From the moment Pakistan gained its independence in 1947, its relations with the United States have careened between intimate partnership and enormous friction — reflecting the ups and downs of global and regional geopolitics and disparate national interests. Although the Cold War is over, Pakistan retains strategic importance for Washington, not least because of its nuclear standoff with India, its festering enmity with India over Kashmir, its chronic political and economic instability, the worrying rise of fundamentalism, and Islamabad’s problematic links with the Taliban. This book, drawing heavily on primary documentary sources and interviews, is the first comprehensive account of this roller-coaster relationship.