Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin has called Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir, “Osama bin Laden in a suit” and accused Pakistan of behaving like “a rogue state” following reported nuclear threats made on American soil.
Speaking to ANI, Rubin said, “Pakistan’s threats on American soil are completely unacceptable… The Field Marshal’s rhetoric is reminiscent of what we heard from Osama Bin Laden. There will be no amount of concession that will change his ideology or that of the Pakistani elite he represents.”
Rubin warned that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal could allow terrorist elements to “go rogue,” adding, “Americans look at terrorism through the lens of grievance... Asim Munir is Osama Bin Laden in a suit and there will be no amount of concession that will be given to Pakistan that is going to change his ideology or the Pakistani elite he represents....”
He urged Washington to take immediate steps, including revoking Pakistan’s major non-NATO ally status, removing it from the US Central Command, designating it a state sponsor of terrorism, and declaring Munir persona non grata.
“Within 30 minutes of when Asim Munir made those comments, he should have been ushered out, taken to Tampa International Airport, and flown out of the United States,” Rubin asserted.
Rubin proposed a “managed decline” for Pakistan, including the possibility of recognising breakaway regions like Balochistan.
He also said that, in a future US administration, special forces may need to secure Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile.
Pakistan’s threats, coupled with its nuclear posture, represent a danger the international community can no longer afford to downplay, said Rubin.
During a meeting in Tampa, Florida, with US military officials, General Munir warned that if Pakistan “goes down, it would take half the world down” — a reference to its nuclear arsenal — and allegedly threatened India, saying: “We will wait for India to build a dam, and when it does so, we will destroy it with ten missiles.”
The remarks came after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in April following the Pakistan-backed Pahalgam terror attack. New Delhi condemned Munir’s comments, calling them “nuclear sabre-rattling” and expressing regret that such threats were issued from the soil of a friendly third country.
Rubin has also criticised President Donald Trump’s recent stance toward New Delhi, accusing him of “targeting India” while overlooking US purchases of strategic materials from Russia and Iran.
“Donald Trump is wrong in this case. PM Modi standing up for India’s rights will be the episode historians remember when the US truly learnt it cannot kick India around,” Rubin said. He predicted that current tensions over trade and energy imports are a “stress test” that will ultimately make the India-US partnership stronger.
