Some Thoughts on Holbrooke Posted by Patrick Barry

I only caught the tail-end of Richard Holbrooke's speech accepting the special envoy slot for Afghanistan, Pakistan & 'related matters,' but based on what I saw, he seemed impressive. His observations were astute, and they will hopefully guide his dealings with the region. 

Here are what I found to be some of the most important take-aways:

Coordinate, Coordinate, Coordinate:
A successful special envoy must be prepared to act as a go-between the various actors within his mandate.  Typically, whenever anyone discuss this role in the context of Afghanistan and Pakistan, it's to illustrate the myriad tribal, ethnic, and political complexities that criss-cross the two countries.  Holbrooke recognized this, but also took the conversation further by referring to Afghanistan's labyrinthine foreign assistance program.  66 countries and 10 international organizations have provided close to $60 billion in reconstruction assistance, with an additional $21 billion coming out of the Paris Donor Conference last summer.  In addition, there are 26 provincial reconstruction teams embedded in the country, but they are overseen by 15 different countries, each with its own procedures and standards.  Even when leaving out the issue of worsening security, it's easy to see why reconstruction could suffer from a lack of coordination. Organizing this assistance and maximizing its effectiveness is thus critical, and it's good to see Holbrooke acknowledge that. 

See Connections, Respect Differences:
Holbrooke's position exists in part because the Obama administration understands that Afghanistan's deterioration is linked to affairs in Pakistan.  With insurgents streaming across the Durand line, and attacks rising along Afghanistan's eastern border, this point is almost indisputable.  That said, Afghanistan and Pakistan are also two very different countries, with different histories, different peoples and different customs.  Viewing them as part of the same strategic orbit is useful when dealing with those areas of interplay, like cross-border attacks, opium trafficking, and supply routes, but potentially damaging if it leads to an assumption that what works in Kabul will work just as well in Islamabad.

Put in the Time to Know the Region
This is a belabored point, but it was nice to see Holbrooke mention it - special envoys need to spend time in countries falling under their mission.  Without that, their legitimacy suffers, coordination falters, and the mission wilts.  Sustained engagement is the way to go, a point Condoleezza Rice failed to appreciate, as evidenced by last year's revelation that she hadn't traveled to Afghanistan in over 2 years.  She may not have been an envoy, but you get the picture. 

Comments

[Peace]

Holbrooke may work well in dealing with the governments in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but he may have difficult time with the Russians, whose help we need in that region, due to his previous anti-Russian statements.

[Zathras]

I look askance at the developing organization of this and some other parts of President Obama's administration; there seem to be a lot of chiefs running around trying to coordinate other chiefs to move forward on specific issues in less than specific ways.

With that reservation, I feel a lot better about Richard Holbrooke running policy toward South Asia than I would about Hillary Clinton assuming that responsibility.

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Holbrooke is the State Department's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.Yet relations between the U.S. and Pakistan have been inconsistent over the years..

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