For you Mo … straight from the “horses mouth”
Daily Press Briefing - January 27
QUESTION: A question regarding Richard Holbrooke. During the campaign, President Obama was pretty clear that he thought to solve South Asia’s problems, you need a very collective approach, and he was – he talked a lot about Kashmir. It – from what – it doesn’t sound like Holbrooke’s mandate is trying to mediate between India and Pakistan. Is that right? And, if so, why not, because everyone sort of agrees that is the fundamental issue in that region?
**MR. WOOD: **Well, it’s not in his mandate, as you mention, to deal with the subject of Kashmir. His mandate is to go out and try to help bring stability to Afghanistan, working closely with Pakistan to try to deal with the situation in the FATA region. With regard to Kashmir, I think our policy is well-known. I think India has some very clear views as to what it wants to do vis-à-vis, you know, dealing with the Kashmir issue, as well as the Pakistanis. But with regard to Ambassador Holbrooke’s mission, as I said, it’s to deal strictly with the India-Pakistan – excuse me – the Pakistan-Afghanistan situation