Great Turn Inward
  4. 4
    The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky
  5. 5
    Inside the Seedy, Cutthroat Underbelly of China’s Wealthy Elite
  6. 6
    Xi Jinping Is Trying to Adapt to Failure

More from Foreign Policy

A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar

The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.
The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

And it should stop trying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky

The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.

Trending

  1. Who Are Xi’s Enemies?
    Analysis
    Deng Yuwen

  2. Inside the Seedy, Cutthroat Underbelly of China’s Wealthy Elite
    Review
    James Palmer

  3. The U.S. Cannot Afford to Lose a Soft-Power Race With China
    Analysis
    Raja Krishnamoorthi

  4. The Scrambled Spectrum of U.S. Foreign-Policy Thinking
    Analysis
    Ash Jain

  5. The Great Turn Inward
    Review
    Jan-Werner Müller

Latest

Will China’s Elite Ever Rise Up?

A Tale of Two Germanies

The Great Turn Inward

‘We Don’t Want to Lose Our Second Motherland’

All the Palestinians Got From Oslo Was KFC
See All Stories