Richard Holbrooke and the Clash of Civilizations

Talks are being held in Rome to chart a common strategy for mapping the future of Afghanistan. In addition to the United States and NATO, participants have included delegations from Afghanistan's neighbors. According to Karen DeYoung in today's Post , participants in these talks now include diplomats from Iran. Richard C. Holbrooke, the Obama administration's special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, asserts that the participation of diplomats from a number of Muslim countries constitutes "a living refutation of the clash of civilizations" thesis advanced by the Harvard political scientist Samuel P. Huntington and warmly endorsed by many Muslim extremists. We'll be reading an excerpt in the Shafritz reader later this quarter. That's Professor Huntington with the glasses and natty tweed jacket. He died in 2008 at age 81. And that's Ambassador Holbrooke in the gray flannel State Department suit.