WASHINGTON (AFP) – Richard Holbrooke, the veteran US diplomat who was tasked with bringing peace to Afghanistan after helping end the war in Bosnia, has died in Washington after suffering a torn aorta. He was 69.
President Barack Obama led the tributes to his special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, calling him "a true giant of American foreign policy". His death on Monday comes amid a major review of the US strategy in Afghanistan.
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As he was sedated and going in for surgery, Holbrooke had some stark words: "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan," he told his Pakistani surgeon, the Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing unnamed family members.
Working in tandem with US military planners, Holbrooke oversaw a tripling in the number of civilians in Afghanistan under a year-old plan to boost the country's agriculture, economy and civilian institutions. Currently there are more than 1,000 US civilian experts in Afghanistan.
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