to stay of an intensely difficult negotiation that he was able to sit across the table from slobodan milosevic and really pull something together that nobody really thought possible but with the force of will and also with the very compelling argument he was able to do that. he wanted to do that in afghanistan but he pointed out that it's a very difficult thing to compare those two, because as he pointed out, there is no slobodan milosevic to negotiate with. there is no army, no country when you're dealing with afghanistan and terrorism in afghanistan. that's what makes it very difficult. but this man who goes all the way back to the vietnam war took everything that he had learned from that conflict and from other conflicts, bosnia, etcetera, and tried to apply them to what is going on now in afghanistan. and that was one mission, perhaps, that he was not able to accomplish but he certainly gave it his all. >> well, jill, richard holbrooke was known to be tough and straight forward and sometimes that approach worked well and sometimes it didn't work so well. what was his relationship like with

and he brought about that keel was announced and the man who delivered the final ultimatum to slobodan milosevicn. tribute paid to him by everybody. i was interested in reading joe kline in, who was a good friend of holbrooke and after you deal with slobodan milosevic and surely beating a torn aorta is possible. sadly for richard holbrooke that was one fight. >> and the bosnia peace plan he was a architect of one of the writings of the pentagon papers. he had a number of nicknames. bull dozer or raging bull. jennifer griffin, he was a fighter like few ever for this country. >> absolutely, and in fact, he was known for his temperament. he had a terrible temper and not surprising that he ended up having this heart trouble frankly, knowing what a strong temper he had. this couldn't come at a more difficult time for the president. as you know, shep, he is in the midst of receiving reports from general petraeus and admiral mullen and the pentagon and state department for basically for the afghan review that was supposed to take place in december. that is likely why richard holbrooke was meeting with

he faced down slobodan milosevic and brought peace to the dayton peace accords.de him a good peace negotiat negotiator? >> he was very tough. president obama said today at the state department he was one tough son of a gun. that's right. he is a man if you were president and had to face somebody who was a criminal or one of the really bad guys out there, you'd call for dick holbrooke. that was especially true of the clintons. bill and hillary groomed him to be secretary of state. some thought he should have won the nobel peace prize for the work in bosnia. others thought he should be sos you secretary of state. he never got there but was willing to go out and do the messy jobs. >> thankless jobs. >> afghanistan, pakistan, you were just saying before we went on air there was something in "the washington post" about his talking to a is your jonl, last words, talking to a pakistani surgeon saying you've got to end this war in afghanistan. and that it was him. he was -- i've never seen anybody who lived to be a diplomat. everything else in life was waiting. he liked

would have prevented 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 get sanctions lifted from serbia so in fact the united city used most of it to make peace and hope of its own account of that makes it quite clear that it was mostly rich who saved the peace accords by making great compromises at the cost of buses served most of it didn't get any credit for that but in fact was in close a vote in holbrooke went and sat down in the tent of the albanian separatist just so he combined this on the street with the next door nary a degree of ingratitude and when milosevic died in prison how gurk made a comment calling him a monster so i feel that although one usually with specs the did right after they die holbrook in self set an example of insulting the person that he owed his expense to write his death. couple of top world news stories in brief to bring you up to date with tonight almost one hundred people have been injured in rome as tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators protested against silv

had to turn to slobodan milosevic who desperately wanted to make peace in order to get sanctions lifted from serbia so in fact the united states he used most of it to make peace and hold us on account of that makes it quite clear that it was mostly refuse save the peace accords. making great compromises at the cost of us in service most of it we didn't get any credit for that but in fact was in close of owen hall book land and set down in the tent of the albanian separate is just so he combined this dynasty with the next door nary a degree of ingratitude and when milosevic died in prison holbrooke made a comment calling him a monster so i feel that although one usually with specs the did it right after they die hard work and self set an example of insulting the person that he owed his expense to write his death. and most recent appointment was barack obama's special envoy to afghanistan and pakistan not his military contributor kind of going to herself says that holbrooke's passing gives the us at rush hour unique chance now of starting to work together on the eradication of opium grove

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 get sanctions lifted from serbia so in fact the united states used most of it to make peace but the whole book a lot is about this in saying that they've bombed they had to bomb milosevic they bombed the serbs there to below to bomb the los or to the negotiating table in reality they had to bomb the serbs to persuade is a vegan it should go to the good feeling table and hope of its own account of that makes it quite clear that it was mostly rich who saved the bus and. peace accords by making great compromise is. at the cost of bus in service over the constant objections of the muslim leaders who want to keep the war going. so there was one deception and and the the other deception is that after that most of it we didn't get any credit for that but in fact was in kosovo and holbrooke very us and tissues they went and sat down in the tents of the binion so for as to well the us a call them terrorists and then they were to change the defea

he be so stupid not what they great job of getting rid of the deficit was a really stuck to slobodan milosevic and screw the middle class on nafta or blue is done health care. here at -- purely or not for all of his accomplishments he is stuck with the image of a sex crazed do love to party and cannot resist a sexual entanglements no matter how inappropriate or dangerous it might be and he had to know when he read -- responded it would be dangerous. first, he could not have expected the 23 year-old intern not to have told a single soul that she was having an affair with the president of united states? but even more coming he had to know what would happen if the affair were exposed because from the beginning from his time on the national stage the opposition had been out to get him from gennifer flowers and the draft. then to his time in office that travel office firings, a suicide of vince foster whitewater land deal, fbi files found where they shouldn't be, campaign finance irregularities during the reelection campaign. all through this time his opponents have than looking for ways to take hi

there there's no ho chi minh, no slobodan milosevic, no palestinian authority. glup of people we roughly call the enemy. >> reporter: biden called holbrooke, the most egotistical bastard i ever met, but the right guy for the job. for holbrooke who knew diplomacy wasn't always being diplomatic, the end result is what mattered a peace deal requires agreements and you don't make agreements with your friends. you make agreements with your enemies. richard holbrooke was 69. jill dougherty, 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

fall on serbian military targets inside bosnia, which finally brought the serbian dictator, slobodan milosevic the bargaining table where richard holbrooke was 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

there's no ho chi minh, no slobodan milosevic. there's no palestinian authority. of people that we roughly call the enemy. >> that was the last interview ambassador richard holbrooke gave to cnn's fareed zakaria about peace talks in afghanistan. he passed away yesterday at the age of 69, a high profile diplomat who president obama called a true giant of u.s. foreign policy. take a look at this map just showing all of the countries that holbrooke's diplomatic work shaped. his career spanned the vietnam war to the most recent assignment as the u.s. special representative to afghanistan and pakistan. 15 years ago he spearheaded the agreement to end the war in the former yugoslavia. i'm joined by fareed zakaria of cnn. we just aired a little of that last interview just weeks ago with ambassador holbrooke. his view of that area of the world, the afghanistan/pakistan area something you know a great deal about. was it realistic? >> oh, sure. he had a brutally realistic understanding of what was going on. he understood just how complicated the problem was, because you hav