Pakistan's Message to the West

The Obama administration tried to soften Mullen’s comments. But, for many reasons, Mullen’s assessment still stands. There is no serious dispute over the relationship between the Haqqanis and the Pakistani ISI.

Whether the ISI had a direct hand in these latest attacks or not, Pakistan has, at a minimum, allowed the Haqqanis to project their terror into Afghanistan from Pakistani soil once again.

America’s top diplomat in Kabul, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, knows what message the terrorists and their sponsors are trying to send in their latest attacks. And he sees it, as he has said in the past, as a warning against the premature withdrawal of Western forces.

“There’s a very dangerous enemy out there with capabilities and with safe havens in Pakistan,” Crocker said during an interview televised on CNN. “To get out before the Afghans have a full grip on security, which is a couple of years out, would be to invite the Taliban, Haqqani, and Al Qaeda back in and set the stage for another 9/11. And that, I think, is an unacceptable risk for any American.”  

Thomas Joscelyn is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.