Remarks from US Secretary Clinton on Holbrooke’s Role

Special Representative Holbrooke’s Role in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Interview With Jodi Kantor of the New York Times
Washington, DC
February 6, 2009

QUESTION: Well, thank you so much for giving me a couple of minutes. The goal is a really nuanced, substantive profile of Special Representative Holbrooke. Boy, that’s a mouthful.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes.

QUESTION: You know, that gets – that doesn’t so much do a retread of his past, but really talks about the match between man and mission, and how he – what he’s done for the last eight years, how he’s approached this particular job. And so a lot of the story is about your relationship with him, and so all – pretty much all of the questions are geared to that.
The first thing I wanted to ask you about, though, is to tell me, in as much detail as you can, about the origins of your idea for some sort of special envoy or representative to this region. I understand that it was a trip to the region in ’07 and a series of meetings with leaders there that gave you the idea. Read the rest of this entry »