AP Photo

U.S.-Pakistan relations have reached a new low this year, and Washington bears a significant amount of the blame. The American use of drone strikes in western Pakistan has always been unpopular with the Pakistani public, but these strikes are now being done in defiance of the formal demands of the Pakistani government. While effective in taking out targeted individuals, drone strikes are the embodiment of the short-sighted nature of U.S. policy toward Pakistan, which privileges short-term gains and assistance in the Afghanistan war over the strategic relationship with and internal stability of Pakistan.