US officials have said they have no evidence that top Pakistani military or civilian leaders were aware of bin Laden's location or authorized any official support, but his residence within shouting distance of Pakistani military installations has brought relations to a crisis point, The Washington Post reports.
After years of ineffective American warnings, many US officials are concluding that a change in policy is long overdue, the report said.
"You can't continue business as usual," a senior administration official was quoted as saying on the condition of anonymity.
"You have to somehow convey to the Pakistanis that they've arrived at a big choice...People who were prepared to listen to [Pakistan's] story for a long time are no longer prepared to listen," the official added.
Some officials, particularly in the White House, have advocated strong reprisals, especially if Pakistan continues to refuse access to materials left behind by US commandos who scooped up all the paper and computer drives they could seize during their 40-minute raid on bin Laden's compound.
But few officials are eager to contemplate the alternatives if Pakistan makes the wrong choice, said the report.
Every available option- from limiting US aid and official contacts to unleashing more unilateral ground attacks against terrorist targets- jeopardises existing Pakistani help in keeping US enemies at bay, it noted.
Military success and an eventual negotiated settlement of the Afghanistan war are seen as virtually impossible without some level of Pakistani buy-in, the report added. (ANI)
