Perhaps too much has been written about how Pakistan has shielded itself from scrutiny in allying with US in its war on terror. The most obvious problems regard the lack of democratization within the country and the subsequent protection given to militant Islamist elements. First, the current dictatorship is perpetuated, secure in the knowledge that the Bush administration will sustain it financially and militarily. Second, the dictatorship protects schools in which militance (as philosophy and strategy) is cultivated.

New information form North Korea and Libya have brought out new concerns about the role of Pakistan in nuclear proliferation. A long, but very interesting, New York Times article discusses the role of A. Q. Kahn Research Labs in the commerce of technology in nuclear arms research, particular that related to uranium enrichment. The article places Pakistan at the center of a “web of nuclear proliferation” that has been protected by the relationship between Bush and Musharraf.

The article infers the problems of cooperation in the context of unilateralism: nations that support the diplomatic goals of US are granted privileges over those nations whose policies are potentially less dangerous to US. Of course, part of the problem is that the current conflict is so broadly defined that the administration must search out all forms of cooperation in Central Asia and the Middle East. The war on terror needs to be redefined as a war against al-Qaeda.