Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke will speak about the Russian invasion of Georgia in a free event that will be part of the Sun Valley Writers' Conference.
Holbrooke's talk will be at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Sun Valley Pavilion. Holbrooke will make remarks and take questions from the audience.
Holbrooke's talk will come on the heels if his return from Georgia, where he was visiting at the invitation of President Mikheil Saakashvili.
As assistant secretary of state for European and Canadian affairs, Holbrooke led the U.S. delegation that negotiated the Bosnian Peace Accord at Dayton.
Holbrooke spoke at the Sun Valley Writers' Conference a few years ago and was scheduled to attend this year with his wife, author Kati Marton, who will discuss her books. At the invitation of conference Executive Director Reva Tooley, Holbrooke agreed to bring the audience up to date on the dramatic and troubling events in Georgia.
"I think Holbrooke will address the invasion of a sovereign democracy," said Maxine Isaacs, a part-time Sun Valley resident and a foreign policy expert and professor at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. "It's important because President Bush is very close to former Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and this was an act of defiance. It's a direct affront to Western values and the U.S. (The Russians) try to say Iraq is comparable, but it's not."
Isaacs said one issue for the Russians is the competition with NATO and which countries become part of the defense organization.
"There are two provinces in Georgia, and it's a democratic country since the break-up of the Soviet Union," Isaacs said. "There is a lot of desire for Georgia to become part of NATO."
Georgia's President Saakashvili is a very Westernized leader, having been educated in the U.S. with a law degree from George Washington University. Georgia, a republic in the former Soviet Union, has had more success than other breakaway republics.
"Holbrooke will explain the international pressure on Georgia, what it is and why it's important to us," Isaacs said. "Russia could continue to do this in the Ukraine, which is also being considered for NATO. Holbrooke is fantastic, and that is the reason to attend this event. You will learn about what happened, and if you are a sophisticated political person you can get the ins and outs of policy."
Richard Holbrooke
