Pakistan should think twice before breaking with the U.S.

Tensions between the United States and Pakistan are as high as they’re ever been, but before the situation gets out of control the two countries should remember why they need each other.

Terrorism remains the biggest threat to global stability and the U.S. and Pakistan are among the main targets. Both countries have been attacked by al-Qaida and both remain in harm’s way. Hence the war on global terrorism, and the need for the U.S. and Pakistan to continue their alliance, seeing as how Afghanistan is the front line.

The situation in that country remains tenuous, at best. The democratically elected government of President Hamid Karzai is holding on for dear life as the Taliban, al-Qaida and their affiliates keep up the attacks, including in the capital, Kabul. The launching pad for the terrorist activity is the remote region in northern Pakistan — the flashpoint of the tension between the U.S. and its No. 1 ally in the war on terror.

The Obama administration, like the Bush administration before it, contends that not enough is being done by the Pakistanis to rid the area of the militants. The White House also charges that elements within Pakistan’s intelligence agency are in partnership with Islamic extremists, thereby undermining the effort by America and its NATO allies to keep the Taliban out of Afghanistan.

The Pakistanis have denied the charge, but that did not stop Adm. Mike Mullen, Joint Chiefs of Staff former chairman, from accusing the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency of supporting the Haqqani terror network in planning and executing a 22-hour assault on the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan two weeks ago. Days earlier, a truck bomb wounded 77 American soldiers.

The Haqqani insurgents are believed to be based in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal area along the Afghanistan border. The group has historical ties to Pakistani intelligence, dating back to the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s, according to the Associated Press.

The Pakistanis strongly deny that their intelligence agency was involved in the attacks on the U.S. Embassy and on the American soldiers, but they have acknowledged that they would like to bring the Haqqani network to the bargaining table. The group has been blamed for numerous acts of terrorism inside Pakistan.

Temperature rising

While Adm. Mullen’s comments and the responses by Pakistan’s political and military leaders have raised the temperature, the bottom line is that the two countries need each other. Making threats only exacerbates the situation. Some members of Congress have talked about withholding aid the U.S. sends Pakistan each year. In September 2009, President Obama signed a measure passed by Congress that will funnel $7.5 billion to Pakistan over a five-year period from 2010 to 2014.

For its part, the Muslim nation has been touting its relationship with China, the implication being that it has other potential partners should the Americans walk away.

If the Pakistanis think they will get billions of dollars a year in assistance from China, they’re in for a surprise. The Chinese do not have a record of financially rewarding their friends.

The current war of words between the U.S. and Pakistan must not be allowed to escalate. The Obama administration can’t risk nuclear-armed Pakistan being taken over by Islamic extremists.