The U.S. Bounty on Lashkar-e-Taiba

{
  "authors": [
    "Stephen Tankel"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "SAP",
  "programs": [
    "South Asia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "South Asia",
    "Pakistan"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Security",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

In The Media

The U.S. Bounty on Lashkar-e-Taiba

The recent U.S. decision to place a ten million dollar bounty on Lashkar-e-Taiba's founder may be designed to pressure Pakistan, but it risks leading to more tension in the U.S.-Pakistani relationship.

By Stephen Tankel

Published on Apr 3, 2012

Source: BBC World News

Speaking on BBC World Report, Carnegie's Stephen Tankel discussed some of the repercussions behind the recent U.S. decision to place a ten million dollar bounty on the head of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, founder of the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. He argued that the timing of the decision was either intended to \place pressure on the Pakistani government or it was the culmination of a long bureaucratic process. Either way, Tankel said, it does not necessarily bode well for the U.S.-Pakistani relationship. He also explained that Lashkar-e-Taiba might not have high favorability ratings among ordinary Pakistanis, but it has penetrated certain pockets of civil society and is unusally powerful as a result.

About the Author

Stephen Tankel

Former Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program

Tankel was a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment, where his research focuses on insurgency, terrorism, and the evolution of nonstate armed groups.

Recent Work

Q&A
Restoring Trust: U.S.-Pakistan Relations
- Stephen Tankel
Q&A
LeT’s Global Rise
- Stephen Tankel

Security Foreign Policy South Asia Pakistan

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Article
The Iran War Shows the Limits of U.S. Power
If Washington cannot adapt to the ongoing transformations of a multipolar world, its superiority will become a liability.
Amr Hamzawy
Commentary
Strategic Europe
The EU Equivocating on Turkey Is Bad Geopolitics
Following Ursula von der Leyen’s gaffe equating Turkey to Russia and China, relations with Ankara risk deteriorating even further. Without better, more consistent diplomatic messaging, how can the EU pretend to be a geopolitical power?
Sinan Ülgen
Article
India’s Demographic Dividend Is a Test of Governance
India’s demographic transition is underway, but its economic payoff remains far from guaranteed.
Apoorva Jadhav
Commentary
Emissary
Trump’s National Security Decisionmaking Is Broken
Here’s why—and what the next president needs to do to fix the process.
Daniel C. Kurtzer, Aaron David Miller
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
What Does Nuclear Proliferation in East Asia Mean for Russia?
Troubled by the growing salience of nuclear debates in East Asia, Moscow has responded in its usual way: with condemnation and threats. But by exacerbating insecurity, Russia is forcing South Korea and Japan to consider radical security options.
James D.J. Brown

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Article

The Iran War Shows the Limits of U.S. Power

If Washington cannot adapt to the ongoing transformations of a multipolar world, its superiority will become a liability.

Amr Hamzawy

Commentary

Strategic Europe

The EU Equivocating on Turkey Is Bad Geopolitics

Following Ursula von der Leyen’s gaffe equating Turkey to Russia and China, relations with Ankara risk deteriorating even further. Without better, more consistent diplomatic messaging, how can the EU pretend to be a geopolitical power?

Sinan Ülgen

Article

India’s Demographic Dividend Is a Test of Governance

India’s demographic transition is underway, but its economic payoff remains far from guaranteed.

Apoorva Jadhav

Woman standing amid debris from buildings

Commentary

Emissary

Trump’s National Security Decisionmaking Is Broken

Here’s why—and what the next president needs to do to fix the process.

Daniel C. Kurtzer, Aaron David Miller

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

What Does Nuclear Proliferation in East Asia Mean for Russia?

Troubled by the growing salience of nuclear debates in East Asia, Moscow has responded in its usual way: with condemnation and threats. But by exacerbating insecurity, Russia is forcing South Korea and Japan to consider radical security options.

James D.J. Brown