RIchard Holbrooke critical

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11858576

US envoy Richard Holbrooke in 'critical condition'

2010/12/11 11:38 ET

Mr Holbrooke was named as envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan by President Obama

Richard Holbrooke, the US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been taken critically ill, the US state department says.

Mr Holbrooke, 69, was admitted to hospital on Friday and has undergone surgery to repair a tear in his aorta.

His family have joined him at his hospital bedside in Washington DC.

Mr Holbrooke is best known for brokering the Dayton peace accords in 1995, which ended the Bosnian war.

President Barack Obama named Mr Holbrooke as his special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan in January 2009.

Glittering career

Nicknamed "the Bulldozer", Mr Holbrooke gained a reputation for confronting warring leaders to get them to come to the negotiating table.

Mr Holbrooke is one of the state department's top diplomats, having served in Vietnam and at the United Nations.

In the wake of his success at Dayton, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1997, then President Bill Clinton named him as ambassador to the UN.

In his role as President Obama's envoy, he has clashed regularly with Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

After the disputed presidential elections in August 2009, Mr Holbrooke was widely reported to have confronted Mr Karzai about poll irregularities.

However, a spokeswoman for the US embassy in Kabul denied there had been any shouting or that Mr Holbrooke had stormed out.

Mr Holbrooke was later criticised by US Gen Stanley McChrystal in a controversial article published in Rolling Stone magazine in June.

In the article, Gen McChrystal was quoted as saying: "Oh, not another e-mail from Holbrooke... I don't even want to open it."

As a consequence of his remarks, Gen McChrystal was sacked by President Obama.

Mr Holbrooke has maintained a hectic travel schedule.

In September, he visited Pakistan to see the aftermath of the floods which devastated the country.

He has also travelled to the north-west of the country, a stronghold for insurgents which lies largely outside government control.

Edited December 11, 2010 by Saddle Bronc

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Wow....I wonder how one tears an aorta?

[TBoneTX 46,068]

Wow....I wonder how one tears an aorta?

Look up "acute aortic dissection"... it's not something that people tend to survive...

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Look up "acute aortic dissection"... it's not something that people tend to survive...

...and Holbrooke didn't (RIP)

Veteran US diplomat Richard Holbrooke dies

2010/12/13 19:55 ET

Veteran US diplomat Richard Holbrooke has died following a second round of surgery to treat a heart condition.

He fell ill on Friday while meeting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

He was President Barack Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The presidents of both nations had called to wish him well, prior to his death.

Nicknamed The Bulldozer, the 69-year-old gained a reputation over the years for confronting warring leaders to get them to come to the negotiating table.

Mr Holbrooke's family was reported to be at his bedside earlier on Monday in the US capital's George Washington University Hospital.

Mr Holbrooke was meeting Ms Clinton at the US state department on Friday morning when he collapsed.

He was rushed to the hospital and had surgery to repair a tear in his aorta - the largest artery in the human body, which carries oxygenated blood from the heart.

President Barack Obama had praised Mr Holbrooke on Monday night at a holiday event at the state department, calling him a "tough son of a gun".

"He is simply one of the giants of American foreign policy," Mr Obama said.

Mr Holbrooke was named by Mr Obama as his special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan shortly after the president took office in January 2009.

[Ban Hammer 13,512]

He fell ill on Friday while meeting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

[scandal 951]

He served his country admirably. Condolences to the family.

[DEDixon 39]

Dead now.