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Holbrooke meets Kosovo Albanian terrorists and does not wear shoes during the meeting, an Islamic symbol that says he supports their cause.Holbrooke supported Balkan Muslim sepratists in Bosnia and Kosovo and delivered victory to al-Qaeda in Europe. Then from Bosnia they turned on the US on 9/11. Holbrooke now heads Afghan policy for Obama. Obama’s WarEight-year old Bush’s Afghanistan war has become Obama’s war. Obama has declared that war was both necessary and winnable. He committed 21,000 additional troops this year, bringing the U.S. force to 68,000 and more are likely to be sent. The current expenditures amount to $2.6...

The single most damning story about President Obama so far is one we know courtesy of his national security adviser, Jim Jones. Visiting the newly installed military commanders in Afghanistan in late June, Jones told General Stanley McChrystal that if he requested more troops any time soon, Obama would have a "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" (i.e., "What the f--") moment. Jones then, in an interview, made the claim--denied by everyone else involved--that military leaders had agreed that when the president earlier sent 21,000 troops to Afghanistan, "there would be a year from the time the decision was made before they would...

Hillary Clinton is said to be frustrated with her lack of authority as secretary of state and resentful of the glacial pace of the White House vetting process. President Obama's picks fly in even if they didn't pay their taxes. But her picks take forever," noted one Democrat. "Plus, she has no real clout over Holbrooke or Mitchell. Richard Holbrooke is Obama's "special representative" for Afghanistan and Pakistan. George Mitchell is "special envoy" to the Middle East. Clinton is said to be considering quitting to retake her old US Senate seat now held by Kristin Gillibrand-- or running for governor,...

U.S. President Barack Obama has started reaching out to some of Pakistan's most fervent Islamist and anti-American parties, including one that helped give rise to the Taliban, trying to improve Washington's image in the nuclear-armed state. Obama's special envoy, Richard Holbrooke, is initiating dialogue between the United States and religious parties previous administrations had largely shunned, both sides said. John Bolton, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Bush presidency, questioned Holbrooke's timing for trying to engage Taliban sympathisers on the eve of elections in neighbouring Afghanistan, where U.S. forces are battling the hardline Islamic group. "As a general...

TRIESTE, Italy (Reuters) - Washington is to dramatically overhaul its Afghan anti-drug strategy, phasing out opium poppy eradication, the U.S. envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan told allies on Saturday. Richard Holbrooke, attending a G8 conference on stabilizing Afghanistan, also discussed efforts to support its August 20 election. Washington has nearly doubled its troops to combat a growing Taliban insurgency and provide security for the vote. "The Western policies against the opium crop, the poppy crop, have been a failure. They did not result in any damage to the Taliban, but they put farmers out of work," Holbrooke told Reuters after...

U.S. reverses Afghan drug policy, eyes August vote * U.S. to phase out poppy eradication * Wants to avoid questions over Afghan vote * Seeks more aid for Pakistan RIESTE, Italy, June 27 (Reuters) - Washington is to dramatically overhaul its Afghan anti-drug strategy, phasing out opium poppy eradication, the U.S. envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan told allies on Saturday. Richard Holbrooke, attending a G8 conference on stabilising Afghanistan, also discussed efforts to support its Aug. 20 election. Washington has nearly doubled its troops to combat a growing Taliban insurgency and provide security for the vote. "The Western policies against...

A handful of high-ranking Obama administration officials this month delivered private briefings at the annual invitation-only conference held by an elite international organization known as the Bilderberg group. The closed meeting of some of the most powerful business , media and political leaders in North America and Western Europe heard from top Obama diplomats James Steinberg and Richard Holbrooke, who detailed the administration’s foreign policy, while economic adviser Paul Volcker, chairman of President Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, also gave a presentation at the heavily guarded seaside resort in Greece that hosted the event. The Bilderberg group, which takes its...

WASHINGTON – Pakistan is not a failed state but its government is facing tremendous challenges and needs U.S. help to counter Taliban advances, the Obama administration's point man for the region said Tuesday. Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told a congressional committee that Pakistan's survival as a moderate, democratic state is critical to U.S. national security. "Our most vital national security interests are at stake," Holbrooke told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He said that although Pakistan "is a state under enormous social, political and economic pressures," it "is not a failed state."

Former chief White House political advisor Dick Morris revealed Tuesday that his former boss Bill Clinton cared so little about global terrorism that his own Assistant Secretary of State had trouble getting him to pay attention to a bomb threat against the Khobar Towers Air Force barracks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "In 1996, I got a phone call from Dick Holbrooke," Morris told WABC Radio's Sean Hannity. "He said, 'We're getting hard intelligence that terrorists are planning another hit on our guys in Riyadh.... They're in the exact same building they were in when it was hit last time.'" In ...

Holbrooke disagrees with Obama’s assessment By Anwar Iqbal Saturday, 02 May, 2009 | 12:39 PM PST | WASHINGTON: US presidential envoy Richard Holbrooke disagrees with President Barack Obama’s description of the Zardari government as ‘very fragile,’ which is incapable of delivering even basic services to its people. In an interview hastily arranged by the Pakistan Embassy to undo the impression created by President Obama’s remarks, Mr Holbrooke said he believed the Zardari government was capable of doing what his boss said it was not. Questioned pointedly if the government in Islamabad was capable of delivering what is being expected from...

US presidential envoy Richard Holbrooke on Friday voiced the Obama administration’s full confidence in the ability of the democratic Pakistani government to deliver services for its people as he rubbished media reports implying that Washington might be concerned about the performance of the elected government to the point of seeking change. Referring to stories that spoke of the Obama administration considering the civilian government weak, Holbrooke, special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, said, ‘I don’t understand these stories.’ This is journalistic garbage. This is journalistic gobbledygook. It’s a story being hyped by journalists,’ he added, when asked to comment on...

WASHINGTON - The administration of US President Barack Obama is reaching out to former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the chief rival of President Asif Ali Zardari, in hopes to find a way to strengthen the country’s government, The New York Times reported late Friday. Sharif, who served as Pakistan’s prime minister twice during the 1990s, represents the Pakistan Muslim League-N, a coalition that includes a number of Islamist groups. Citing unnamed administration officials, the newspaper said on its website that because of his ties to Islamists, the US government has long held Sharif at arm’s length. But now some...

A lot of bad blood currently exists between Washington and Islamabad, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials. President Obama has made it clear that success for U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan depends in large part on what happens in Pakistan. But analysts say his new strategy for the region places huge demand on Pakistan and creates tension between the two countries — something that became evident during a recent visit by U.S. officials. In public, the United States and Pakistan are allies with a parallel interest in eradicating Islamist extremism. But behind the scenes, it's a complicated relationship — one...

Here is a video report on U.S. Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke who said yesterday that he is "deeply disturbed" by Washington's "weak understanding" of the enemy we face in the Taliban. Holbrooke reportedly made the remark to reporters off-camera. The report says Holbrooke intended the statement as a swipe at the Bush Administration, and feels the Obama Administration is dedicated to a better understanding of the Taliban. He believes the 8 billion in aid to Pakistan will go a long way to changing the "militant mindset." Yet in the report, they talk to an expert who...

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2009 – Building trust between the United States and Pakistan tops the agenda as the two countries and Afghanistan move forward, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said following meetings in Pakistan’s capital city yesterday. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad. The three spoke at a news conference following their meeting. “This commitment is a long-term commitment that I hope will generate a surplus of trust, as that is absolutely vital,” Mullen said. U.S....

U.S. envoys met with Pakistani leaders on Tuesday to ensure that the $7.5 billion that President Obama plans to send their way over the next five years will be used to achieve common goals in the fight against extremism. But according to a Pakistani newspaper, regional envoy Richard Holbrooke and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen came up empty-handed and received a "rude shock" when a proposal for joint operations against al Qaeda and Taliban forces in the volatile tribal regions was rejected.

So much for Obama’s promise to repair our alliances! Report: Pakistan rejects U.S. plan, wants drones By Bridget JohnsonThe Hill April 8, 2009U.S. envoys met with Pakistani leaders on Tuesday to ensure that the $7.5 billion that President Obama plans to send their way over the next five years will be used to achieve common goals in the fight against extremism.But according to a Pakistani newspaper, regional envoy Richard Holbrooke and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen came up empty-handed and received a “rude shock” when a proposal for joint operations against al Qaeda and Taliban forces in the volatile...

US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke is supposed to have had a brief, but “cordial” encounter with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahdi Akhunzadeh at the Afghanistan conference in The Hague last week ... The two men agreed to “stay in touch,” Clinton added......Oddly enough, Holbrooke suggests that the [1994] policy of “allowing” covert arms shipments would somehow diminish the Bosnian government’s reliance upon support from Muslim nations. There is in fact evidence that other countries also made covert arms shipments to the Bosnian government. Schindler points, in particular,...

Pakistan's leaders have told visiting US envoy Richard Holbrooke there must be trust between the nations as "nothing else will work". Pakistan's foreign minister also said there was a "gap" in opinion over US drone attacks on Pakistani territory. Mr Holbrooke has met President Asif Ali Zardari, who told him that Pakistan was "battling for its own survival". Mr Zardari said Pakistan needed "unconditional support" to fight terrorism and extremism. Mr Holbrooke, the joint US envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Islamabad after talks with Afghan...

I first laid eyes on Richard Holbrooke (he won't remember) on Monday evening, September 21, 1992. Some ridiculously wealthy Manhattan socialite had thrown a party for Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, then the new cause du jour, and some boutique human rights group — a bogus one, I realized in retrospect, now defunct, though its chieftain has since moved to greener pastures and is still active — had decided that I might be useful and had flown me up for the soirée. As it was, nobody was interested in me, I had a drink or two, ate some peanuts, and went...

WASHINGTON, March 31 (UPI) -- Attempting to eradicate poppy fields in Afghanistan is counterproductive, the United States' top envoy to the country says. Even though U.S. President Barack Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan calls for continued efforts to destroy the flowers used in the production of opium, Richard Holbrooke, the administration's coordinator of Afghanistan policy, called the practice "wasteful and ineffective" at a Brussels forum this month, USA Today reported Tuesday. Moves to eradicate poppies have been "pushing farmers into the Taliban's hands" because it destroys their livelihoods, Holbrooke reportedly said.

THE HAGUE | Top U.S. envoy Richard C. Holbrooke met Tuesday with a senior Iranian official, in the Obama administration's first direct diplomatic contact with the Islamic republic. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters the brief meeting would not be the last. In another unprecedented move, Mrs. Clinton instructed her delegation to an international conference on Afghanistan to hand to the Iranians a letter asking that Tehran help return three American citizens known or thought to be in Iran to the United States. Obama administration meets with Iran Nicholas Kralev (Contact) Tuesday, March 31, 2009 Comment Print Font...

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2009 – The new U.S. strategy in Afghanistan will include unprecedented integration of military and civilian activities, two key leaders in the effort said yesterday. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, and Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, spoke with host John King on the CNN program “State of the Union.” Holbrooke said that in the wake of a full review of Afghanistan policy ordered by President Barack Obama, he and Petraeus plan to meet soon to work on details for the way forward. “Dave Petraeus and I are...

Here is video of Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Richard Holbrooke laying out the current approach to the War in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Holbrooke has been named by Obama as a Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan to lead the diplomatic efforts, while Petraeus is the commander on the military side. Holbrooke comes across as a total Obama hack, saying Obama "took charge" of meetings on Afghanistan/Pakistan "like no other President" he has seen. Gen. David Petraeus is a true patriot, and he comes across as very capable and focused on winning the fight rather than advancing political goals. At...

Now that President Obama has announced his new strategy for Afghanistan, you may be focused on the number of new troops that will deploy there: 17,000 on the way, with 4,000 more trainers and advisers to join them by fall. Before you think "quagmire," consider what, to my mind, makes this plan so impressive: The troop increase is part of a much broader strategy encompassing the entire South Asia region. It emphasizes economic aid and diplomacy as much as guns. As Richard Holbrooke, Obama's special representative for AfPak, put it: "The media is talking about a military surge. What Obama...

The Obama administration has conducted a vigorous internal debate over its new strategy for Afghanistan, expected to be unveiled by the president in a speech Friday. According to two U.S. government sources close to the issue, senior policymakers were divided over how comprehensive to make the strategy, involving an initial boost of 17,000 U.S. troops. On the one side were Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg, who argued in closed-door meetings for a minimal strategy of stabilizing Afghanistan that one source described as a "lowest common denominator" approach. The goal of these...

According to Richard Holbrooke, Richard Holbrooke is essentially this country's top diplomat -- Hillary Clinton is merely his "pupil. This despite the fact that Holbrooke has hit the trifecta of shady business dealings over the last few years: a member of AIG's board with more than $800,000 in compensation, a managing director at Lehman Brothers, and the recipient of a "Friends of Angelo" loan from Countrywide (that alone was enough to get Jim Johnson thrown under the Obama campaign bus). Now comes another revelation from the New York Times. Despite repeated denials, according to three sources, Holbrooke did offer former...

PARIS — Every time Radovan Karadzic, the onetime Bosnian Serb leader, appears in court on war crimes charges, he has hammered on one recurring claim: a senior American official pledged that he would never be standing there. The official, Richard C. Holbrooke, now a special envoy on Afghanistan and Pakistan for the Obama administration, has repeatedly denied promising Mr. Karadzic immunity from prosecution in exchange for abandoning power after the Bosnian war......

BRUSSELS (AFP) — US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke said Saturday that NATO's air attack on former Yugoslavia a decade ago was "the right thing to do" and had improved the lives of Kosovo Albanians and Serbs. Speaking at the Brussels Forum conference, Holbrooke -- former envoy to the Balkans -- recalled how 10 years ago this week he had given the final ultimatum to former strongman Slobodan Milosevic to comply or face air strikes. "I look back on it and I think that sometimes it's necessary to use force, and the result was good in the end," the new US representative...

WASHINGTON – Obama administration special envoy Richard Holbooke was on the American International Group Inc. board of directors in early 2008 when the insurance company locked in the bonuses now stoking national outrage. Holbrooke, a veteran diplomat who is now the administration's point man on Pakistan and Afghanistan, served on the board between 2001 and mid-2008. During that period, AIG undertook the aggressive investment strategies that led to a near-collapse and forced a multibillion-dollar federal bailout. President Barack Obama has insisted his administration was not responsible for AIG's financial woes, and a White House spokesman said Thursday that Holbrooke was...

Here is video of CNN Reporter Christiane Amanpour talking with Campbell Brown about the serious situation in Pakistan where the Pakistan Government has recognized the right for the Taliban to impose Sharia Islamic Law in the "Swat Region" of the country. This is in the North close to Afghanistan. Amanpour talks about how this likely will threaten the region of Peshawar (Waziristan) right on the Afghanistan border, as the Taliban likely try to spread their influence there. Amanpour is a radical leftist in much of her reporting, but even she recognizes the danger of what is happening and also indirectly...

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) – The US administration signalled a new spirit of international cooperation this weekend but called for its allies to do more and painted a bleak picture of the war in Afghanistan. Vice President Joe Biden used the Munich Security Conference in the southern Germany city to say that Barack Obama's White House sought a "new tone" in foreign relations, particularly with regard to Russia and even Iran. "I come to Europe on behalf of a new administration determined to set a new tone not only in Washington, but in America's relations around the world," he said on...

ichard Holbrooke, the administration's new envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan will make his first trip to the region next week, the State Department said Thursday. Holbrooke will travel to South Asia after attending a security conference in Munich, Germany, acting department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters. Although his schedule was not set, he was expected to travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan. It was unclear whether he would travel to neighboring India, which is still engaged in a tense standoff with Pakistan after the December terror attacks in Mumbai. Wood said that Holbrooke will "touch base with various leaders in the...

In wee morning hours on Friday, January 23, a U.S. spy plane killed at least 15 in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border. It was Barack Obama's first blood and the U.S.'s first violation of Pakistan's sovereignty under the new dministration. The attack was an early sign that the newly minted president may not be overhauling the War on Terror this week, or even next.

Now that Hillary Clinton has been confirmed as Secretary of State, the Obama administration will announce Thursday two high-profile appointments -- former senate majority leader George Mitchell (D-Me.) as Middle East envoy and former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke as envoy for Afghanistan, Pakistan "and related matters," sources close to the administration said. Mitchell will be charged with rebuilding the Middle East peace process in the wake of the three weeks of violence between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Holbrooke will take on the difficult job of soothing relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, whose border is a haven for...

Barack Obama will mark a radical break in American foreign policy this week by unveiling a team of diplomats tasked with ushering in a new era of dialogue with enemies abroad. As Hillary Clinton prepares for Senate confirmation hearings this week, she will head a group of advisers who are virtual opposites to the appointees made by President George W Bush. While Bush favoured aggressive neoconservative ideologues, Obama has selected people whose doveish credentials seem impeccable. They will be responsible for reversing the political unilateralism of the Bush years and opening direct negotiations with hostile states, potentially ranging from Syria...

07 Jan 2009 Transition officials confirm that President-elect Obama has asked Dennis Ross, Richard Haass, and Richard Holbrooke, to serve as his chief emissaries to world hot spots. It's expected that Ross will get the Iran portfolio, that Holbrooke, the hard-headed architect of the Dayton Peace Accords, will take the tough (and tougher) Southwest Asia portfolio, which includes India, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and that Haass will deal with the Middle East.

Karadzic demands Holbrooke, Albright appear in court AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic demanded on Wednesday that former U.S. peace mediator Richard Holbrooke and ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright appear at the U.N. war crimes tribunal to back his claims of an immunity offer from the United States. Karadzic, who was transferred to the Hague's International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia last week to face war crimes and genocide charges after 11 years on the run, challenged the legality of the case against him, a filing released by the tribunal showed. In the document, Karadzic repeated...

Publisher Peter Osnos, who admits to personally working with former Bush White House press secretary Scott McClellan on his new book, What Happened, began his career as an assistant to I.F. Stone, the pro-communist "journalist" named as a Soviet agent of influence who was the uncle of Weather Underground communist terrorist Kathy Boudin. But the connections don't end there. Boudin's son Chesa was raised by Barack Obama associates Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, who were Boudin's comrades in the communist terrorist group, after Kathy Boudin went to prison for her involvement in an armed robbery and assault that took the...

Russia Rebuffs Holbrooke’s Allegations The statements of U.S. policymaker Richard Holbrooke about Russia’s implicit incitement to violence by extremist elements in Belgrade are inappropriate, Russia’s Foreign Ministry’s Spokesman Mikhail Kamynin told the reporters on Friday. “We regard these allegations as completely inappropriate. It is another way of laying their own fault at the door of somebody else,” the diplomat said. Past night, the rally in Belgrade staged to protest against unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence developed into the riots and the U.S. embassy was set on fire. “The people that advocated unilateral declaration of Kosovo independence must have thought of...

The United Nations' Cash for Kim Jong Il scandal is now six months old, so it's a good time to assess progress, if that's the right word. The evidence of misdeeds at the U.N. Development Program in North Korea continues to mount, but there's still no "urgent" and "external" inquiry, as ordered by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in January. Now the U.S. has uncovered evidence that in addition to transferring millions of dollars in cash that may have gone to help prop up Kim's grotesque regime, the UNDP also transferred dual-use technology. It did so without bothering to secure a U.S....

By now, everyone is familiar with the insensitive words uttered by Shock Jock Imus which appeared in Mary Mostert's commentary of 12 May Either Al Sharpton Should be Fired or Don Imus Should Be Re-Hired. We should also not forget what happened to comedian "Kramer," from the Seinfeld Show when he railed against two black hecklers in the audience during a performance by calling them the n-word. Just like Imus, his racist comments cost him his job. But what happens when a U.S. diplomat shows his true character when he rails against an entire race of people during war? Not...

Did the 4 Albanian terrorists have connections to Holbrooke, Clark? May 8th, 2007 According to Bloomberg the Kosovo Albanians that were planning to kill as many Americans as possible are: Dritan Duka, 28; Shain Duka, 26; Eljvir Duka, 23. Agron Abdullahu, 24. Bloomberg says that: The Dukas and Abdullahu are ethnic Albanians from the former Yugoslavia [read: Muslim-dominated Kosovo], U.S. officials said. The Duka brothers operated roofing businesses based in Cherry Hill… and Abdullahu worked at a supermarket, according to authorities. Now, the New Jersey is stone throw from New York where the big-dog in the roofing business among the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush should follow British Prime Minister Tony Blair's lead and start withdrawing troops from Iraq, former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke said Saturday. "Engaging in a broad-based diplomatic offensive, and beginning a redeployment of U.S. forces in Iraq, represents the best way to secure America's interests in the region and combat the serious threat of terrorist networks," Holbrooke, who served under President Clinton, said in the Democrats' weekly radio address. Britain will withdraw about 1,600 troops in the coming months and aims to cut more by late summer. The announcement came as Bush is implementing his plan...

Preview and Analysis of the Weekend Talk Shows for 9/23 & 9/24/06The campaign to trash President Bush and beatify President Clinton gets into high gear this week.  Perhaps now we know why the Clintonistas were so frantic to kill or discredit The Path To 9/11, because it had the possibility of preempting their re-re-re-re-launch of the "Clinton Legacy" (Take 843).  This is a contest between the Bush and Clinton world views.  Bush views the world in terms of western civilization representing humanity's progress up from barbarism.  Clinton views the world in terms of America's sins and how we must be...

The punditry world is abuzz with talk of a recent New Yorker article (no link available) by writer Jeffrey Goldberg, who has interviewed Brent Scowcroft, the former national security advisor for the Ford Administration and the Administration of George H.W. Bush. In a number of passages in the piece, Scowcroft takes on the current Bush Administration over the issue of Iraq, something for which he has earned applause from many Democrats and other Bush critics. But when one reads the entire New Yorker piece, one finds that Scowcroft's critique is directed at foreign policy idealism in general. And it's a...

The Talk Shows Sunday, January 22nd, 2006 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Richard Durbin, D-Ill.; University of Maryland's men's basketball coach Gary Williams. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn. THIS WEEK (ABC): John Kerry, D-Mass.; Reps. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., and Jane Harman, D-Calif., chairman and ranking Democrat of the House Intelligence Committee; actor Gary Sinise. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Sens. George Allen, R-Va., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.; Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat...

Come June, the American troops helping to maintain peace in Bosnia are scheduled to come home. Recently, however, some senior administration officials have begun murmuring about staying on longer. "A consensus is developing," says Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, "that there will be or should be some form of U.S. military presence" after the current force leaves. "If we pull out on an arbitrary deadline," says the architect of the 1995 Dayton Accord, Richard Holbrooke, "the situation in Bosnia will become chaotic, eroding the achievements so far." Such talk does not sit well with Congress, where many were hostile to...

A story circulating in Washington, perhaps apocryphal, has it that late one evening during last year's annual Munich Conference on Security Policy, after the day's discussions were finished and a few drinks had been downed, Richard Holbrooke began a sentence by saying, "When John Kerry is president and I'm secretary of state and Nicholas Burns here is undersecretary of state for political affairs ..." Mr. Kerry went on to lose the election… ‘snip’ Mr. Holbrooke had written a glowing report in the Washington Post predicting that Mr. Burns would be in the new State Department team, which he described as...

New York -- As a result of a second scathing report on his administration of the scandal plagued U.N.-Iraq Oil-for-Food Prgram by U.N. investigator Paul Volcker, Benon V. Sevan is now threatening to name names. In a news conference, Volcker issued another "interim report" on the activates of Sevan, who ran the $67 billion aid program from 1997-2003. Volcker came to the conclusion that Sevan did indeed accept what amounted to several hundred thousand dollars in bribes funneled to him through various overseas channels. The most disturbing came through an aunt living in Cyprus who died in a mysterious apartment...