TUESDAY, DEC 14, 2010 06:15 ET
AP
The late Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Richard Holbrooke, President Obama's envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, died yesterday after undergoing surgery for a torn aorta. Holbrooke's record as a government official is long, complex and mixed on many levels, but -- based on the last line of his longWashington Postobituary -- I just want to flag what his "last words" were according to his family members, which he uttered as he was being sedated for surgery: "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan."
Ironically, Holbrooke was the author of one of the volumes of the Pentagon Papers -- which revealed that government officials knew of the futility of the Vietnam War at the same time they were falsely assuring the public they could win -- and Afghanistan seems to be no different. As official Washington rushes forward to lavish praise on Holbrooke's wisdom and service, undoubtedly they will studiously avoid acknowledging his final insight.
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