US Think Tank Paid $100,000 to Haqqani to Write Book Against Army

Submitted by Aurangzeb on December 18, 2011 – 5:17 pm6 Comments

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ISLAMABAD: Smith Richardson Foundation, an American think tank, claims that it paid $100,000 to Husain Haqqani to write a book, which attacks the Pakistan army and the military-mosque alliance and its implications for US policies.
Haqqani came up with a book within two years and the controversial memo reflects many of the thoughts stated in his book.
The think tank also claims that it funded another $175000 to Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for developing a new US policy toward Pakistan in 2004 and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace hired Husain Haqqani for the purpose.

Smith Richardson Foundation is an American think tank whose mission is ‘to contribute to important public debates and to help address serious public policy challenges facing the United States.
The Foundation seeks to help ensure the vitality of our social, economic, and governmental institutions. It also seeks to assist with the development of effective policies to compete internationally and to advance US interests and values abroad. This mission is embodied in our international and domestic grant programs.’
The website of Smith Richardson Foundation shows under the link: http://www.srf.org/grants/grantsdb.php? username=&lg=1 that in 2003 a sum of $100,000 was given as grant to Carnegie Endowment for International Peace regarding ‘Mosque-Military Alliance in Pakistan and Implications for US Policy’.
The website describes the usage of grant as, “Husain Haqqani will research and write a book on the relationship between Pakistan’s military and the country’s radical Islamic forces and assess the implications of that relationship for US security.”
Interestingly Haqqani came up with a book in 2005 titled ‘Pakistan between Mosque and Military’ and he wrote in the concluding paragraphs of his book: “Washington must not ignore Pakistan’s state sponsorship of Islamist militants, its pursuit of nuclear weapons and missiles at the expense of education and healthcare, and its refusal to democratize; each of these issues is directly linked to the future of Islamist radicalism.”
Smith Richardson Foundation’s website further says that it granted $175,000 in 2004 to Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Developing and explained that ‘Husain Haqqani will lead an effort to develop new ideas for US policy toward Pakistan.
He will organize working groups of US and Pakistani experts and commission papers. He will write a blueprint for a US policy to encourage Pakistan to adopt a more moderate and democratic political system. The project’s findings will appear in a series of monographs and a policy report.’
It is worth mentioning here that Haqqani in the concluding paragraphs of his book has also written “The United States clearly has few good short term policy options in relation to Pakistan.
American policy makers should endeavor to recognize the failings of their past policies and avoid repeating their mistakes. The United States has sought short-term gains from its relationship with Pakistan, inadvertently accentuating that country’s problems in the process.
Pakistan’s civil and military elite, on the other hand, must understand how their three-part paradigm for state and nation building has led Pakistan from one disaster to the next. Pakistan was created in a hurry and without giving detailed thought to various aspects of nation and state building. Perhaps it is time to rectify that mistake by taking a long-term view. Both Pakistan’s elite and their US benefactors would have to participate in transforming Pakistan into a functional, rather than ideological, state.” Haqqani was tried to be contacted and an SMS was also sent on his number but no reply was given till filing of this report. A message was also sent on his verified twitter account but that was also not replied.