After World War II, containment of Soviet Union was on top of the US agenda. Geographically and strategically Pakistan fitted into the US scheme of encirclement, intelligence gathering, and preventing Communist expansion into West and South Asia. Pakistan had three choices: (I) to follow a non-aligned policy like India, (II): to align its self with the Socialist block led by the Soviet Union, and (III), to align itself with the West, led by the United states, in pursuit of its economic and security requirements. Indian military occupation of Kashmir, and hostile attitude, influenced Pakistan's decision to align itself with the West. Besides pro-India attitude of Moscow, including an anti-Pakistan statement by Marshal Stalin during his New Delhi visit effected Pakistan's policy. The historical error that the Pakistani Prime Minister rebuffed Marshal Stalin's invitation, and instead accepted a US invitation, must be corrected. Mr Ghazanfar Ali Khan Pakistan's Ambassador in Tehran was informed by the Russian Ambassador that Kremlin was planning to invite Prime Minister Liaquat to Moscow.

Ghazanfar flew to Karachi to inform the Prime Minister. Pakistan did not have an ambassador in Moscow at the time. Liaquat Ali Khan immediately appointed Mr Siddiqui from East Pakistan as Pakistan's first ambassador to Moscow. The Pakistani Prime Minister did not receive Moscow's invitation for an official visit.

One reason for Liaquat Ali Khan's pro-West leaning was that Europe and America were democracies, while Soviet Union was a fascist-Communist dictatorship. Stalin's had carried out purges and mass slaughters of Muslims of Chechnya, Kazakistan, Caucus and in other Muslim Central Asian states. He had deported millions to Siberia. His hands were red with the blood of Muslims and Cossacks. In 1942 half a million Kazak Muslim refugees reached north India via Kangan in Kashmir, and narrated horrible tales of mass slaughters of Muslim's by the Red Army.

Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan was received by President Harry Truman at the Washington airport and addressed a joint session of the US Congress. President Truman in his speech said, "Mr Prime Minister- there are two power blocks in the world. One led by the United States of America comprises democracies, while the one led by the Soviet Union comprises dictatorial communist-Socialist states, which throttle freedom". To which Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan said, "Mr President, there is a third block of Muslim states, and Pakistan is its part". No other Pakistani Prime Minister had such courage of conviction.

From the beginning Pakistan followed a pro-West policy with a desire to befriend the United States, in the hope that it will help to unshackle Indian military occupation of the Held State. Besides Pakistan was in need of advice and financial support to develop its infrastructure, industrialise and build and modernise its armed forces. The motive was to get West's support in its confrontation with India over Kashmir, especially in the United Nations Organisation. Pakistan's relations with the United States improved after Republican President Eisenhower came to power in 1952. Secretary of State Dulles, pushed Pakistan's case as a close ally, and supported Pakistan's requests for economic and military aid. Pakistan was asked to join the MEDO - Middle East Defence Organisation, later retitled CENTO-Central Treaty Organisation with headquarter at Ankara Turkey; and SEATO- South Asian Treaty Organisation. Pakistan readily became a tool of US strategy and policy. Thus the United States acquired stakes in Pakistan's well being and decided to strengthen Pakistan economically and militarily.

By 1957 the US had poured 500 million Dollars into Pakistan's coffers, and supplied state of the art military hardware. Pakistan Army got hundreds of Patton tanks, artillery, APC's, howitzers, while the Pakistan Air Force received over one hundred F-86-F Saber jets, one squadron of F-104 Starfighter's, two squadrons of B-57 light bombers, T-33 trainer jets, high level long distance radars, amphibious aircraft and helicopters, and sufficient spares. Pakistan Navy was offered frigates, and submarine Ghazi.

US economic and military aid enabled Pakistan to create an industrial infrastructure, build dams and barrages, modernise the agriculture sector, acquire first rate military capability to defend itself, and nuclear research infrastructure -PINSTECH and KANUP at Karachi. American advisors and Finance Minister Shoab formulated and implemented successful five-year development plans. Pakistan's economic, industrial and agricultural recovery was fast and impressive. Other developing countries like South Korea copied Pakistan's development model. President Ayub Khan was considered by the US as a model third world leader. These were golden years of Pak-US cooperation.

On September 5-6 1965 Pakistani armed forces confronted the multi-directional Indian invasion, and defeated Indian air, land and sea attacks successfully. But the 1965 India -Pakistan war was a stalemate, which helped India to maintain its grip on Jammu and Kashmir. American weapons were used, but the US played no role, and remained neutral during the 1965 Indo-Pak war. Washington expressed anger that US weapons meant for fighting the Soviet Union were used against India. Supplies of US weapons and spares was stopped, and close ally Pakistan was suddenly left high and dry. The attrition suffered by Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force had to be immediately equalised and adjusted. While America let Pakistan down in its hour of need, Peoples Republic of China emerged as a solid pillar of support, and offered weapons with technology. It became clear that the United States is not a reliable friend of Pakistan. In 1965 Washington ignored Indian aggression on Pakistan, and continued occupation of Jammu and

March 1969 to March 1972 under dictator Yahya Khan was the blackest chapter of Pakistan's history. The country was axed into two by his follies and disastrous decisions. The US policy in the December 1971 debacle was however aligned with Pakistan military establishment. President Nixon ordered the US Navy's fifth fleet with aircraft carriers into the Bay of Bengal, but made no move to stop Indian military aggression on East Pakistan. Nixon's gesture came too late and was too little.

The 1965 and 1971 wars proved that America is a fickle friend. President Nixon used Pakistan's friendship with China to establish links with Beijing by secret diplomacy. Henry Kissinger's secret visit to Beijing in July 1971 via Islamabad was facilitated by Pakistan. The opening of China was essential in Nixon's strategy for creating global balance of power. Pakistan's part was acknowledged by the US.

US policy during the five-year rule of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was capricious and suspect. PPP regimes socialist policies, quest for nuclear weapons, large scale nationalization, the 1974 Islamic Summit in Lahore, formation of a fascist Federal Security Force- FSF, and ZAB emerging as a leader of the Islamic Ummah was suspect in US eyes. When India carried out its first nuclear weapon test at Pokharan in 1974, ZAB's angry retort, "We will eat grass to get the weapon", made Bhutto unacceptable to Washington.

Henry Kissinger's angry retort that," We shall make a horrible example of you", proved that Pakistan and the US were on a collision course. Senior CIA agent, Max Mermelstein in his book," The Man Who Made Snow", reveals that CIA had planted an agent in Prime Minister Bhutto's Secretariat to spy on him. Pakistan was involved in efforts to get nuclear fuel processing plant from France and a Heavy water facility from West Germany. Bhutto government's foreign policy was to seek balance between China, Russia and the United States. In Washington's view Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had become too big for his boots, and had to be cut down to size. President Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter imposed sanctions on aid to Pakistan. During the 1977 PNA movement Zulfikar Ali Bhutto got cornered by election rigging, but claimed in a public retort that America was behind the PNA movement to topple his government. He alleged that his government was being punished for the nuclear weapon programme, and alignment with the Arab states. ZAB was discerned to be anti-Israel.

After Bhutto Jimmy Carter made some effort to normalize relations with Pakistan, and offered US Dollars four hundred million as a grant. President Ziaul Haq refused the offer, and called it "peanuts". Pak-US relations took a U-turn for the better when the Red Army invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. Jimmy Carter's covert action programme to provide weapons to Afghan Mujahidin was unworkable without Pakistan's cooperation. President Ronald Reagan aware of Pakistan's value, offered Dollar 3.2 billion aid package. With Pakistani cooperation, the Red Army was defeated, and its retreat and humiliation triggered the collapse of the Soviet Empire. Pakistan's graph was high in Washington. The fallout of the ten years war in Afghanistan, was arrival of three million Afghan refugees along with Klashnikov, drug, and extremist sectarian culture, which has damaged Pakistani society and the state.

During the Zia era, in view of Pakistan's value as an ally, Washington ignored Pakistani nuclear developments and human right abuses, especially towards women. Pakistan's usefulness ended after the defeat of the Red Army in Afghanistan. Having used Pakistan to achieve its objectives in Afghanistan, Pakistan was jettisoned as a trusted ally. Pakistan had served its purpose.

After the October 1988 election Benazir Bhutto's becoming Prime Minister, and return of democracy was welcomed by Washington, but annual certification of Dollar 600 million aid by the US President (under the (1984- Pressler Amendment), stipulated guarantee's from Islamabad that Pakistan did not posses any nuclear weapons. In October 1990 US Presidents certification was denied, and sanctions were imposed. This was a set back for the four democratically elected governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. Besides Washington after receiving US Dollars 658 million, blocked the supply of duly paid for F-16 fighters to Pakistan. It refused to return the money either. This was an unjust and unfriendly act. Sanctions and embargo on the supply of F-16 fighters was highly unjust, discriminatory and damaging. Washinton adopted a step-motherly attitude towards democratically elected governments, which were sacked one after another by civilian Presidents ie Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Farooq Leghari. The adverse law and order, banking and corporate loot and scams, huge bank loans given to cronies, which were not returned, and PM's husband elevated as Minister of Investment, when there was no such ministry, was bad for Pakistan's reputation. After the forex scam by Nawaz Sharif's second administration, World Bank and the IMF did not bail out Pakistan. The forex reserves nose-dived to 350 million dollars. Pakistan was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Pakistan's successful nuclear test- "the Islamic bomb" was an eye sore to Washington. And India exploited Kargil and defamed Pakistan globally. US media called Pakistan a failed state. This period was a low point in US-Pak relations.

The October 1999 take over by President Pervez Musharraf was considered a military coup and was not welcomed by Washington, which did not know the near disastrous drama on board the PIA aircraft returning from Sri-Lanka. President Bill Clinton's three day March 2000 visit to India, and only five hour stop over in Islamabad under high US security signified basic change in the 55 years US policy in South Asia. The "most allied ally" was rebuffed, because democracy had been thrown out of the window. But 9/11- a brazen act of terrorism changed US policy towards Pakistan after Musharraf's response to Collin Powell's blatant ultimatum, " you are either with us or against us". Musharraf responded, " We were with the United States against terrorism..". Wisely President Musharraf did not respond to the "barefaced threat" from Richard Armitage, the deputy Secretary of State that, " If we chose the terrorists , then we should be prepared to be bombed back to the stone age." It was a wise decision, considering that the enraged superpower was certain to punish the perpetrators of the 9-11 tragedy. In his widely read book - In the Line of Fire, Musharraf is candid that "Little did I know that we were about to be thrust into the frontline of yet another war, a war against shadows."

The relations with America now hinge on Pakistan's ability to contain terrorism internally, and stopping the terrorists from using Pakistan as a launching pad for terrorist activities across our borders. While the Musharraf government is doing its best, there is lot of resentment in the country against US policy of aggression in the region, and discrimination and intimidation of Pakistan. After the March 2006, visit of President George Bush, a dozen Indo-US accords were signed; allowing India access to advance US nuclear technology, and denying the same to Pakistan. This proves that India clearly is a favoured nation. Pakistan has no other role except meeting American demands focused on terrorism and related issues. The recently passed bill by the US Congress making supply of military equipment conditional to Pakistan's anti-terror performance proves that the US lawmakers have not appreciated Pakistan's role in the war against terror and are determined to push Pakistan against the wall, and make it into a scapegoat. Robert Gates the new US Defence Secretary in his meeting with the President discussed measures to increase pressure on alleged insurgents on both sides of Pak-Afghan border. Rash statements of Karzai and NATO-US commanders came as loose canons. Karzai's provocative and irresponsible statements, American criticism, bombing of Bajaur madrassa, and military and civilian casualties from repeated NATO attacks on Pakistani posts and villages, have given rise to resentment and anger in Pakistan, which is being underplayed by the Musharraf administration. It is about time that resentment and anger of the Pakistani nation, is honestly and bluntly communicated to President Bush and his administration.

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