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Ear to the Ground

Afghanistan Envoy Holbrooke Dies

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Posted on Dec 13, 2010
U.S. Embassy, Kabul (CC-BY-ND)

Richard Holbrooke, a diplomatic fixture since the Vietnam era whose last assignment was special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, died Monday following heart surgery.

His neoliberal campaigning made him the enemy of progressives and the friend of trigger-happy presidents. The current White House resident described him as “one of the giants of American foreign policy” before learning of Holbrooke’s death.  —PZS

President Obama quoted by the Los Angeles Times:

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 crises and hot spots in between. He is simply one of the giants of American foreign policy.

And as anyone who has 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.

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drbhelthi's avatar

By drbhelthi, December 15, 2010 at 3:39 am Link to this comment

Certainly, ambassador Holbrooke pursued the desires
of the “string-pullers” adequately, so as to remain
in the position.  Who among us, has not done
similarly?  Meanwhile,
he assisted to accomplish some goals that
were favorable for the U.S. Citizenry,
and the world.

We see what happened to him, promptly after he stated
dissent to the NAZI/Bush/Obama colonization of the
world, especially in Afghanistan.

Arterial blockage that resulted in death during
treatment? Sure, guy!  The Dr. Josef Mengele types
have an injection for every dissenter in the employ
of the US Demagogery.  Except for those who have
really “crossed their boss.”  In which case, “Chip”
Tatum- types take over.

Report this

By Dan S., December 14, 2010 at 9:41 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Having lived through the 1990s Balkan wars, I couldn’t agree more with Mr. David J. Cyr’s comment. The Yugoslav wars could have been avoided, but you can’t make money on peace.

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EJH's avatar

By EJH, December 14, 2010 at 7:03 pm Link to this comment

Inherit The Wind:

Holbrooke did not “devote his life to his country”. 
He devoted his life to large corporations and to
filling his own pockets. 

As for 1976 Raiders/sodomy imagery, I do not claim to
know what Big B is talking about either, but Goebbles
and Holbrooke taking it from Matuszak over and over
for eternity sounds like justice to me. 

(It is interesting to see how many Oakland fans there
are suddenly now that the team is kind of decent and
finally in playoff contention.)

Report this

By Inherit The Wind, December 14, 2010 at 3:00 pm Link to this comment

While these are some pretty mean-spirited thoughts about a guy who DID devote his life to his country, I gotta wonder:

What’s the deal with the 1976 Raiders?  What makes you think they are:
1) Into gay sodomy?
2) Into FORCED sodomy?
3) All dead? (a requirement for the image)

Just because they won the Super-Bowl that year?

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By faith, December 14, 2010 at 1:46 pm Link to this comment

It was noted in the news at HuffPo that Holbrooke’s last words were, that the U.S.
needed to end the war in Afghanistan immediately.  He was thinking of America. 
He was expressing a view that we need to avoid war.

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By GoyToy, December 14, 2010 at 11:41 am Link to this comment

Another suit dutifully doing the bidding of his masters.

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David J. Cyr's avatar

By David J. Cyr, December 14, 2010 at 10:16 am Link to this comment

Holbrooke’s infamy rests largely upon his dutifully mopping up a murderer’s mess that Clinton deliberately made. Before Dayton, Clinton lied and Yugoslavs died… after which Clinton gave Halliburton a no-bid contract to build the massive military base (and secret detention facility), Camp Bondsteel, within the newly American occupied nation of Kosovo… in close proximity to the Trans-Balkan oil pipeline.

The ethnic tensions present during the breakup of Yugoslavia provided an opportunity the Clinton administration fully exploited.

Clinton’s Field Marshall, Madeleine Albright, personally managed the creation of the pretext for intervention, by purposefully encouraging greater violence to develop, with the corporate media providing the pressure for presumed beneficent American intervention.

After the collapse of the USSR, the American controlled European defense forces of NATO should have been disbanded. But by means of his deviously cloaked “humanitarian” war, Clinton redeployed NATO and gave it a new mission. Now NATO brings “peace” to other nations, by being a permanent coalition of the willing resource war expeditionary force that invades and occupies other nations.

It was Holbrooke’s job to diplomatically represent the corporate state and the millions of corporate (R) & (D) party voters, who pretend it’s not fascism when America does it.

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EJH's avatar

By EJH, December 14, 2010 at 9:27 am Link to this comment

“...Holbrooke is right now sitting at a card table with
Ronny Ray-guns, Lee Attwood and Goebbles waiting to be
sodomized for all eternity by the 1976 Oakland
Raiders.”

Stunning imagery.  I give this comment an A-plus.

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By Harrison, December 14, 2010 at 5:56 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

In a time when political parties are warring with each other here at home, when Washington’s inner power circle is less popular with its own people than ever, when China is balking and North Korea is threatening and all the world seems to be in potential financial free fall, with two wars raging on foreign shores, the foreign service of diplomacy has lost a “Raging Bull” of communication, the fighter for peace Richard Holbrooke. In a time when trust and treaties are diminished by suspicion and isolating nationalism, when walls of self-interest replace fading borders, America was fortunate for “The Bulldozer” who verbally crashed through indifference, ignorance and division to form international alliances respectful of national interests. Though speaking softly was not really his style, his forceful negotiations revealed a deep abiding regard for point of view of all sides. Governments need pay respect and give thanks that when humanity needed to interject peace into hearts full of war, Richard Holbrooke was humanity’s spokesman for humankind’s hope for global peace.

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drbhelthi's avatar

By drbhelthi, December 14, 2010 at 5:43 am Link to this comment

Right.
At heart a patriot, however misdirected and misguided.

His expression of question of the direction of the “Obama oligarchy,” in the Iraq-Afghanistan-Pakistan-Iran, NAZI-Bush-artificial terror debacle, did NOT fall on deaf ears.  Recognized for his “relentless” approach to diplomacy, he earned rather swift “death assistance.”

Amazing, all the various injections the Dr. Mengele-types can whip onto unsuspecting patients. Their big decision is deciding on the type of death a “target patient” is to endure.
Generals are often more savy, and are typically fired via transfer, instead of being awarded involuntary euthanasia.

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By samosamo, December 14, 2010 at 3:16 am Link to this comment

****************


“” The current White House resident described
him as “one of the giants of American foreign
policy” before learning of Holbrooke’s death.  —
PZS”“
*****************
And our dope, o, also says of him:
““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.”“
*****************

Some diplomat, some asset to this country. How
many wars is the u.s. fighting? 5 or 6? How many
sovereign foreign countries were invaded while
this puke was ‘negotiating’ peace, that is
doublespeak or euphemistic language for
‘negotiating war’ for the weapons industry and
the u.s. war lords, about the only exportation
industry this country has now. How talented and
effective was this clown? Ask the izraelis.

At least there goes a neocon, now if only the
others would do the right thing a pull a General
Jack Ripper in their bathrooms.

Good riddance!!!!

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By Omer, December 14, 2010 at 12:51 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Please End the war now.

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By Big B, December 13, 2010 at 10:50 pm Link to this comment

apparently there is no truth to the adage that only the good die young.

While I am no believer, I do hope on days like today that Miltons version of hell has a place in reality. For if it does, Holbrooke is right now sitting at a card table with Ronny Ray-guns, Lee Attwood and Goebbles waiting to be sodomized for all eternity by the 1976 Oakland Raiders.

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