richard holbrooke, the u.s. diplomat and special representative to afghanistan and pakistan has died in washington. he was 65. president obama's said the u.s. lost a true giant in american foreign policy and made ththat e the country safer and more respected. they are almost certain man who set off -- almost set off bombs in afghanistan was a swedish national. he planned to targeted a railway station. the bomb he was wearing that needed to sin. >> the face of the swedish bomb plot. a man who had spent close to a decade living in britain. today, questions about what lay behind his attack. on saturday, a car registered to him exploded in stockholm. moments later, he was found dead following a second explosion. a suicide bomber but one who had failed to kill anyone else. police raided his house last night. his family was still living there. neighbors said they had not seen him for nearly a month. >> i was very shocked when i came home. they were very scared. they could not go to sleep. >> when he tried to spread ex

thank you. >> obviously this horrendous news for anybody who ever knew richard holbrooke or worked with about american diplomacy. when was ambassador holbrooke last over in afghanistan and what was his mission and how was he accomplishing so much over there? >> reporter: well, he was last here just over a month or so ago, 25th of october. his mission here in his own words as he said was a hugely challenging one not just encompassing afghanistan but pakistan as well and the very fact that he had that sort of twin job if you will was recognition of the fact that the two countries as he's also said were there -- the futures are so intertwined and their problems are so intractable in many ways and he certainly recognized that. his style of diplomacy, his level of knowledge of detail, his level of knowledge of history was what he brought to bear here. they could be and still remain for diplomats here some very tough meetings with president karzai, tougher, perhaps, in the last few years, tougher since richard holbrooke took over his position here. his job to cajole the afghan government towa

richard holbrooke was 69.herty, cnn washington. >> just a bit earlier today, as richard holbrooke was still fighting for his life, the president of the united states attended a holiday reception for the diplomatic corps and paid tribute to the man this evening america has lost. with. >> i know everyone here joins me when i say america is more secure and the world is a safer place because of the work of ambassador richard holbrooke. michelle and i, to the entire family, just know we are thinking and praying for you and for richard every single day. and she a tough son of a gun, so we are confident, as hard as this is, that he is going to be putting up a tremendous fight. >> he was confident, many would say sometimes cocky, self-assured, never afraid of making his opinion known in a meeting. we're going to take a quick break. when we come back, we'll reflect on his life and career. [ s. greenlee ] i would love to have been a musician but i knew that i was going to need a day job. we actually have a lot of scient

what we do know is there was no finer foreign policy mind in our generation than richard holbrooke. nobody better able to deliver the goods, nobody better able to build a team of loyal people around it. nobody who believed more deep the profession of foreign affairs than dick holbrooke. >> rose: let me put it this way. of course the man wanted to be secretary of state but we all wanted him to be secretary of state. we thought he was that good, that much better than all the other possibilities. >> rose: if, in fact, both of you said that if you could go to people with the experience in the two of you had and friends as strong as dick is with richard holbrooke there would be overwhelming consensus that he was the foreign policy person of his generation in terms of the ability to see what had to be done and the capacity to get it done. >> it takes a lot of gets to get it done. >> and there isn't even a close second. i mean, he was so far out in front, he was so the person. there's nobody else you can think of even comes close to richard. it's amazing. he had such incredible power. >> we

we are sad to announce richard holbrooke the obama administration's special representative for afghanistan and pakistan has died tonight after suffering a torn aorta at the state department on friday. holbrooke, 69, is best remembered for having brokered the peace agreement between warring bosnian factions in 1995. we'll go to jill dougherty live at the state department for more. >> reporter: well, the latest confirmed by a senior administration official that ambassador holbrooke did die today. remember that it happened last week. here at the state department. and he has been in the hospital over the past weekend and today numerous surgeries. in fact, about 20 hours of surgery. but eventually he did seccumb. we're told by people who were with him that he put up a very, very good, strong fight but in the end this extremely strong man and one of the giants of american diplomacy has died. the coincidence was that here at the state department today, you know, they had a holiday party, president obama here, secretary clinton, and both of them making very strong and heart felt comments about dic

week with the death of richard holbrooke. he died monday evening after undergoing 212 hours of surgery for a torn aorta. he was 69 years old. for almost 50 years, richard holbrooke was on the front line of national security and policy. he was currently serving as president obama's special representative for afghanistan and pakistan. his career began in vietnam where he was a field officer for u.s. aid and served in the american embassy in saigon. in 1968 he attended the paris peace talks as a junior member of the u.s. delegation. in the carter administration he became the youngest assistant secretary of state in u.s. history at age 35, overseeing east asia and pacific affairs. in 1993, president bill clinton named him ambassador to germany. in 1994, he turned to the crisis in the balkans as assistant secretary of state for european affairs. for most of us, his name is synonymous with the 1995 dayton accords, the peace deal that ended the conflict in bosnia. that agreement was the result of what holbrooke did best: countless p

today richard holbrooke has died.ginning was thought to be at the very beginning, something routine. late saturday into early sunday it became clear if he did win in fight, it would be the odds. >> that's right. when he was with the secretary of state he became flushed in his face. started having difficulties, was taken to the hospital where they discovered how serious his problems were. as you said, 21 hours of surgery. shep, it is amazing that someone who had gone through that, would then just hours ago, be meeting with his staff, at this critical juncture in the consideration of what happens next in afghanistan. it is a testament to his strength, a man who spent his entire adult life in public service. he was a diplomatic force to be reckoned with. he will be missed by this administration. >> shepard: indeed. jim angle, live in washington.

president obama expressed his hopes for richard holbrooke's recovery today just before noon. >> richard holbrooke has been serving this nation with distinction for nearly 50 years, from a young foreign service officer in vietnam to the architect of the accords that ended the slaughter in the balkans, to advancing our regional efforts as our special representative to afghanistan and pakistan. and countless chrrisis and hotspots in between. he's simply one of the giants of american foreign policy. and as anyone who's ever worked with him knows or had the clear disadvantage of negotiating across the table from him richard is relentless. he never stops. he never quits, because he's always believed that if we stay focused, if we act on our mutual interests, that progress is possible. wars can end. peace can be forged. so tonight we're all praying for richard's recovery. to the family, our thoughts are with you. and i know that everyone here joins me when i say that america is more secure and the world is a safer place because of the work of ambassador richard holbrooke. so michelle and i, th

but richard holbrooke was also a diplomat and a patriot. states couldn't just say, well, this is all too complicated and we're going to walk away from it. instead he felt that you had to apply as much diplomatic power, skill you could to the situation and cut the best deal you could for the united states out of all this. and that was what he was trying to do when he died. >> fareed, ed henry was saying earlier on when someone passes away you find all these great things to say about them. but the hard edge of richard holbrooke, there were some who said maybe that didn't help him in terms of diplomacy itself. he could be a little undiplomatic at times. >> i disagree. he had a hard edge. i experienced it myself several times. he could be an unpleasant person to deal with. but i think that what that cost him was the secretary of state-ship. i think that within washington he left a lot of people's egos bruised and he didn't handle himself as diplomatically as he could. but out in the field, he was extraordinarily charming when he needed to be, v

richard holbrooke to be but i don't have any who should thank you very much indeed . now the next space. is now ready for blastoff from wednesday it will take a crew of three russian and american talian to the international space station. one of the reports are true to its own science in kazakhstan. here by going all the final preparations are being made ahead of the launch of the soyuz t.m.a. twenty rocket which will carry the meat to an. end katherine coleman up to the international space station now later on today the rocket will be blessed by a priest of the russian orthodox church and tradition here a bike you know that's always carried out and plenty of other traditions here as well before the astronauts and cosmonauts of being to visit because not museum bike you know if you dish and it's always carried out they go and have a look at what those who go before them brought back from space based signed a board as well inside them is the right message they make their own history all of this. now there's been plenty of astronauts and cosmonauts and it's a lend suppo

which finally brought the serbian dictator, slobodan milosevic, to the bargaining table where richard holbrooke waiting. >> how are you? >> for three weeks in dayton, ohio, holbrooke locked all sides into negotiations and knocked heads together when it was necessary. what emerged from those talks, peace that has lasted to this day because richard holbrooke fought to deliver on america's promise. despite all the cynics, he persisted in the belief that his country is a force for good, and because of that, because of what he did, hundreds of thousands of people who might still be suffering are not, who might have perished are alive today. and may the legacy last. thank you for watching. >>> in the news, december 19, more wet and windy weather is on the way as pg&e crews try to keep falling trees from knocking lights out. an urban and small stream flood advisory is in effect for the entire bay area. lisa argen will have an update. and novato authorities investigate a

right now. >> president obama has led tributes to one of america's most experienced diplomats richard holbrooke who died following emergency heart surgery. mr. obama described mr. holbrooke as one of giants of american foreign policy. he was best none for helping to broker the dayton peace agreement which ended the bosnian conflict. his most recent role was as obama's special representative in pakistan and afghanistan. we look back at his life. >> peace negotiator and veteran troubleshooter richard holbrooke served as envoy to more than one u.s. president. he was point man on probably america's most troublesome overseas problem, averages and -- pakistan and afghanistan. he was famous for blunt speaking behind the scenes despite the hand shakes and courtesy in public. >> with president karzai, i carried a personal message from president obama. >> his active interest in asia spanned his career as a diplomat. he made frequent visits during his tenure as u.s. ambassador of the united nations, like here to china. he started his career as a vietnamese specialist on the delegation at the paris peace t

richard holbrooke save lives, securities, and restored hope for countless people around the world. richard albrecht was 69 years old. that is our show for tonight. as always, keep the faith. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org tavis: during the next time for conversation with steve wonder on his holiday charity drive. see you then. >> all i know is his name is james, and he needs extra help with his reading. >> i am james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference -- >> thank you. >> you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment, one conversation at a time. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. pbs.

we have lost one of our own and a legendary figure in richard holbrooke. >> former u.s. to iraq, christopher hill, worked alongside holbrooke, principally to end the war in bosnia in 1995, but also in so many other places around the world. that was both of your crowning achievement, the 1995 dayton according, signed in paris, chris, 15 years ago today. this is such a bitter moment with so much sadness but we wanted you to join us today to talk about the great answer that was richard. describe what you think were his greatest attributes, what he brought that made him the diplomatic extraordinaire? >> first of all, he was quite an idealist. he combined that idealism with an extraordinary pragmatic approach, that is he would deal with different people, people that, you know, you would not expect to want to sit down with, he would sit down with them to get something done. that pragmatism was not for pragmatism sake, it was to serve more idealistic goals. another element was this man was incredibly smart. his capacity to understand or to have a strategic vision and then to co

thank you. >> lehrer: ambassador richard holbrooke was praised today as "one of a kind." his death leaves the obama administration with a gap as it grapples with afghanistan and pakistan. margaret warner chronicles holbrook's long public service. >> warner: the president's afghan war council gathered today at the white house at another crucial decision point in the decade-long war. but they met without one of the policy's main drivers. the president's special representative for afghanistan and pakistan, ambassador richard holbrook. holbrook's boss and long-time friend secretary of state hillary clinton remembereded him this afternoon. >> the words that keep being said over and over again is statesman. it's a word we don't use much anymore, but richard embodied it. a man who loved our country and dedicated his life to serving not only our people but the cause of peace. a diplomat who used every tool in the tool box, and someone who accomplished so much on behalf of so many. >> warner: the hard-charging diplomat died last night in washington after suffering a torn aorta on f

richard holbrooke, the man they call the diplomatic bulldozer, dies at the age of 69. how does israel planned to stem the rise of would-be emigrants. midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington. 1:00 in rome. the italian prime minister is awaiting the result of the crucial result of no confidence. the billionaire prime minister won a vote in the senate but now the lower house of we are joined in rome by our correspondent, duncan kennedy. >> we are just a few minutes to buy it was well. a couple minutes ago the politicians' voting moved in alphabetical order. not many more left to vote. they have been getting everyone into the house to make sure that all of the numbers count. is it -- silvio berlusconi is cajoling everyone that he can, telling everyone that without confidence they could face the political nightmare. >> this was the critical vote. analysts said that it was too close to call. is support in this house was that the most precarious. earlier that administers survived this vote in the upper house. his victory here was widely expected. the embattled silvio berlus

the president's special representative for afghanistan and pakistan, ambassador richard holbrook. holbrook's boss and long-time friend secretary of state hillary clinton remembereded him this afternoon. >> the words that keep being said over and over again is statesman. it's a word we don't use much anymore, but richard embodied it. a man who loved our country and dedicated his life to serving not only our people but the cause of peace. a diplomat who used every tool in the tool box, and someone who accomplished so much on behalf of so many. >> warner: the hard-charging diplomat died last night in washington after suffering a torn aorta on friday. tens of hours of surgery over several days could not save him. his sudden death at age 69 brought tributes from around the globe. >> there wl be a lot of people in many different parts of the world who are going to miss him and look back on what he did with a lot of gratitude. >> a critical friend of europe and a close friend of mine. the word is a... the world is a lesser place without him. >> warner: just hours before holbrook died pres

let me talk about richard holbrooke for a second. richard holbrooke was larger than life. first of all, he loved the press. he loved what was written in, was always trying to influence it and shape it. he was the original spinner. this is a man who made a lot of money in the private sector, but his vocation and mission and passion was public service. he looked upon the time he was making money in new york as an interruption. let me point out one thing, the dayton accords -- he did in dayton, ohio, and that was his decision, and was brilliant. to bring people to dayton, ohio, not paris or geneva, but to achieve a breakthrough, and they did. >> "time" magazine names the person of the year ended is not the wikileaker. >> there were obviously serious attempts to take down the content by taking us down as an organization, taking me down as an individual. >> that is julian assange, who has been released on bail. he was under arrest and being held in london, possible extradition on assault charges in sweden. and the justice department get to him? >> the fbi act requires it to sho

. >> richard holbrooke dead at the age of at 69. wikileaks founder julian assange makes a bail. but he is not the person of the year. >> thank you so much, mark. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> much of this town's attention was focused on capitol hill this week, in between endless holiday parties, that is. issues the congreswas concerned with- how to come up with money to keep the government running. that is real important. also, the deal president obama made with republicans to extend the bush tax cuts for a couple of years. house democrats were its toughest critics. >> the motion is adopted. >> it gives away one of the $20 billion to the super rich. >> this is so irresponsible and contradicts everything as democrats we have been fighting for for generations. >> this bill will kill our children with very ltle input or benefit at the moment. >> still, the bill passed. 139 democrats voted against, 138 voted yes. -at last, bipartisanship. >> it is a tough thing to ask members of congress to vote for a tax cut. [laughter] a rere by-the-bullet, b

foreign policy inherit from richard holbrooke will it inherits a tradition of quite cynical opportunism and deception i would say. with that which is in the lab right up there is a little bit for us what kind of deception are we talking about well various kinds of deception but i was thinking particularly of all of the surrounding the balkans because that's the subject that i know the best and which is revealed somewhat in his book which i have come to in my in my old the fact is that he has presented the dayton accords of one nine hundred ninety five like a great. accomplishment of american peacemaking whereas in fact the reality is that the united states helped start the boston war in one thousand nine hundred two by encouraging is a big of it's the bus and muslim leader to pull out of an agreement that was made between the three ethnic parties that would have prevented the war so the war was encouraged and the muslims were encouraged to keep making the war and then in order to finally stop it holbrooke had to turn to slobodan milosevic who desperately wanted to make peace in order to

it was negotiated by am bass door richard holbrooke who died last night in washington. the president of the united states called him a giant. general david petraeus called him a titan, larger than life. it is true that the death of richard holbrooke leaves no one even remotely like him in the business of diplomacy. it was by far his greatest success, ending the war in bosnia, a gruesome conflict that introduced the phrase "ethnic cleansing" to the world looking on. it took american bomb to go bring all sides to the table, but then it was widely agreed, richard holbrooke simply wore them down. >> and i combatted it by nature. well, i've read that, but it's really in my view, inherent in the job. this is a job that involves combat. >> he was new york city born, ivy educated, lived in manhattan and was on airplanes. he flew into hot spots often and without fear and was shot at more than once. while he also navigated the much cooler world of new york and d.c. society. a friend of kissinger, kerry, and both clintons, he served under every democratic president since jfk. his

how did richard holbrooke feel about our chances of success in afghanistan? ft now with his loss? >> well, richard was a realist. i don't know his innermost thoughts. i think few people do, maybe his wife and one or two others. i do know that richard believed very strongly in the civilian part of our role there. whether it's getting agriculture experts in to move away from opium production, whether it's to get salaries paid by cell phones to the police and military could stand up in afghanistan. he was involved in all aspects of the nonmilitary role of the united states. building of that nation's capacity. and so i think there are going to be some, you know, difficult times now finding someone who can do all the things as well as richard could do them. but in the end, i think richard wanted america to succeed there. he wanted president obama to succeed there. and i -- and i hope that those around him get a chance to continue to serve in the way that he helped them come to government. >> white house thought he was a larger than life character, that he was poten

holbrooke's contribution would be to that report? guest: i think richard was loyal, but i think behind closed doors, looking 25 are 30 years and classified documents getting them to wikileaks before richard shared in this afghanistan the view, i think he would be saying, on one hand, we are making anecdotal progress but not system at progress in certain areas, getting girls to go to school, helping people feel like they are greater stakeholders and getting greater converging of -- poppy growing into other crops that are lucrative for folks. when it came as -- came to the broad area of getting to the tipping point, i think richard would be highly skeptical of the over-militarization of our response. that the training of forces and continued lack of confidence and trust in the way the u.s. was approaching is challenged and the clunking this and very large military footprint we have is undermining our ability to achieve success. that is what i guess he would have said. and when the president announces what he is going to announce, i personally think he will b

next up, the afghanistan review and the death of richard holbrooke.ful vegetables are often a good source of vitamins, fiber, or minerals. and who brings you more natural colors than campbell's condensed soups? campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ [ male announcer ] confused what to get? click on the robitussin relief finder. click on your symptoms. get the right relief. makes the cold aisle easy. th robussin relief finder. it's that simple. i want to express my deepest condolences to the family of ambassador richard holbrooke. he would be the first to urge us to go forward and continue his work and his mission of not only what he was doing in afghanistan and pakistan but across the broad reach of american foreign policy. >> when you see the review thursday, i doubt there will be in all honesty a lot of surprise at what the review lays out. >> bret: president obama today worked for about two hours with his national security team in the situation room on the review of afghanistan policy. they'll release an unclassified summary thursday and, as

you, kelly. >>> one of the most well known and accomplished diplomats in history pass aid way, richard holbrooke died last night after suffering a tear in his aorta, he was 69. holbrooke served every democratic president in modern history, gap his foreign service career in he vietnam and wrote a volume of the pentagon papers. his latest assignment, a tough one, special ambassador to afghanistan and pakistan. his signature accomplishment was negotiating an end to the war in the former yugoslavia and served 16 months as u.s. ambassador to the u.n. as well as ambassador to germany. holbrooke fell ill friday while in a meeting with with secretary of state hillary clinton. he underwent two major surgeries over this weekend but he never regained consciousness. nbc chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell will join us later to remember holbrooke's legacy as we remember him. >>> the announcement that many in the political world of republican politics, rnc michael steele says he is going to seek another term. mark mur vity deputy political director. perhaps michael steele doing the unconventio

ambassador richard holbrooke. that's before we even talk about what happens next after a judge rejected obama's health care reform law. >>> first, let me show you what is going on outside of our studio. weather, a huge story all around the country. here in new york, we woke up to bitter cold and a coating of snow. but look at what people are facing else where. >> this is a little bit unexpected and unwelcomed. >> looks like it's all clear and all of a sudden you try to step on the brakes and you're all over the road. >> we were stuck inside yesterday and we refuse it be stuck today. >> they're still closed right now. so, i'm going to have to go back home and stay warm. >> nice and fun and cold. >> the cold is definitely the operative word. bone chilling cold temperatures, record snowfall, huge delays on the ground and in the air. we have reporters blanketing the country and let's start with the weather channel's mike sidel in austinburg, ohio, good morning, mike. >> hey, chris. it is still snowing here in ashtabul

richard holbrooke passed away this week at the age of 69. most reporters in washington and most diplomats around the world had dealings with holbrooke at one time or another. he was brash, he was brilliant, and he was often frustrate. was that the case on his last mission, doyle? >> it was. the last extended conversation i had with him, he told me this job was the most difficult one he had ever tried, repairing american relations with pakistan. gwen: which is saying something. >> exactly, although with richard holbrooke, you don't know whether he was saying it for effect. every mission was going to be the most difficult. i think this one was. if you think of getting these countries that don't deal with each other to deal with each other, marshaling the civilian side to match the efficacy of the military side, and he said he didn't know if success was possible. and tragically, he never lived to find out. but he was very good at what he was doing. he had an unusual range of talents for an american diplomat. there are lots of american diplomats

dennis stand after richard holbrooke came in he made a complete overhaul of u.s. policy from counter-narcotics to. effectively promoting the u.s. pows is that the u.s. drug store policy in afghanistan relating lose all these things and the drug lords that's resulted in in effect. the criminal drug trafficking in afghanistan keep personae fight the betrayal of the historical us counter-narcotics approach in afghanistan just for the benefit of the leap service of preventing the so-called friendly farmers from going to taliban the united states of the drug enforcement administration together with the state department have by default a new opportunity to reset and jump started the russian american cooperation specific only. on that counternarcotics with the main focus on area there were indications because the reason no other alternative and the reason the personalities in the white house who were opposing richard holbrooke. next we update you on the big business stories of the day stay with us at that. hungry for the full stop we've got. the biggest issues get a huma

first, richard holbrooke. as robin said, i knew him will, worked with him closely, as you did, as well. he devoted every part of his being to diplomacy, to making peace. his brain. his bulk. and i think he showed over the course of his lifetime that in these central questions, one person really can make a difference. >> yeah. i think the thing i would like to say about richard, he was a real patriot. in afghanistan, i said, richard. and overqualified underfunded candidate. and i say, he doesn't have money or anything. and he says, you are a member of the kennedy generation. you have to go. okay. i never got anything. the idea that the united states needed something, and it was something in a you could do for your country and that you didn't do it was just foreign to him. he didn't understand that. and here he was, the culmination of a career that was where he was secretary of state. and he took probably the single-worst job in the government. trust me, it didn't come with trappings. i sat in his office a numbe

veteran american diplomat richard holbrooke has died at the age of sixty nine after undergoing emergency heart surgery nicknamed the bulldozer who's best known for pushing the u.s. agenda in the balkans during the bosnian war more recently he became barack obama's special envoy to afghanistan and pakistan argues military contributor colonel you again you push over says holbrooke's passing gives the u.s. and russia a unique chance of starting to work together on the eradication of opium growth in afghanistan. wiped out the whole generation of american politicians and generals and diplomats and ambassadors who were taking the active stance to be the focus on their real eradication of ghana's stand after richard holbrooke came in he made a complete overhaul of u.s. policy from counter narcotics to. effectively promoting the u.s. post as the u.s. drug store policy in afghanistan relating lose all the beings and drug lords that's resulted in effect. for the drug trafficking in afghanistan keep personae fight the trail of the historical u.s. counter-narcotics approach in afghanistan just for t