Kerry Wins Obamas Praise For Brokering Afghan Election Runoff
Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat who was his partys 2004 presidential nominee, was “extraordinarily constructive and very helpful” in working with U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry during discussions with Karzai in Kabul this week, Obama said yesterday.
Sorting out the Aug. 20 Afghan election has been a U.S. priority since allegations of fraud left the results in doubt. Kerrys mission was closely coordinated with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the U.S. envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, both of whom talked several times to Kerry by telephone from Washington, U.S. officials said.
Kerrys involvement is the latest high-profile diplomatic effort by an unofficial envoy that has benefited the Obama administration. In August, former President Bill Clinton flew to North Korea to secure the release of two American journalists and held discussions with regime leader Kim Jong Il that started a thaw in relations with the U.S.
The Obama administration is now willing to hold direct talks to persuade North Korea to return to multinational negotiations aimed at eliminating its nuclear weapons program.
Webb Trip
Also in August, Senator Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat, flew to Myanmar, where the U.S. has had limited contact, and won the release of an American imprisoned there. The Obama administration has since announced a new policy of direct talks with the military rulers of the Southeast Asian nation in an effort to promote democratic changes.
In another example, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a former ambassador to the United Nations, visited Cuba as a de facto envoy and recommended upon his return that the administration engage in broader talks with the communist government.
“Im not in any favor of any senator just popping in,” said retired General Anthony Zinni, who headed U.S. Central Command and served briefly as an informal Middle East envoy under Secretary of State Colin Powell. “Foreign policy has to be done by the administration. But if the administration asks the senator, and its the right senator, its fine.”
Zinni said narrowly focused missions are best and that Kerry, as a senator who has been deeply involved in Afghanistan issues, has added clout as a mediator. “I would suspect the message is youre not going to get support in the Congress unless they see this as a full, transparent process.”
Kerrys Chairmanship
Kerry, 65, inherited his job as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from now Vice President Joe Biden.
“President Karzai showed statesmanship by deciding to move forward, and to strengthen the country by embracing the Constitution and the rule of law,” Kerry said. “His agreement to hold the runoff will allow the national leadership to govern with legitimacy.”
The key to outsourced diplomacy is whether the mission is carried out with officials in Washington, says Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser under President Jimmy Carter and now a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Kerrys “mission was highly coordinated and very much in sync with the administrations policies,” Brzezinski said.
Vote Tally
Kerry, who was on a previously scheduled trip, found himself in Afghanistan just as it became clear Karzai hadnt mustered the more than 50 percent of valid votes to win outright in the Aug. 20 election. A UN-backed probe disqualified more than a quarter of the votes cast.
Winning Karzais agreement to a second round of voting, which will take place Nov. 7, was seen by administration officials as a crucial step toward the unveiling of a new approach to combating al-Qaeda and a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.
Kerry met with Karzai five times over a five-day period, including two dinners.