Doomed Missions

What Matthew said.

I don't know whether or not it's "our business" but the point is that we're unlikely to be able to do this effectively. The US, being rich and strong, has a good deal of influence to throw around in Pakistan. But it's much easier for Pakistani actors to manipulate US policy than the reverse. We don't have the know-how, we don't have the expertise, and we never will. What we need to do is focus on what we can know -- what are our key interests in Pakistan -- and articulate them clearly and consistently combined with the proviso that we're willing to work with whatever kind of leadership Pakistan has on ways to advance our interests. Trying to pick the "best" faction and then shift things around so they wind up in power seems like a doomed mission. In general, the idea that the correct response to 9/11 was for the United States to start engaging more vigorously in efforts to micromanage political outcomes in Muslim countries seems badly mistaken. We need to make our policies more robust against internal political disagreements in the Islamic world, not do a better job of picking sides.

Doomed Missions