IHT: President Barack Obama's special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan landed here Thursday to help chart the president's strategy for peace in this volatile country, a day after a bold Taliban assault demonstrated the insurgency's ability to wreak havoc even in the tightly guarded capital.
A U.S. Embassy spokesman confirmed Richard Holbrooke's arrival late in the day, but declined to give further details about his location or the schedule for his multi-day visit.
Holbrooke's first visit to the country came amid an increasing sense that the security situation was disintegrating in and around Kabul. On Wednesday, Taliban fighters launched one of their most audacious attacks on the capital, killing 20 people in a coordinated assault on three government buildings.
Government officials said the mastermind behind the attacks was based in Pakistan, a reminder of the cross-border violence and disputes that have made the battle against the Taliban so difficult. One of Holbrooke's roles as envoy to both countries is to help the Obama administration design a strategy that will combat the Taliban regionally. He is set to meet with President Hamid Karzai and other officials.
Obama may send more troops before the strategy review of the region is done:
Obama is facing a choice on whether to grant commanders' requests for additional troops in Afghanistan before he has decided on his new strategy there, Helene Cooper of The New York Times reported from Washington.
While the decision is expected to be the first significant military move of his presidency, defense officials said that Obama could choose a middle ground, deploying several thousand more troops there in the coming months but postponing a more difficult judgment on a much larger increase in personnel until after the administration completes a review of Afghanistan policy.
The officials said that Obama may deploy one or two additional brigades, between 3,500 and 7,000 soldiers. IHT
