The White House meeting between US President Donald Trump, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and army chief Asim Munir has been hailed in Islamabad as a long-awaited rehabilitation. Trump's warmth was directed at Munir, not Sharif. Washington sees a convergence: Pakistan wants help against the TTP, and the US wants a platform for limited counterterrorism operations without re-deploying large forces. The thaw also reflects America's Middle East compulsions. Islamabad has also rebranded itself as a 'resource state'. Recent US messaging has leaned more on the 'Asia Pacific' than the 'Indo-Pacific'.