Why the Pakistani/US is critical to both States:

The following is a brief review of the problematic Pakistan/US geopolitical circumstance, as it appears on this day. The summary is from the folks at Stratfor, an intel entity used by FoxNews, NBC and most of the other news media. I pay for their services in an effort to better serve the readership of Midknight Review. Copyright rules prevent me from quoting the entire article, but, as always, you have the link and are encouraged to read the full article:

After concluding the breach between the US and Pakistan is real and widening, George Friedman at Stratfor has this to say:

t is not inconceivable that Pakistan aided the United States in identifying and capturing Osama bin Laden, but it is unlikely. This is because the operation saw the already-tremendous tensions between the two countries worsen rather than improve. The Obama administration let it be known that it saw Pakistan as either incompetent or duplicitous and that it deliberately withheld plans for the operation from the Pakistanis. For their part, the Pakistanis made it clear that further operations of this sort on Pakistani territory could see an irreconcilable breach between the two countries. The attitudes of the governments profoundly affected the views of politicians and the public, attitudes that will be difficult to erase.

Posturing designed to hide Pakistani cooperation would be designed to cover operational details, not to lead to significant breaches between countries. The relationship between the United States and Pakistan ultimately is far more important than the details of how Osama bin Laden was captured, but both sides have created a tense atmosphere that they will find difficult to contain. One would not sacrifice strategic relationships for the sake of operational security. Therefore, we have to assume that the tension is real and revolves around the different goals of Pakistan and the United States.

A break between the United States and Pakistan holds significance for both sides. For Pakistan, it means the loss of an ally that could help Pakistan fend off its much larger neighbor to the east, India. For the United States, it means the loss of an ally in the war in Afghanistan. Whether the rupture ultimately occurs, of course, depends on how deep the tension goes. And that depends on what the tension is over, i.e., whether the tension ultimately merits the strategic rift. It also is a question of which side is sacrificing the most. It is therefore important to understand the geopolitics of U.S.-Pakistani relations beyond the question of who knew what about bin Laden. . . .

Read more: U.S.-Pakistani Relations Beyond Bin Laden | STRATFOR

Point of post: there is talk, a great deal of talk, urging a policy that would cut off Pakistani relations with the US if that country continues on the convoluted political path it has navigated to this point in time. The full article referenced above, will give you some insight into the continuing debate.