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http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-fg-holbrooke-20100625,0,5129065.story?page=2

Will Holbrooke be next to exit?

Holbrooke also has had difficulty with some Pakistani officials, say U.S. officials and private analysts.

"Ambassador Holbrooke has really struggled to build relationships with the civilian and military leaders in Afghanistan, and the military leadership in Pakistan," said Andrew Exum, a former advisor to McChrystal and a fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

White House officials have been unhappy with Holbrooke for speaking out often and sometimes veering from the administration's script.


Speaking in March at Harvard University, Holbrooke said that "almost every Pashtun family in southern Afghanistan has friends or family who are involved with the Taliban."

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates hastily distanced himself from the comment.

Holbrooke has ruffled feathers at the National Security Council, as well. Holbrooke and Douglas E. Lute, the council's senior official for Afghanistan and Pakistan, co-chair a weekly meeting at the State Department. But council officials, who coordinate such efforts under executive branch rules, have thought that Holbrooke tried to take too much control, according to U.S. officials.

Holbrooke also has had run-ins with Eikenberry, who believes that Holbrooke too often has tried to intervene on questions that the ambassador thought should be decided by civilian officials in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said.

National security advisor James L. Jones sent Eikenberry a letter in February that sympathized with his complaints about Holbrooke, but urged him to be patient because Holbrooke was on the way out, said U.S. officials who described the exchange.

Even so, many U.S. officials believe Holbrooke has staying power. Some say it is understood within the administration that, as a former columnist and magazine editor, he could inflict considerable damage from the outside.

"Richard's a man who, when he starts a job, likes to see it through," said Galbraith, who as ambassador to Croatia worked with Holbrooke in the 1990s. "If it's his call, he'll stay."

paul.richter@latimes.com


Eric D. Schwerin
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