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April 16th, 2024 | 4:52 PM ET

Pakistan’s Double Game, Unpacked

Posted: July 20th, 2017

By Ambassador William Milam

Ambassador William B. Milam is currently a Senior Scholar at the Wilson Center's Asia Program. He previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan from 1998 until 2001. Milam also served as Ambassador to Bangladesh from 1990-93, and in a number of other capacities at the Department of State.

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is one of most powerful intelligence agencies in the world, as it works to further Pakistani interests in South Asia. The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel sat down with William Milam, former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, to discuss ISI’s role within Pakistan’s political and military structure as well as if the organization is a true counterterrorism partner for the U.S.

The Cipher Brief: How was Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) formed? What is the organization’s current role within the Pakistani government? How much influence does it wield?

“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62

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