Equally intriguing was Clinton's admission that US is as much responsible for the Haqqani network's existence today as Pakistan could be. She sensitises the American opinion by even produced a YouTube to underscore the legitimacy of the Pakistani allegation that the US did encourage it to hobnob with the Haqqanis, who were once America's blue-eyed boys. She clarified, inter alia, that she is not condoning still the "serious, grievous, strategic error" by Pakistan in supporting the Haqqanis, who are like a "wild animal in the backyard." Interestingly, Clinton doesn't spell out what precisely the US now expects Pakistan to do vis-a-vis Haqqanis -- except to say Islamabad should "prevent any attacks against us [US troops] emanating from Pakistan." Does she want Pakistan to smash up the Haqqanis and erase them out of the AfPak region? She doesn't say so. Does she say US won't have any truck with Haqqanis? She doesn't say so. In fact, by acknowledging that Haqqanis were once US's valued interlocutor, she implied that they can as well be so again in future. Put plainly, US wants Pakistan to domesticate the "wild animal". The hard reality is that the US has got Haji Malik Khan, Sirajuddin Haqqani's uncle and the 'brain' of the Haqqani network in its custody for almost a week by now, and there is no need to second guess that the CIA interrogators and state department's diplomats have already begun "engaging" the Haqqanis. Clinton's words of gratitude, hailing Pakistan as a factor of regional security and stability, is timely. Time for Delhi to ponder what is there in all this for India's interests? Maybe, Karzai will explain the art of the possible.

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