AP Photo

This week's news that the Obama Administration has withheld just over a third of the military aid earmarked for Pakistan's military aroused little surprise in the Pakistani capital. Since the May 2 humiliation of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the Pakistani military has pushed back against the U.S., embracing defiant nationalist rhetoric that mirrors the distrustful mood in Washington. The U.S. funding move may, ironically, actually create an impression that helps Pakistan's military satisfy its citizenry's clamor for it to stand up to Washington. Still, even if a backlash from the U.S. were expected, cutting funding will make it more difficult to repair relations, exert influence over Pakistan and press it to move against those militants against whom it has been reluctant...