While America’s goals in the AfPak region have focused on eliminating Al Qaeda, organizations like Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba are ready to step into the breach. Yet Islamist militants will prevail in AfPak so long as America remains dependent on Pakistan for access to Central Asia; Pakistan makes use of this dependence to secure military aid, backing militants whose existence in turn ensures American engagement in the region and continued American dependence on Pakistan. But the main reason that Pakistan has nurtured Islamist militants is Islamabad’s insecurity over its unbalanced relationship…