Holbrooke in Critical Condition
Politico reports:
Veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke was in critical condition Saturday at George Washington University Hospital after 20 hours of surgery to repair a tear in his aorta.
The special U.S. representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan was taken there Friday after collapsing during a meeting on the State Department's seventh floor, where his longtime friend Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's office is located.
Holbrooke "is in critical condition and has been joined by his family," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in a statement. The Associated Press reported that Clinton had visited him Friday and Saturday.
"Earlier today, I spoke to Richard Holbrooke's wife Kati and told her that Michelle and I are praying for Richard," President Barack Obama said in a statement. "Richard Holbrooke is a towering figure in American foreign policy, a critical member of my Afghanistan and Pakistan team, and a tireless public servant who has won the admiration of the American people and people around the world."
The hard-charging Holbrooke, 69, is best-known for leading U.S. efforts to negotiate the end to the Bosnian war, and has been a longtime adviser to Democratic politicians. He began his diplomatic career as an adviser to the team at the Paris negotiations to end the Vietnam War, and was one of the 100 global thinkers of 2010 honored at a party last month by Foreign Policy magazine, which Holbrooke previously edited.
His illness comes at a critical time for U.S. policy in Afghanistan, with a long-awaited assessment of military operations there due as soon as next week. It was unclear how his role as the administration's point man on the issue would be affected.
"Ambassador Holbrooke is a great friend of Pakistan," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a statement. "We wish him health and long life."
