Some Thoughts on Pakistan

Pakistan, to me, is a country that thinks of itself as a world power when in actuality it is not. As an example I present the following

• A constant need to match India pound for pound militarily (men on the border, their nuclear arsenal and insurgents to make up for the rest) even though it has a smaller population, inferior economy, and weaker ties to the west (the US deals with Pakistan because it has to).
• Insistence that the US not operate within Pakistani borders, be it clandestine operatives or targeted hits against terrorists and insurgents. An insistence that is not coupled with taking care of the problems that these forbidden US actions insinuate.
• A desire to have a future in controlling part of Afghanistan's trajectory (which runs counter to its love of sovereignty when the US is concerned) even though it can not even govern its own fracturous society.

It is as if Pakistan had this grand plan for itself and has spent the past half decade failing to come to grips with the fact that it will never happen. That either directly explains the thought process of its leaders or it indirectly explains the need to demonize the West/India while showing clout in Afghanistan, in order to blind the public of reality. A reality in which Pakistan sponsors terror abroad, tacitly allows it within and has no plan to lift its people out of violence and poverty.

The only solution, in my mind, is for the US, India and Afghanistan to foster economic ties in the region. The stronger the ties the more likely that the Pakistani street will demand peace in lieu of retribution.