◼ Yikes Vali Nasr, a university professor Vali Nasr, an academic who worked for Richard C. Holbrooke, the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan in Mr. Obama’s first term does not have nice things to say about President Obama and his administration. - Yid With LidIn his book ◼ “The Dispensable Nation,” published next month. Mr. Nasr describes the White House’s handling of foreign policy as overly cautious, sometimes disengaged and at times politicized something he asserts has led to a general waning of American influence abroad.
"The president had a truly disturbing habit of funnelling major foreign policy decisions through a small cabal of relatively inexperienced White House advisers whose turf was strictly politics..."Not surprising based on the naivete displayed in many of the president's foreign policy decisions.
The book sets out in detail how Mr Holbrooke, appointed with great fanfare in 2009, was systematically cut out of decision making as both he and Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, tried to argue the merits of engaging with the Taliban and the dangers caused by the overuse of drones.
"The White House seemed to see an actual benefit in not doing too much," Prof Nasr writes, "The goal was to spare the president the risks that necessarily come with playing the leadership role that America claims to play in this region."
