Can the United States take Hussain Haqqani seriously?

[khanmubashir]

Considered the architect of the smear campaign against Benazir during the 1988 General Elections in Pakistan, he was rewarded for his loyalty to NS with the post of Special Assistance to the Prime Minister when the latter came to power in1990. By the end of the first tenure of NS,HH was appointed as the youngest everHigh Commissioner of Pakistan to SriLanka.
After the dismissal of NS government andthe return of Benazir, he was recruited byher as her spokesperson with the status of a minister of state
Truly there r no principles in politics

 

[Solomon2]

Truly there r no principles in politics

For comparison, you might want to consider the French statesman-diplomat Talleyrand. He had immoral tastes and sticky fingers, yet served in turn the French Catholic Church, the Third Estate, the Directory, Napoleon, the Tsar, and the Bourbons.

Talleyrand betrayed every one of these principals, but never never betrayed his core principles: to preserve and strengthen what he believed was best about France in troubled times (while enriching and enjoying himself as much as possible.) And because of his greatly acknowledged ability, every one of his principals held their nose and dealt with him and rewarded him, even as one or two publicly labelled him "sh!t in a silk stocking".

 

[Thorough Pro]

Interesting you mentioned Talleyrand of France and not Trump who is easily as immoral and devoid of character as Talleyrand but probably you were not sure about Trump's stance on US national interest ..... Putin has quite an influence you know.

For comparison, you might want to consider the French statesman-diplomat Talleyrand. He had immoral tastes and sticky fingers, yet served in turn the French Catholic Church, the Third Estate, the Directory, Napoleon, the Tsar, and the Bourbons.

Talleyrand betrayed every one of these principals, but never never betrayed his core principles: to preserve and strengthen what he believed was best about France in troubled times (while enriching and enjoying himself as much as possible.) And because of his greatly acknowledged ability, every one of his principals held their nose and dealt with him and rewarded him, even as one or two publicly labelled him "sh!t in a silk stocking".

 

[VCheng]

So whether the U.S. "takes Husain Haqqani seriously" or not isn't the question; it's whether Pakistanis do.

Let me be brief in my comments, for reasons known to many, given the environment in this forum.

Pakistanis are not allowed to take alternate views such as those above seriously, at least in public. And why would the military ever see the need to change anything when the existing system, that they have worked so hard to create, works so well for them? If the next seven decades are the same as the past seventy years, as HH laments, does it really matter, as long as the status quo works well for those who think they are the only ones who matter?

It is far better for the world to work with these facts on the ground, and for Pakistanis to realize them as well. After all, they have three perfectly valid choices: adapt, leave, or join the system.