As Pakistan’s new government settles in, press reports are saying that Husain Haqqani, an FP contributor and a former Carnegie Endowment analyst, will be made Pakistan’s next ambassador to Washington. He would replace Mahmud Ali Durrani, a retired general who would become national security advisor. For now, Haqqani has been made “ambassador at large” and the change in Washington isn’t expected until June, when Durrani’s term expires.

If the reports are true, it’s an interesting development. Haqqani has written extenisively for FP, most recently in a debate with Daniel Markey of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also the author of “Think Again: Islamist Terrorism” (along with Christine Fair), “Islam’s Weakened Moderates,” “The American Mongols,” and “Islam’s Medieval Outposts.” A theme of his writing is a staunch defense of democracy and a plea to do more to help Islamic moderates weaken extremists. He has a lot of friends in Washington and in the media.

When we last interviewed Ambassador Durrani in November, I thought I detected some hedging on his part. He didn’t seem entirely confident that Pervez Musharraf would remain the president, nor was he willing to take the usual shots against Benazir Bhutto. Perhaps he was just being characteristically polite. In any case, Durrani appears to be landing on his feet in the new order, so he must have played it smart.

source: foreign policy