Holbrooke to South Asia
Richard Holbrooke was one of those Democratic foreign policy gurus whose reputation and future employment prospects were all but ruined by his vociferous support for the Iraq war and his subsequent aggressive advocacy for Senator Hillary Clinton. While many Democrats disagreed over who would be a better nominee, Holbrooke was out in front telling foreign policy people who supported Obama that they would be frozen out of a prospective Clinton administration.
Since Holbrooke served with distinction in high-ranking posts in the Clinton administration–namely as ambassador to the UN–it makes sense that he would see himself as in line for Secretary of State. Since that job is going to Clinton, there was the possibility that he–one of the most prominent and accomplished Democratic mandarins, someone who personally engineered the Dayton Accords–would be without a job in the Obama administration.
Well, have no fear, Holbrooke is here. Or, at least, he might be here. The Washington Post is reporting that Obama “is seriously considering giving former ambassador Richard Holbrooke a key role in handling diplomacy in south Asia.” This strikes me as a canny move both substantively and politically. Despite Holbrooke’s ideological flaws, everyone knows that he’s a smart, competent and successful diplomat. If he got the Serbs and Bosnians to sit down, talk to each other and agree to stop fighting, than maybe he can salvage an acceptable outcome out of the seemingly endless conflict/geopolitical shitstorm that is south Asia.
Also, politically, this move makes a lot of sense. Holbrooke is an opinionated guy with a lot of fans in the press corps, and he could certainly make things more difficult for Obama in the press if he had a grudge against him. So, a good move all around.
