Trump orders freeze on all U.S. security aid to Pakistan

It's the sort of common-sense question most Americans would ask, but most professional diplomats and political types would say should never be contemplated: What exactly are we getting for this money? You know which one Trump thinks like, and by now we should be getting used to the idea that when he tweets he's thinking about doing something bold, he very well might follow through - and quickly. First it was the UN, now it's Pakistan:

The United States will suspend nearly all security aid to Pakistan, the Trump administration announced on Thursday in a sign of its frustration with the country’s refusal to confront terrorist networks operating there. Administration officials said as much as $1.3 billion could be frozen, although Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, did not provide an estimate of the total aid funds affected. Ms. Nauert said the suspension could be lifted if Pakistan changed its behavior by doing more to fight terror groups. “Pakistan has the ability to get this money back in the future, but they have to take decisive action,” she said. The suspension includes an estimated $1.1 billion in Coalition Support Funds for Pakistan, which is provided by the Pentagon to help pay the costs of the country’s counterterror operations. The Trump administration had delayed $255 million in State Department aid until Pakistan did more to crack down on terrorism. Relations between the United States and Pakistan have deteriorated since the summer, when President Trump accused the country of giving “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence and terror.”

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The argument against this will be that we only help terrorists when we withhold money meant to fight terrorists. But the problem would appear to be that the Pakistanis aren't actually using the money for that purpose like they're supposed to, or at least they're not doing so to the satisfaction of the United States. Unlike the threat to cut off the Palestinian Authority - which as of now remains a mere threat - this one does seem to be more designed as an incentive to change behavior. Pakistan is a heavily Islamic country, and there are factions there that put pressure on the government to handle terrorists with kid gloves. But Pakistan, which you might remember is a nuclear power, still struggles to be taken seriously as global player in a geopolitical sense. It is not good news for the Pakistanis if the United States is withholding aid and calling it out for dragging its feet on terrorism. As for Trump, he continues to show that what other presidents would only talk about, he will actually do. Ironically, this is one of the things that drives the political class crazy. They actually think it's rational behavior to talk endlessly about things you should do, but never do them on the grounds that it would "destablize" things or whatever. The result is the problems fester for generations while everyone is afraid to make the changes that might address them. And this may be one of the ways the political class has screwed itself in its attitude toward Trump. A more conventional president might be afraid of upsetting people by making bold audacious moves. Trump can look out and see that they all hate him anyway, so he might as well do what he wants to do. Are you sure he's the one who's stupid?