[Headline] - HOLBROOKE LAST WORDS: STOP THIS WAR!

State Dept Casts Doubt on Holbrooke's Final Words: No Transcript
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 By Nicholas Ballasy (CNSNews.com) - In response to a news report that U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke’s final words before he died were, “You’ve got to stop this War in Afghanistan,” State Department spokesman Philip “P.J.” Crowley said the context of Holbrooke’s words to his medical team before surgery were in reference to “finishing the job” in Afghanistan. Crowley cautioned that there is “no transcriptR

Richard Holbrooke dies: Veteran U.S. diplomat brokered Dayton peace accords
Veteran U.S. diplomat Richard C. Holbrooke, 69, whose relentless prodding and deft maneuvering yielded the 1995 Dayton peace accords that ended the war in Bosnia, a feat he hoped to emulate as President Obama’s chief Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, died Monday in Washington from complications following surgery to repair a torn aorta. A Foreign Policy adviser to four Democratic presidents, Mr. Holbrooke was a towering, one-of-a-kind presence who helped define American National Security s...

If Only Holbrooke Had Been Given a Free Hand in Afghanistan
One can just imagine what the Wikileaks records of Richard Holbrooke’s Diplomacy would have looked like. His salty, roustabout’s slinging of abuse when needed; his explosive pugnacity while negotiating in person and his relentlessly unsentimental drive towards a result—none of it would have looked pretty on paper. Yet he pulled off the impossible by imposing stability on the Balkans with the Dayton Accords. The world had been waiting for a second Holbrooke miracle, this time i...

U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke, known for Dayton Accords, dies
WASHINGTON — Richard C. Holbrooke, the hard-charging Diplomat who brokered peace in the Balkans and then took on an even tougher task as the Obama Administration’s special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, died Monday night at age 69. Holbrooke, whose career spanned nearly five decades, was a forceful presence both in U.S. Foreign Policy whether in or out of office. He negotiated the 1995 Dayton Accords, which ended the war in Bosnia; served as ambassador to the United Nations and ...

'No Transcript' Of Ambassador Holbrookes Final Words Exist, Says State Department
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 By Nicholas Ballasy In this Jan. 17, 2010, file photo Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, listens to questions during an answers and questions session in Kabul, Afghanistan. Holbrooke, a longtime U.S. diplomat who wrote part of the Pentagon Papers, was the architect of the 1995 Bosnia peace plan and served as President Barack Obama's Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, has died. He was 69. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq, File)...

Holbrooke's last words
The Washington Post first reported that Richard Holbrooke's last words, according to his family, were to his Pakistani surgeon, asking him to "stop this war." State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley clarified today: I should note that a lot of media coverage this morning about the interaction between Ambassador Holbrooke and his medical team as he was preparing for surg...

Holbrooke's Last Words On Afghanistan Clarified As Being Part Of A Humorous Exchange By Obama Administration
WASHINGTON -- The Obama Administration said Tuesday that the reported last words of Veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke, its point person on Afghanistan and Pakistan who passed away this week, were meant as humor. Administration officials sought to clarify that, according to people who were present, Holbrooke's final words, "You've got to stop this War in Afghanistan," were part of a jovial back-and-forth with the medical staff. "At one point, the medical team said, You've got to relax," Stat...

Correction: Obit-Holbrooke story
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a Dec. 13 obituary for Richard Holbrooke, The Associated Press reported erroneously that he had reflected on his role as President Barack Obama’s Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan in a March 2008 article in The Washington Post. Holbrooke did not become Obama’s Special Envoy until January 2009....

Richard Holbrooke passes away
American Diplomat Richard Holbrooke, 69, passed away yesterday (13 December 2010) at George Washington Hospital. Holbrooke, known as "The Bulldozer," is best known as the architect of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, which brought an end to the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. He had a forceful persona that could drag politicians, Military brass, and even warlords to the negotiating table in a quest for peace. Most recently, he was U.S. President Barack Obama's special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan...

In Memoriam: Richard Holbrooke
To commemorate the passing of Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, chief architect of the 1995 Dayton peace agreement, and Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Foreign Affairs has made available this selection of writings by and about him from our pages. Login or Register to leave a comment. Sign-up for free weekly updates from ForeignAffairs.com. To commemorate the passing of Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, chief architect of t...

Holbrookes death complicates Af-Pak peace efforts
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The death of Envoy Richard Holbrooke leaves the U.S. without a tough hand whose stature, tenacity and extensive contacts allowed him to weave together once-separate diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan. With so many agendas to track — including Military, diplomatic and legislative — finding a successor will be challenging. Holbrooke’s extensive background in major posts from Vietnam to Germany and the former Yugoslavia will be hard to replicate....

Holbrooke's last words
Richard Holbrooke's Tragic Death is a great loss for our current Foreign Policy. He was one of the few voices calling for sanity in Af/Pak policy: Family members said his last words before he headed into surgery were: "You've got to stop this War in Afghanistan," according to the Washington Post.From his mouth to our President's ears. I know Obama campaigned on escalating the occupation ther...

Correction: Obit-Holbrooke story
WASHINGTON—In a Dec. 13 obituary for Richard Holbrooke, The Associated Press reported erroneously that he had reflected on his role as President Barack Obama's Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan in a March 2008 article in The Washington Post. Holbrooke did not become Obama's Special Envoy until January 2009. ...

Richard Holbrooke (1941-2010)
Richard Holbrooke, Obama’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, died Monday evening after undergoing Heart Surgery and surviving the weekend in critical condition. He was 69. Holbrooke’s service in the Obama Administration was the last in a long line of Foreign Policy posts under Democratic presidents, beginning in the Johnson administration. He is best-known for crafting the Dayton Accords in 1995, which ended the war in Bosnia. He also contributed several articles to The New...

Obama Pleased With Afghan War
Reiterating comments from yesterday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs insisted that no policy changes will be announced on Thursday and that the public version of the Afghan War report won’t include any surprises. Gibbs termed President Obama ‘pleased’ with the war, and insisted that he hopes to “strengthen capacity inside of Afghanistan” going forward. President Obama was said to have met with advisors earlier today regarding the war. Gibbs was quite shor...

NATO Air Strike Destroys Afghan School, Kills 30 Suspects
In a series of Air Strikes launched yesterday in the Baghlan Province in northern Afghanistan, the NATO forces destroyed a Public School as well as killing 30 “suspected Taliban Militants,” according to the provincial Governor. The governor termed the attack on the school an “accident,” and so far there have been no reports of Civilian Casualties from that particular attack. The identies of the 30 slain in the other strikes have yet to be announced, beyond their being &...

Diplomat Richard Holbrooke's Last Words
AP/Alex Brandon Influential diplomat Richard Holbrooke lived in Manhattan but died in Washington Monday night after two long operations failed to repair a tear to his aorta. For the past two years, Holbrooke served as Obama's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and had worked for every Democratic president since the late 1960s, including a stint as President Clinton's representative at the UN. He was known as a tough, sometimes abrasive negotiator who also made millions as an ...

Obama: Holbrooke 'a true giant' of foreign policy
President Obama is praising the late Afghanistan Envoy Richard Holbrooke as a "true giant" of Diplomacy who helped make the United States "stronger, safer, and more respected." Holbrooke, who suffered a torn aorta over the weekend, died last night at age 69. The president's tribute: Michelle and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Richard Holbrooke, a true giant of American Foreign Policy who has made America stronger, safer, and more respected. He was a truly unique figure who will be reme...

Holbrooke's death leaves a hole in Afghan policy
Richard Holbrooke, the US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, died late on Monday frustrated at his failure to make progress in ending the War in Afghanistan. He was 69 and his death in Washington came after 21 hours of surgery to repair a torn aorta. Mr Holbrooke saw himself as playing a heroic role as Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan where he hoped to repeat his success in 1995 when he oversaw the talks that ended the war in Bosnia. But, despite his energy and notorious com...

Bidding Richard Holbrooke Farewell: The Not So Quiet American
Richard Holbrooke wasn't just President Barack Obama's special representative to Afghanistan, he was the embodiment of US Foreign Policy -- with all its strengths and weaknesses. Washington is mourning his passing. There is little doubt that he was the embodiment of US Diplomacy. Richard Holbrooke, who died on Monday evening at the age of 69, was a widely-respected negotiator, a former US ambassador in Berlin and elsewhere, a key player in bringing peace to Bosnia. Most recently, he was Presid...

Richard Holbrooke: Was he right about Afghanistan War?
U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke (right), stands next to retired U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal (left) in Kabul, Afghanistan. Holbrooke died Monday at age 69. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) KABUL, Afghanistan — The last words uttered by Richard Holbrooke were, according to family members, a plea to end what he saw as an increasingly unwinnable Military engagement. “You’ve got to stop this War in Afghanistan,” he told his Pakistani ...

Holbrooke recalled as foreign policy giant
Published: Dec. 14, 2010 at 8:43 AM Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, testifies before a House Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing on civilian assistance for Afghanistan in Washington on July 28, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. and world leaders expressed sadness at the death of Veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke, who died Monday in a Washington Hospital. "Tonight America has lost one of its fiercest champions and most dedicated pub...

Holbrooke's last words
Ben Smith reports: The Washington Post first reported that Richard Holbrooke's last words, according to his family, were to his Pakistani surgeon, asking him to "stop this war." State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley clarified today: I should note that a lot of media coverage this morning about the interaction between Ambassador Holbrooke and his medical team as he was preparing for surgery for Friday — I've consulted with a number of folks who were in the room. There was a,...

Holbrooke's last words
A State Department official warns against making too much of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke's widely-reported sentiment to stop the War in Afghanistan that he uttered just before going in to surgery last week. “You’ve got to stop this war in Afghanistan,” he said, per the Washington Post. The official said that Holbrooke's doctors were urging him to calm down as they were preparing him for surgery last week. As they told him to settle down, he replied that he had too much to do....

Holbrooke tried 'to understand the feelings of ordinary Pakistanis'
By Sohel Uddin, NBC News producer Islamabad – Richard Holbrooke’s death was met with sadness by most Pakistanis we spoke to in Islamabad – that is, by those who knew who he was. As U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Holbrooke was seen in Pakistan regularly, his visits were always reported on TV and in the Newspapers, so you would think most people would know who he was – but they didn’t. In one popular Islamabad market on Tuesday, we could only find a ...