14 Dec 2010

The Curious Case of Richard Holbrooke

Richard Holbrooke, a lifelong diplomat who helped bring peace to the Balkans as the chief architect of the Dayton accords and who was attempting to wrestle with the ongoing sore of Afghanistan, has died in Washington aged 69.

Holbrooke's death is a significant blow to the Obama administration just days before it is scheduled to announce the latest review of US policy in Afghanistan. He was a central member of the team seeking to steer the US on a course of gradually reduced involvement in the country and transfer of responsibility towards the Afghan military forces.

guardian.co.uk

holbrooke

More about this family photo from Afghanistan in 2006, with his wife, Kati Marton on NYT

Holbrooke, the late US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, had some stark final words as he was sedated and going in for surgery, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

“You’ve got to stop this war in Afghanistan,” Holbrooke told his Pakistani surgeon, the Post reported, citing unnamed family members.

Please read The Curious Case of Richard Holbrooke
by Joshua Frank