Blessed are the peacemakers

In another highly assertive statement of diplomatic intent, President Obama has appointed two envoys for the two foreign policy priorities of his administration. Richard Holbrooke will be special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, while George Mitchell will seek peace between the Arabs and Israelis. The task facing these two highly experienced diplomats cannot be underestimated. But within the Democrat foreign policy establishment, these two individuals have the strongest CVs.

Holbrooke has a long career of government service, dating back to the early 1960s. His posts included formulating Vietnam policy, State department East Asian and Near Pacific, and Ambassador to Germany and the United Nations. He has also had senior roles in investment banking, academia and international NGOs. But he is probably best known as the chief architect of the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995. Achieving a lasting peace in the Balkans after the worst conflict in post War Europe was no mean feat. Although Milosevic remained in power and led Serbia into another war in Kosovo in 1999, these accords have held since. Co-ordinating a peace between the Taliban, Afghan army and NATO will be equally difficult, especially when one party - the Taliban - is uncompromising and seeks no form of negotiation. But at some point, the Western forces might have to sit down with some unpleasant figures. Having dealt with those responsible for ethnic cleansing and genocide in the Balkans, Holbrooke has the necessary experience.

Obama stated in his inauguration speech that a “peace” would be sought in Afghanistan. The model may be the Balkans, where a vast international armed force flooded the region and secured a peace. The failures in Afghanistan have been down to insufficient troops - allowing the Taliban to regroup, Holbrooke and Obama intend to counter these past mistakes without making new ones. A lack of diplomatic focus on the region was also a major fault in Bush policy for South Asia, especially from 2003 to 2006, as Iraq dominated American foreign policy. But Holbrooke sees a regional solution, as set out in a recent Foreign Affairs essay: “Afghanistan's future cannot be secured by a counterinsurgency effort alone; it will also require regional agreements that give Afghanistan's neighbors a stake in the settlement. That includes Iran -- as well as China, India, and Russia,” and of course Pakistan. He identifies four critical 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.”

An equally intractable war was the crowning achievement of George Mitchell. His work as Special Envoy to Northern Ireland during the Clinton Administration led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Half Lebanese, Mitchell has a similarly long and distinguished career in public service. A senator for many years and also bizarrely chairman of Disney, he also led international law firm DLA Piper - probably good experience given the number of legal conundrums thrown up by the Middle East conflict. The parallels between Northern Ireland and Palestine have often been raised, as a source of conflict resolution. The comparison is often rejected by Israelis who see Hamas’ statements calling for the destruction of Israel as a totally different order to the IRA. But just as the IRA had a grudging support in Republican communities, Hamas has a similar position with the Palestinians. They may be thugs, but at least they stand up for you. For the West, the parallel is clear. We eventually dealt with the IRA, despite years of denouncements. We may well have to deal with Hamas, as a democratically elected movement. Critically Mitchell has the background to be respected by both sides - he seems the most logical and best choice for this extremely difficult role.