Bullish and bullying

摘要

Richard holbrooke, an American diplomat known by friend and foe as a bulldozer, was accustomed to getting his way. His final assignment to fix the mess in Afghanistan and Pakistan, however, proved more than he bargained for. Barack Obama appointed him as his presidential envoy, but Mr Holbrooke held little authority. Senior officials in Afghanistan and Pakistan, who resented his abrasive personality and his relative lack of knowledge of the region, kept him at arm's length. At home, American generals and the cia ran the show. Most debilitating, Mr Obama, whose distaste for self-promotion is well documented, treated his envoy with a coolness not unlike that shown by many of the subcontinent's leaders.