Barton Remarks on U.S.-Pakistan Military Relations

Pakistan pledged to be the number-one U.S. ally in fighting the Taliban close to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, but after six years the success of the mission is highly doubted. The U.S. and Pakistani military forces aren't seeing eye-to-eye, thanks to distrust, uneven funding, and inadequate training. Joby Warrick of the Washington Post does a wonderful job exploring both sides' views on the relationship and the reasoning behind its increasing frictions. PCR's report, "A Perilous Course" is cited by Warrick in explaining:

U.S. government could do more to improve sercurity by helping Pakistan address rampant poverty and shore up shoes and health care -- attacking the root causes of militancy and terrorism.

Our own PCR CoDirector and Senior Advisor Rick Barton was directly quoted as saying:

"We just haven't put very much into securing hearts and minds. It is possible to generate goodwill. If the United States were the champion of teachers in Pakistan, we'd probably all be okay."

Hopefully his advice, our report and this informative article will guide policymakers in focusing on the Pakistani people, not just the military.