US Strategist Slams Trump Over Pakistan IMF Bailout
In a pointed assessment of US foreign policy, prominent American military strategist and former Pentagon advisor Michael Rubin has criticized the Trump administration for its failure to oppose a $1 billion IMF bailout to Pakistan. Rubin, who is currently a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, called out the geopolitical naivety behind the move, suggesting it only helped bolster terrorism and Chinese hegemony in South Asia.
Pakistan IMF Bailout
According to Rubin, the International Monetary Fund’s financial assistance to Pakistan has unintentionally served as a “bailout for China.” He stressed that Pakistan, due to its mounting debts under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), has become a financial and strategic vassal of Beijing.
“By sending money to Pakistan, the IMF is also effectively bailing out China,” Rubin said. He further described Pakistan as “one of the world’s most corrupt countries,” arguing that the money would not be used for economic reforms but instead sustain entrenched military and terror ecosystems. Referring to Pakistan as a “satrapy of China,” Rubin warned that global institutions are inadvertently underwriting Chinese ambitions in the region.
Michael Rubin Criticism
Rubin’s attack went beyond just the economic implications. He lambasted Pakistan’s deep-rooted connections with terrorist groups and questioned why the U.S. government remained silent despite overwhelming evidence of the Pakistani army’s collusion with jihadist networks. He cited instances of Pakistani army officers participating in funerals of terrorists and then orchestrating cross-border strikes, including those targeting India.
He specifically praised India’s military operation during Operation Sindoor, calling it a strategic masterstroke that exposed Pakistan’s weaknesses. “There is absolutely no spin Pak military can put on what occurred to shield themselves from the full reality of the fact that they not only lost, but they lost very, very badly,” Rubin noted, emphasizing that Pakistan’s military narrative had taken a significant blow.
Trump Foreign Policy
Rubin’s critique also extended to the broader direction of Trump’s foreign policy, particularly the administration’s reluctance to take decisive action against Pakistan despite ample evidence of its destabilizing role in the region. He suggested that failing to block the IMF loan was a missed opportunity to check both Pakistan and China’s growing alignment.
He advocated for a strategic overhaul in how international aid is distributed, especially to countries with known records of terrorism support and geopolitical duplicity. According to Rubin, any future financial assistance must be tightly scrutinized to ensure it doesn’t inadvertently finance military adventurism or enable authoritarian patrons like China to expand their sphere of influence under the guise of development.
Rubin’s statements reignite an ongoing debate over the intersection of international finance, regional security, and America’s global posture—one in which many now believe the Trump administration may have erred significantly.
