When it comes to aspects of intelligence (in terms of the ISI) and how they deal with the U.S., fair play to Pakistan because they've got some balls on them, lol. I'm not sure how much of that is America playing the (very) long game and allowing them a very long rope by which Pakistan will eventually hang itself, or whether Pakistan are genuinely running circles around the States, as well as keeping their oar in with jihadists; in essence playing both sides, and somehow succeeding in doing so for quite a while.
It's almost as if the Pakistani hierarchy realises that, as a fully fledged functioning state they are a mess domestically (and they've reconciled themselves with this fact behind closed doors), but due to their key geographic location, they know they are simply too important to fall, hence the bravado on their part that they are a big player in the region and somewhat internationally, too.
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