The "Bulldozer" comes to Pakistan
Madhavi Bhasin
January 23, 2009
President Barack Obama today appointed Richard Holbrooke as a Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and other related matters. Though these ´other related matters´ have not been elaborated, Kashmir and India-Pakistan relations conveniently fall into the category. Hence the recent appointment should be of particular interest to India. A backgrounder to Richard Holbrooke´s prior diplomatic missions helps to comprehend the future course of U.S. policy in the region.
Richard Holbrooke was the chief architect of the Dayton Peace Accords designed to resolve the ethnic crisis in former Yugoslavia. His distinct style of diplomacy and negotiation emerged clearly during the drafting and implementation of the Dayton accords. In getting the warring leaders to the negotiating table Holbrooke adopted an uncompromising and confrontationist style which earned him the reputation of "the Bulldozer" or sometimes "Raging Bull" in the region. In May 1995, a major crisis emerged when 300 UN peacekeepers were held hostage by the Bosnian Serbs. Holbrooke´s simple solution to the complex diplomatic situation was: bomb the Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic´s capital at Pale if the hostages are not released within 48 hours. The day he initialized the agreement at Dayton, Hoolbroke publicly stated there would be many problems along the way and surprisingly most of the problems encountered in implementing the Dayton Accords were predicted by him. In an interview with Elizabeth Fransworth in 1996, Holbrooke stated "You have to match your method to the moment and your style to the substance and the situation." As evident Holbrooke´s style is aggressive, pragmatic, focused and inspired by a deep faith in America´s power and responsibility. Holbrooke´s reputation and approach to negotiations implies that Pakistan is likely to face his creative and aggressive diplomatic style. His views with regard to Pakistan are equally discerning.
Holbrooke has referred to the ´arc of crisis´ distinct from Former President Bush´s ´axis of evil´. The arc of crisis includes Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. With regard to Afghanistan he has identified four major problem areas - the tribal areas in Pakistan, the drug lords who dominate the Afghan system, the national police, and the incompetence and corruption of the Afghan government. Zooming on the issue of the tribal areas in Pakistan, Holbrooke has already presented a specialist´s perspective. According to him vastly improved, better-equipped, better-trained and better-paid Frontier Corps is urgently required to manage the tribal areas of Pakistan. The Frontier Corps in its present avatar is an ancient force, created by the British in the 19th century, with only 50,000 troops and faces a better-armed Taliban and local rebel groups. He has categorically stated that Washington has been sending mixed signals to Pakistan which will be rectified under the Obama administration. His message for Pakistan is clear: democracy, reconciliation, the military out of politics, a new policy for the tribal areas -- and more democracy. Interestingly, Holbrooke´s rejection of labeling Pakistan as "the world´s most dangerous place" highlights his sensitivities regarding Pakistan´s challenges and the optimism of countering the same.
It appears that despite the aggressive rhetoric of Pakistan, the Obama administration is preparing to "bulldoze" the terrorist safe havens in tribal Pakistan.
Richard Holbrooke was the chief architect of the Dayton Peace Accords designed to resolve the ethnic crisis in former Yugoslavia. His distinct style of diplomacy and negotiation emerged clearly during the drafting and implementation of the Dayton accords. In getting the warring leaders to the negotiating table Holbrooke adopted an uncompromising and confrontationist style which earned him the reputation of "the Bulldozer" or sometimes "Raging Bull" in the region. In May 1995, a major crisis emerged when 300 UN peacekeepers were held hostage by the Bosnian Serbs. Holbrooke´s simple solution to the complex diplomatic situation was: bomb the Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic´s capital at Pale if the hostages are not released within 48 hours. The day he initialized the agreement at Dayton, Hoolbroke publicly stated there would be many problems along the way and surprisingly most of the problems encountered in implementing the Dayton Accords were predicted by him. In an interview with Elizabeth Fransworth in 1996, Holbrooke stated "You have to match your method to the moment and your style to the substance and the situation." As evident Holbrooke´s style is aggressive, pragmatic, focused and inspired by a deep faith in America´s power and responsibility. Holbrooke´s reputation and approach to negotiations implies that Pakistan is likely to face his creative and aggressive diplomatic style. His views with regard to Pakistan are equally discerning.
Holbrooke has referred to the ´arc of crisis´ distinct from Former President Bush´s ´axis of evil´. The arc of crisis includes Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. With regard to Afghanistan he has identified four major problem areas - the tribal areas in Pakistan, the drug lords who dominate the Afghan system, the national police, and the incompetence and corruption of the Afghan government. Zooming on the issue of the tribal areas in Pakistan, Holbrooke has already presented a specialist´s perspective. According to him vastly improved, better-equipped, better-trained and better-paid Frontier Corps is urgently required to manage the tribal areas of Pakistan. The Frontier Corps in its present avatar is an ancient force, created by the British in the 19th century, with only 50,000 troops and faces a better-armed Taliban and local rebel groups. He has categorically stated that Washington has been sending mixed signals to Pakistan which will be rectified under the Obama administration. His message for Pakistan is clear: democracy, reconciliation, the military out of politics, a new policy for the tribal areas -- and more democracy. Interestingly, Holbrooke´s rejection of labeling Pakistan as "the world´s most dangerous place" highlights his sensitivities regarding Pakistan´s challenges and the optimism of countering the same.
It appears that despite the aggressive rhetoric of Pakistan, the Obama administration is preparing to "bulldoze" the terrorist safe havens in tribal Pakistan.
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