The task assigned to Holbrooke is to trust the Afghan and Pakistan governments to cooperate with each other as also with the US-led NATO forces, with a view to defeating the resurgent Taliban, the Al-qaeda insurgents and the other like-minded resistance groups. Resultantly, these militant groups are fighting on both sides of the long and priory Pakistan-Afghan border. Rich Holbrooke will marshal all political and diplomatic efforts and coordinate with the Pentagon to achieve the desired objectives. This decision has been taken at a time when as many as thirty thousand more soldiers are being sent to Afghanistan to strengthen the defences of Kabul city and to outgun Taliban fighters in the eastern and southern Afghanistan provinces bordering Pakistan and in the process, giving a nee lease of life to the beleaguered government of Hamid Karzai. Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan under the Obama administration, is a top-ranking American diplomat, magazine editor, author, professor, and investment banker who served as Country director for Peace Corps Morocco between 1970 and 1972.
Richard Holbrooke named US special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan
Holbrooke as US special representative
Caption: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband meeting Richard Holbrooke, President Obama's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan in London, 5 February 2009. They had a substantive discussion about the security and stability of Afghanistan and Pakistan, which remains of the greatest importance to the interests of our two countries. Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic
Recently the administration of President Barack Obama has decided to name a renowned diplomat, Richard Holbrooke as the US special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan. This decision has been taken to focus more attention to this region, which, today is considered as one of the two hotspots. The other in this context is the Middle East. But the policy for tackling this conflict will remain the same as the US is firmly determined to win the ‘War on Terror’, even by using of brute force.
The task assigned to Holbrooke is to trust the Afghan and Pakistan governments to cooperate with each other as also with the US-led NATO forces, with a view to defeating the resurgent Taliban, the Al-qaeda insurgents and the other like-minded resistance groups. Resultantly, these militant groups are fighting on both sides of the long and priory Pakistan-Afghan border. Rich Holbrooke will marshal all political and diplomatic efforts and coordinate with the Pentagon to achieve the desired objectives. This decision has been taken at a time when as many as thirty thousand more soldiers are being sent to Afghanistan to strengthen the defences of Kabul city and to outgun Taliban fighters in the eastern and southern Afghanistan provinces bordering Pakistan and in the process, giving a nee lease of life to the beleaguered government of Hamid Karzai.
As many as 70,000 foreign soldiers are already deployed in Afghanistan and with the addition of 30,000 soldiers, the number will reach 100,000. However, despite having this huge number at their command, the American and NATO military commanders claim that they are still short of figure of 400,000. In their estimation, only with this enlarged number, they could possibly achieve the desired results. As circumstances don’t permit enhancement of this large number, one wonder if under these circumstances, will it be advisable for USA to decide if the military option is still advisable to win the difficult battle in Afghanistan.
In the past, special envoys have been appointed for instances, special US envoys were appointed for Afghanistan in the 1980s to organize Mujahideen resistance to the Soviet occupying forces and secure the cooperation of regional countries, such as Pakistan. Now, Holbrooke’s test is difficult. Now he has to assist the Afghan government and Islamabad’s cooperation to vanguard the new bread of Islamic militants who are not much different for the Mujahideen and collectively referred to as Taliban. During the Afghan jehad, non-state actors were being equipped and trained to fight the established order represented by the Moscow-leaded Communist regimes in Kabul. Now the US and its allies are strengthening and pushing the government in Kabul and Islamabad to fight the assorted non-state actors ranging from Al-qaeda to the Taliban. Priorities have changed and so has the US policy. Mr. Holbrooke is a highly experienced diplomat, but he cannot be declared as an expert on the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, who will take time to develop an understanding with this war-torn area. His recent visits to Islamabad and Peshawar must certainly have benefited him knowing about his views and aspirations of Pakistan’s dealing with the issue of militancy and terrorism and their expectations from the US. Mr. Holbrooke is known for his assertive disposition but in his present assignment, he shall have to change his style as people in this part of the world are sensitive and not used to listing to tough talk. Mr. Holbrooke’s views on the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan are known. He looks upon Karzai as an inefficient and corrupt ruler. This is why, now that he has been thoroughly exposed. Holbrooke’s stress is on good governance and his demands on President Karzai is to do more, rein the warlord, drug barons and corrupt government functionaries. He will be facing all these demands. The fact of the matter is that Mr. Karzai is fast loosing the support of his American friends who presently are in search of a new Afghan President. Karzai has become somewhat critical of the western armies for killing civilian and not doing enough to help Afghanistan tackle ‘terrorism sanctuaries’ in neighboring Pakistan. Mr. Holbrooke like other US government officials and experts has described the situation in Pakistan as complex and the tribal areas as dangerous. In his view, the current conflict has interwined Pakistan and Afghanistan, even though they are different countries with their own traditions. Mr. Holbrooke’s task in Islamabad would be facilitator of the $ 15 billion, non-military US assistance to Pakistan come through now.
Mr.Joe Biden will arrange for this money and then see to it that it is put to good use in winning the hearts and minds of the North-West Frontier Province, where anti-US sentiments appears to be at the height. Over the past seven years American money has been mostly used for military means in both Afghanistan and Pakistan and sure outcome of this policy has been death and destruction and a rise in feelings again America. It is now high time that a change in policy and tactics is needed to stabilize the region. It is a complex situation, more so for a new administration and its trouble shooters for the region. Mr. Holbrooke will, in due course, find out his skills in ending this conflict, by tackling the more demanding problem in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
