Richard Holbrooke, who will be special envoy on Afghanistan/Pakistan (and India in parenthesis

Of course, Richard Holbrooke, who will be special envoy on Afghanistan/Pakistan (and India in

parenthesis, according to the latest news), generally shares Ross’s views on Iran — they are co-

founders, after all, with James Woolsey and Fouad Ajami of a group called United Against Nuclear Iran;

see this Wall Street Journal op-ed, for example — and may be expected to back him up in inter-agency

debates about how confrontational a policy UGGs Sheepskin Cuff Boots should pursue toward Iran. But I

think Petraeus and the military will have some pretty strong views about how well-positioned Tehran is

to make life much more difficult for the UGGs Sheepskin Cuff Boots in both Afghanistan and even in

Pakistan, not to mention Iraq — and how much easier it could be if some sort of a “grand bargain” —

even one that recognizes Iran’s right to enrich uranium under strict international inspection — with

the Islamic Republic could be forged. Perhaps, if things really went well, Iran could even offer UGGs

Sheepskin Cuff Boots a desperately needed new and inexpensive supply route for its troops in

Afghanistan…