Posted on 01/14/2011 4:38:52 PM PST by La Lydia
President Obama delivered a soaring eulogy for the late Richard Holbrooke today, calling him a "leading light" of U.S. diplomacy. But ... the president's warm remarks belie a far more complex relationship between the President and Holbrooke...Attention also turned to his tumultuous final years, when Holbrooke was portrayed as a disruptive force within the Obama administration, whose relationship with top American and foreign officials had chilled, and whose professional tenure was nearly over...
The authors mine interviews with people who knew Holbrooke in Kabul, Islamabad, New York, Brussels, and Washington—including his wife Katie Marton, Gen. David Petraeus, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—to create an unprecedentedly full portrait of the 69-year-old diplomat's life since 2009, his struggle to find a major role in the Obama administration that resulted in efforts by rivals to contain and muzzle him...
"Dick Holbrooke would have been Obama's best ally," lamented Council on Foreign Relations President Emeritus Leslie H. Gelb. "Obama had just the right hammer he needed in Dick for dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Obama's failure to see that—and his staff's failure to see that—really cost him and our country. What in God's name would make you not make full use of Dick Holbrooke?"...
The aftermath of the 2009 presidential elections in Afghanistan seemed like the ideal time for Holbrooke's adversaries to squeeze him out. In early 2010, a letter from (James) Jones leaked to the press. In it, the national security adviser suggested that Holbrooke would soon be relieved of his duties. But in November, it was Jones who was fired by a frustrated Obama—a fact that Holbrooke couldn't resist crowing about. In early December, on a visit to the White House, Holbrooke told one of the president's aides, "You'll notice that I am still here and Jones isn't."...
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
Jones is still here and he isn’t...
Jones resigned last fall, replaced by Tom Donilon. That said, Jones is still alive...
The real Boss relieved him of his duties . . . .
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