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| India-Pakistan | ||
| Govt to Holbrooke: Can't just walk in and out of India | ||
| 2009-08-17 | ||
| NEW DELHI: Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy on Af-Pak, is finding the going very difficult when it comes to India. For the second time in a month, Holbrooke has had "scheduling" problems in India. The foreign office has told Holbrooke in very polite diplomatic terms that he cannot walk in and out of India at will. Holbrooke, senior officials said, had a habit of unilaterally deciding when he wanted to come to India and then demanding to see his top foreign policy interlocutors.
Holbrooke will be visiting Pakistan and Afghanistan starting on August 15, but will, once again, skip India. And this after having announced three weeks ago that he would be in India in mid-August. Senior government sources, speaking on background, said Holbrooke's mandate did not include India, so there was little need for him to visit India every time he was in the region. "It sends the wrong signals of hyphenation that we want to avoid," they said. Holbrooke, said sources, tried hard to come along with secretary of state Hillary Clinton during her maiden visit here last month but was discouraged. Sources said he tried hard to get Clinton to visit Pakistan, but between Clinton and Barack Obama, there was a decision to deal with India without the Pakistan baggage. So that did not happen either, much to Pakistan's chagrin.
On Wednesday, Holbrooke was once again telling an audience in Washington that his trip to the region involved only Pakistan and Afghanistan, not India. Describing India as a "dominant power" in South Asia, Holbrooke said the Obama administration was keeping New Delhi informed about its policies in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. "The Indians are a major factor in the region. They are a dominant power," he said. | ||
| Posted by:john frum |
| #17 lotp, now, now. Surely you don't think that Mr. Hopey Changey gives a rat's patootie about businessmen and businesswomen (that evil profit motive must be wiped out at all costs, dontcha know.) |
| Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie 2009-08-17 22:59 |
| #16 Bingo, Snowy. And of course the Obama administration is deliberately f*cking up the relationship with India that was painstakingly developed under Bush. It probably doesn't help that Indian Americans are among the most energetic and productive small business owners in the US and that India's emerging industries have developed mutually profitable relationships with US firms. |
| Posted by: lotp 2009-08-17 19:33 |
| #15 He actually acted like he represents the number one power in the world. Hmmmm. I'm glad to know that American soldiers have fought, suffered, bled, died, or lived with debilitating injuries so that Richard Holbrooke could be a royal jerk to the duly elected and appointed representatives of the only country in the region that HASN'T been a state sponsor of terrorism during the current war. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-08-17 18:25 |
| #14 #11 LH - how is it that I know if Bolton had done it, you'd call it arrogance and hubris? |
| Posted by: Frank G on the road 2009-08-17 18:24 |
| #13 And then there's the whole Special Envoy appointments Zero made to reduce the power of SecState Hildebeast, and thus all the cookie-pushers at State. Bet they aren't helping Holbrooke and his outdated Rolodex. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-08-17 16:59 |
| #12 at #11: But it didn't get him a meeting... So whatever he felt he was entitled to didn't pan out. So what was the point then? |
| Posted by: sludge 2009-08-17 16:38 |
| #11 Holbrooke, senior officials said, had a habit of unilaterally deciding when he wanted to come to India and then demanding to see his top foreign policy interlocutors. Pure arrogance He actually acted like he represents the number one power in the world. Hmmmm. |
| Posted by: liberal hawk 2009-08-17 16:20 |
| #10 The Indians will be very wary of Obama's envoys. Posted by john frum As should everyone else. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-08-17 14:46 |
| #9 It also doesn't help that Obama appointed Robin Raphael to oversee aid to Pakistan. The Indians don't trust her. Apparently she suspects RAW (the Indian intelligence service) to be behind the death of her husband, then ambassador to Pakistan, in the plane crash that eneded the rule of dictator Zia Ul Haq. When the US dithered on an ambassador to India, Raphael took personal charge of affairs involving India and midwifed the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (Kashmiri Separatists). She made statements questioning accession of Jammu and Kashmir state to India. None of this had the approval of higher ups in the administration but the Indians didn't know this and thought this was official US policy. The Indians will be very wary of Obama's envoys. |
| Posted by: john frum 2009-08-17 14:26 |
| #8 Besides protocol (and Indian MEA babus are very protocol conscious), there is the matter of substance. Holbrooke has to offer the Pakistanis something and the Indians do not wish to be the ones paying the price for Pakistani concessions. The Pakistani have always sought "external balancers" - mediators more powerful than Pakistan who could extract concessions from India in exchange for services from Pakistan. After the debacle of the UN (where India approached the Security Council in 1947 and found that the interests of Great Powers took precedence) India insists on bilateral dialogue. They do not welcome Holbrooke's intervention in India-Pak issues. |
| Posted by: john frum 2009-08-17 14:16 |
| #7 Holbrooke, senior officials said, had a habit of unilaterally deciding when he wanted to come to India and then demanding to see his top foreign policy interlocutors. Pure arrogance. |
| Posted by: Willy 2009-08-17 13:55 |
| #6 Im not convinced that scheduling problems in New Delhi is gutting Holbrooke's career. More important is what he gets out of Pakistan, and if that fails, Obama is in deep yoghurt. I continue to think Holbrooke is still one of the smarter folks on the BHO for pol team. Sounds to me more like a minor Obama snafu - creating lots of special envoys outside the main State hierarchy, and then failing to give them adequate staff. George Mitchell can get away with that in Israel, cause Israelis notoriously dont care about protocol, and they have massive issues of substance to care about. In the land of a thousand castes, protocol matters more, esp for an ex-colony turned great power with perhaps a chip on its shoulder about status. |
| Posted by: liberal hawk 2009-08-17 13:20 |
| #5 Then again, Bambi may be a genius: Holbrooke is a legend in his own mind and was demanding a big role in the new administration. Why sure Rich, we have just the job for you, have at it ... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-08-17 12:15 |
| #4 and of course, this continues Obama's policy of treating allies badly while fell*ting America's enemies |
| Posted by: Frank G on the road 2009-08-17 11:58 |
| #3 sounds like he demands an audience at his whim. Real diplos have staff that does the ground work for effective commmunications, exchange of positions, etc.so the bigwigs are merely cementing pre-agreed stances. Holbrooke is a pompous ass, and needs to be set in his place repeatedly, apparently. Amateur hour at the Zero's admin continues |
| Posted by: Frank G on the road 2009-08-17 11:57 |
| #2 I don't think he makes appointments |
| Posted by: john frum 2009-08-17 11:24 |
| #1 I don't like it when folks make an appointment with me and cancel for no particular reason (not even the wrong 'hyphenation', whatever the heck that is). I become a tad more p*ssed each time thereafter. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2009-08-17 11:04 |