The reported plan to appoint Christopher Hill as ambassador to Iraq seemed strange given his lack of background in the region, but now this story makes it seem even stranger. Apparently, Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni (Ret.), former Centcom commander, war opponent and briefly one of Clinton’s regional envoys (and an Arab-American), believed that he had the job as recently as a week ago after being told as much by Secretary Clinton. Ackerman finds the story credible, which makes me wonder what they are thinking at the White House to make Zinni believe he had the job and then give the impression that it was going to someone else.

I have my doubts about the Holbrooke apppointment for Afghanistan/Pakistan, and these are not allayed by the fact that Holbrooke has no particular familiarity with his designated region. This is the same problem with Hill. Actually, like Holbrooke, Hill is most familiar with East Asia and the Balkans from his previous assignments, and like Holbrooke Hill is reportedly being assigned to one of our more critical diplomatic posts without extensive background in the place where he will be serving. Hill has a reputation as a successful diplomat, having handled North Korea negotiations for the last administration, but the choice seems odd if Zinni was the first choice.

One of the common and correct complaints about the last administration was its willful ignorance of local conditions and culture before plunging into Iraq*, and it became something of a journalistic pastime to show how little our political class in both parties knew about the details of Iraqi history and society with Mr. Bush serving as an outstanding example. We can hope that this administration is not going to fall into the same habits. The good news about Afghanistan/Pakistan is that Holbrooke has selected Vali Nasr as his chief advisor, so perhaps Hill will also choose appropriate assistants once he is confirmed who will help make up for his lack of experience in the region.

* This is not to say that a better-informed administration would have been right to launch an unnecessary, aggressive war.

Update: Laura Rozen has more on the bungled ambassador appointment.

Filed under: foreign policy, politics