Holbrooke to Solve the Af-Pak Problem

By Ioana Botea

There is no doubt that the “Af-Pak” problem is one of the greatest foreign policy challenges of the Obama administration. Special envoy Richard C. Holbrooke was welcomed in the region with a bomb at the Pakistani border and coordinated attacks in the Afghan capital. The events are believed to be the result of a joint effort to intimidate the American representative, suggesting the fact that the neighboring countries represent two fronts of the same war. Mr. Holbrooke is visiting South Asia in order to reassess the security situation and propose a new U.S. policy for the region during the NATO summit in April.

The revival of the Taliban in the past two years has proven the need to redefine American engagement in Afghanistan. According to Dennis Blair, Director of National Intelligence, the recent spread of the Taliban is attributable to the ineffectiveness and corruption of the U.S.-baked Afghani government. Mr. Obama has announced the intention to send as many as 30,000 additional troops in Afghanistan. However, the loss of the military base in Kyrgyzstan and the need to find alternative routes for the “surge” is likely to slow the process.

Indicating the complex nature of the situation in Afghanistan, Mr. Holbrooke declared in Munich that, “There is no Dayton agreement in Afghanistan. It’s going to be a long, difficult struggle.” He played an essential role in the peace agreement in Bosnia in 1995. Gaining support from Pakistan is very important in the attempt to improve security in the region. Not only do insurgent have ties with terrorist networks in Pakistan’s tribal areas, but they also obtain a large proportion of the funding from Pakistani patrons. Mr. Holbrooke has also expressed his willingness to engage in political dialogue with Taliban members willing to separate from Al Qaeda. Mr. Holbrooke now holds the heavy responsibility of improving the situation in perhaps the most problematic region in the world.