Pakistan-US

The U.S. has not had a uniform experience with Pakistan's generals over the years. Washington's Cold War entanglements with the top brass in Islamabad eventually spawned, with disastrous consequences, the Afghan Taliban. In the war against terrorism, the Pakistan military — with its historic ties to the region's jihadis — has been at once the U.S.'s most essential ally and its most troublesome obstacle. Enter General Ashfaq Kayani, the current army chief. His presence in talks between a Pakistani delegation and top officials in the U.S. capital overshadowed that of his country's civilian Foreign Minister — a sign of who still calls the shots in Islamabad. That may no longer be such a bad thing. Kayani's visit comes in the wake of two hard-fought campaigns by his troops against local militants and the capture of assorted Afghan Taliban leaders on Pakistani soil. The general is confident enough to demand the release of funds and weaponry held up by a skeptical Washington. Now he might get his wish.



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