Richard Holbrooke always seemed to be a particularly clear-headed type. His To End A War is a classic case study in how muscular diplomacy can and should be waged. Though the end result of his efforts, the Dayton peace accords, left much to be desired, Holbrooke’s aggressiveness and single-mindedness allowed America to bring peace to the Balkans despite the staggering inefficacy of its European allies. For better or for worse, it helped re-establish America as the indispensable power in Europe for at least another decade.

Some well-placed critics have convincingly argued that Holbrooke could (and likely would) have solved the Balkan crisis definitively had his boss Bill Clinton given him wider latitude. Given that he’s rumored to be Hillary’s choice for Secretary of State, and given the likelihood that Hillary would be keener than her husband to prove her toughness in international affairs, reading Holbrooke today should give us insight as to what Hillary’s foreign policy might look like.

Helpfully enough, in today’s Washington Post, Holbrooke offers up a blueprint for how America ought to tackle Kosovo. He identifies Serbia as the irrationally intransigent actor, and blames Russia for stoking nationalist and separatist sentiments in the region. His solution is for Bush to make an impassioned plea to Putin to back off, while at the same time bolstering NATO’s presence in the region to signal that we mean business.

One can have valid concerns about the consequences of such a policy. Though Serbia’s claims to Kosovo are spurious and largely illegitimate, Kosovo today is a corrupt enclave whose independence would destabilize neighboring Macedonia, a country with its own secessionist Albanian population. Are we empowering Albanian expansionism in the medium term?

Holbrooke is unconcerned. He sees Russia’s meddling as the root cause of problems in the region, and seems to identify Russia as an important adversary of the West. His willingness to use shows of military force to underscore the seriousness of his negotiating demands should also be noted.

Overall, I admire the man, and I think he’s largely correct about the situation in the Balkans, as well as in his determination to check this newly aggressive Russian stance in the world. I think I might be warming to a Hillary presidency. But is America ready for such a forceful administration coming on the heels of the bumbling Bush years?