The United States and Pakistan: A History of Silent Support, Betrayal, and the Lessons of Osama bin Laden

For decades, the United States has played a double game with Pakistan-publicly championing the fight against terrorism while quietly funnelling billions in military aid to Islamabad, even as mounting evidence showed Pakistan’s deep involvement in sponsoring terror networks. This “snake in the grass” approach has repeatedly backfired, most spectacularly when Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted terrorist, was found hiding in Abbottabad, Pakistan, just a stone’s throw from the country’s premier military academy. The question now is whether the US will finally learn from its mistakes, as the mountain of evidence of Pakistan’s duplicity continues to grow.

Decades of US Military Aid: Fueling the Pakistani War Machine

Since Pakistan’s creation in 1947, the US has provided the country with enormous amounts of economic and military assistance. Between 1951 and 2011 alone, the US obligated nearly $67 billion in aid to Pakistan. This support has ebbed and flowed depending on Washington’s shifting geopolitical interests, but the pattern is clear: whenever the US needed a regional ally, especially during the Cold War and the War on Terror, the aid floodgates opened.

• 1950s–1960s: The US provided Pakistan with armaments, training, and development assistance, viewing it as a bulwark against Soviet influence in South Asia.
• 1979–1989: During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan became a frontline ally. Washington poured over $32 billion into Pakistan’s military and civil services to support the Afghan mujahideen. Much of this aid was diverted by elements within Pakistan’s military and intelligence services, fueling the rise of extremist groups that would later turn their guns on the West.
• 2001–2011: After 9/11, the US once again relied on Pakistan as a “major non-NATO ally.” Billions in military and economic aid were channelled to Islamabad to support counterterrorism operations, but much of it was used to bolster Pakistan’s own military ambitions and support proxy groups.

This aid was never free. It came with strings attached, with Washington using dollars to pressure Islamabad on nuclear policy, counterterrorism, and regional security. But time and again, US policymakers looked the other way as Pakistan played both sides-accepting American money while nurturing the very terror groups the US claimed to fight.

The Osama bin Laden Debacle: America’s Blind Spot Exposed

The ultimate symbol of this toxic relationship came in May 2011, when US Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in a secret raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The world was stunned: bin Laden had been living for years in a fortified house less than a kilometre from Pakistan’s elite military academy, undetected by the country’s powerful intelligence services-or so Islamabad claimed.

US officials and lawmakers were incredulous. President Obama publicly demanded that Pakistan investigate the support network that had sustained bin Laden. CIA Director Leon Panetta admitted that the US did not inform Pakistan about the raid, fearing that bin Laden would be tipped off. Senior US senators and intelligence officials openly questioned whether elements of the Pakistani military or ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) had knowingly sheltered bin Laden.

While documents recovered from bin Laden’s compound did not provide direct evidence that top Pakistani officials were complicit, the circumstantial evidence was overwhelming. The compound’s location, the suspicious behaviour of its residents, and Pakistan’s long history of “walking both sides of the street” on terrorism made it hard to believe that bin Laden could have lived there without at least some level of official protection or, at minimum, wilful blindness.

The Pattern of Duplicity: Pakistan’s Support for Terror

The bin Laden episode was not an isolated incident. For decades, Pakistan’s military and intelligence services have been accused of providing sanctuary, funding, and operational support to a host of terror groups, including the Taliban, Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Jaish-e-Mohammed. These groups have carried out attacks not only in India and Afghanistan but also against Western targets.

Despite this, US aid continued to flow, justified by the need for Pakistani cooperation in counterterrorism and access to supply routes for US forces in Afghanistan. Even after repeated incidents-such as the Mumbai attacks in 2008, which were traced back to Pakistan-based groups-the US response was limited to expressions of concern and, occasionally, temporary aid suspensions.

When the Support Backfired

The US’s willingness to overlook Pakistan’s duplicity has repeatedly backfired:

• Empowering Extremists: US aid, especially during the Afghan jihad, helped create a vast infrastructure of militancy in Pakistan. Many of the groups trained and funded during this period later turned against the West, contributing to instability across the region.
• Nuclear Proliferation: Despite concerns about Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions, US aid and diplomatic cover allowed Islamabad to develop a nuclear arsenal, increasing the risk of proliferation and regional conflict.
• Undermining US Credibility: The discovery of bin Laden in Pakistan severely damaged America’s credibility, both at home and abroad. It exposed the limits of US intelligence and the dangers of relying on duplicitous partners.

The Evidence Keeps Mounting

Over the years, a mountain of evidence has accumulated regarding Pakistan’s role in sponsoring, sheltering, and enabling terrorism:

• Intelligence Leaks: Numerous leaks and reports have detailed the close ties between the ISI and militant groups.
• Testimonies and Congressional Hearings: US lawmakers and officials have repeatedly testified about Pakistan’s double game, with some calling for a complete reassessment of the relationship.
• International Sanctions and Watchlists: Pakistan has been repeatedly placed on international watchlists for terror financing and has only narrowly avoided blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) due to last-minute, superficial reforms.

Will the US Finally Learn Its Lesson?

Despite the overwhelming evidence, the US has struggled to fundamentally change its approach to Pakistan. Aid has been suspended, resumed, and suspended again, but the underlying dynamic remains: Washington continues to see Pakistan as a necessary, if unreliable, partner in a volatile region.

Recent years have seen some hardening of US policy, with military aid cuts, sanctions on Pakistani entities involved in missile development, and increased pressure on Islamabad to act against terror groups. Yet, the temptation to fall back into old habits remains, especially as new crises emerge in the region.

The question is whether US policymakers will finally accept that Pakistan’s support for terrorism is not a bug, but a feature of its security policy-a policy that has repeatedly undermined US interests and global security.

Summary

The United States’ long history of quietly supporting Pakistan with military and economic aid, despite overwhelming evidence of Islamabad’s sponsorship of terrorism, has repeatedly backfired-most spectacularly with the discovery of Osama bin Laden in the heart of Pakistan. This pattern of duplicity has empowered extremists, undermined US credibility, and contributed to instability across South Asia. With a mountain of evidence now impossible to ignore, the world is watching to see if the US will finally learn its lesson and hold Pakistan accountable, or if it will once again choose expediency over principle in the dangerous game of geopolitics.