Holbrooke Just in Time

The silent man of Democratic foreign policy in recent months has been Richard Holbrooke. But today President-elect Obama named Hobrooke as one of his top foreign policy advisors. An iconic figure for the past several decades in America's global policies, while he has not been heard from very much at all during the Obama transition, he is probably the most experienced and tough-minded of our party's diplomats today as the United States faces fierce and dangerous crises in the Middle East and South Asia.

As the shrewd, hard-nosed and brilliant negotiator who settled the almost intractable crisis in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, he must now be considered as a possible choice to navigate the rough waters of either the Israeli-Palestine dispute or help douse the wildfires currently smoldering in the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran region. Yes, he has a reputation as a tough task-master and a hard-driving individual. But he is a singular figure for bringing about peace in troublesome times. Let us hope that both our new president and our new Secretary of State will hand over to Holbrooke some of these pressing conflicts to apply his own personal brand of resolution. It can't happen soon enough.

Comments

[mjc]

04:58 PM on 01/09/2009

My take, for what its worth....and probably not much, Holbrooke isn't so much a neocon as a realist. Think he sees the US as THE world power, at least until China becomes totally "grown up", and as such does have to act as the world policeman from time to time; if not policeman, then strong man putting the pressure on governments and groups who need it. That is an old-fashioned Democrat with old-fashioned policies that worked twenty years ago....., or so it seems.

[outnow]

05:40 PM on 01/08/2009

Holbrooke is a neocon (essentially) who believes in interfering in Bosnia and East Timor. He is "old school" foreign policy using whatever means the neoliberal and neocon agenda requires. Being tough means killing people these days - I'll give you that. None of these people attacked the United Sates, the killing was all for BUSINESS interests. The US military is not some corporation's private army. "Humanitarian interventions" are not always what they seem. The more the Bosnia conflict is examined, the more it appears to have been a NATO exercise to keep the former anti-Soviet alliance to be kept together for future uses such as pipelines in Afghanistan. I just don't buy killing those who have never attacked our country for business reasons. The world is not a big chess board for multi-national corporations.

This is not change we can believe in. It is continuity of bipartisan war making around the globe. You call that tough negotiating; I call it economic imperialism or gunboat diplomacy.

[marika]

12:11 PM on 01/08/2009

This sounds like more of the same but without the means that exixted in the past for hardball diploma cy..

[Kristina-Chicago]

11:45 AM on 01/08/2009

Holbrooke brokered a band-aid deal and peace is quietly unraveling in Bosnia. This is not someone who can handle a major peace agreement for the Middle East. A brilliant negotiator? Keep an eye on Bosnia before you rush to judgement on that one. I agree he's part of the old regime, let's hope Hillary has some new ideas.

[Nemo99]

10:21 AM on 01/08/2009

Holbrooke is our version of Wolfie and company. He's cold warrior who seriously Russophobic and still thinks the COMINTERN is pulling the strings behind every little flareup.

[JPHR]

05:15 AM on 01/08/2009

Holbrooke's stance on foreign policy is close to the neocons. Clearly without even being interested in the facts at all immediately after the Ossetia-Georgia incident in august 2008 he publicized a letter in the Moscow Times "Russia crossed the line".

Holbrooke in his comment on the the Ossetia matter crossed a line himself. Holbrooke fully aligned himself with the extremely damaging Neocon continuation of an outdated cold war containment policy. Part of that policy is the extension of Nato to the East, which encouraged Georgia to try to retake Ossetia. Since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 Ossetia after a short war with Georgia had been under a CIS/Russia peacekeeping mission from 1992 to 2008. Part of that same policy is letting the ABM treaty lapse in order to create an ABM capability in Poland by placing the Missile Defense shield there.

I have seen Holbrooke's personality surface in an interview on Skynews. The reporter did asked a slightly critical question about hubris after the US having armed and trained Georgia and in return for Georgia support in Iraq also supporting (though unsuccessfully) Nato membership for Georgia. Now his majesty the diplomat even refused to answer. In fact his behavior is quite similar to the Neocon cowering of unsympathetic media.

Holbrooke has been part of the team under Clinton which broke all promises to Gorbachev on not trying to take advantage of the vacuum caused by the the demise of the USSR.

Change I can believe in?

[Amalek]

03:01 AM on 01/08/2009

I see Holbrooke as a remnant of the old elitist Democratic party. Grew up in Scarsdale, went to Brown, too lazy to get a masters at Princeton so he settles for a "certificate". The foreign service is the natural career for the man born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

If I see him give one more report from in front of the fireplace at his zillion dollar ski resort home in Telluride, I am going to have to buy a new TV to replace the one I will throw a shoe through.

[Jezreel]

12:20 AM on 01/08/2009

This is great news. I deeply admire and respect former Ambassador Holbroke. He is indeed a brilliant man, an excellent negotiator and an expert diplomat. He will be an asset to the Obama Administration and I look forward to seeing how his input will help to shape and implement the new Administration's Middle East and foreign policy.

Kudos Mr. Obama.

[digdeeper]

03:55 AM on 01/08/2009

I hope anyone leading foreign policy will at least see the sense of TALKING to people. The US will have a point of view but so do others and they need to be listened to in order to
a. understand
b) be more informed
c) just maybe solve the problem
We cannot resolve issues by moving into countries and killing people we just increase anger and frustration leading to yet more resistance.
Do you think we will get it?

[Rugburn]

12:15 AM on 01/08/2009

You must be joking. Holbrooke is an "ends justify the means" kind of guy. It's time to move on from this neandrathal thinking. Google Holbrooke and follow the interesting trail.

[larry278]

10:10 PM on 01/07/2009

It's her Hillaryship's call. PE Obama wants her as his SoS. He sees her as a leader, an excellent judge of people & a demanding task master. When she appears at her conformation hearing, she'll have to prove that she is a leader, an excellent judge of people & a demanding task master to the senate. The process is known as giving the POTUS the senate's advice & consent. She will face difficult questions from detemined, experienced senators. It isn't going to be a tea party.

[Rule Of Law]

02:03 PM on 01/08/2009

Not to nit pik larry, but I think you mean, "con-firmation. As in "to confirm" or approve.

Conformation is what they judge in the dog show ring when they run all the dogs by. What they're looking for is what typifies the breed; if the dog meets the breed standard in lineage, and general appearance, movement....so maybe you're right after all. :)

[Stanley]

09:27 PM on 01/07/2009

Let's hope that Hillary uses her determination, skill, and ambition to solving the myriad of relationship/peace problems we face. Holbrooke will be valuable but it is her ship and she will steer it. She will use this platform to fulfill all her ambitions towards posteriety and relevance in the shadow of Bill

[lovethesinner]

09:24 PM on 01/07/2009

Richard is a nice man, but I couldn't disagree more with the idea that he should be allowed anywhere near our foreign policy, moving forward. Holbrooke was beating the drums for war in Iraq right along with the neo-cons all through Bill's last term. When I think of the phrase, "turn the page" Richard's face is on the page I imagine turning. I'm sorry the Clinton's didn't get to reward all their friends this go-around, but "elections have consequences" and this time we decided the consequence was going to be:

C H A N G E !

[Lugdunum]

02:30 AM on 01/08/2009

not sure where you get the "Richard is a nice man". Not.
He's well-known as very very hard to get along with. Notice how he was kept on the outskirts of the Obama team during the campaign and transition?

[syvanen]

08:57 PM on 01/07/2009

It is excessive to praise for Holbrooke for the 1995 Dayton accord. The US could have achieved that deal three years ealier, but instead threw its diplomatic support behind Izobegovic and his desire to have a moslem dominated government rule over all of Bosnia. The horrors of the resulting civil war taught the US a lesson and Holbrooke simply negotiated something that Milosovic and Tudjman were quite happy to sign; it did after all confirm both men as presidents of their own nation.