World pays tribute to Richard ‘The Bulldozer’, Holbrooke

US diplomat Richard C Holbrooke, 69, who pulled off the 1995 Dayton peace accords that ended the war in Bosnia and who was attempting to wrestle with the ongoing Afghanistan war, died on Monday in Washington after surgeons spent more than 20 hours trying to repair a torn aorta, but were unsuccessful.

Holbrooke died in the job, as president Barrack Obama’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. He fell ill last Friday, collapsing during a meeting with secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

With the help of old friends Clinton and vice president Joe Biden, India managed to prune Holbrooke’s South Asia portfolio to Pakistan and Afghanistan — eliminating India (read Kashmir mediation) from his job description.

The deletion was a diplomatic win for India which is savvier about playing the Washington game after the nuclear deal. Holbrooke would have preferred the job to embrace Kashmir.

Holbrooke’s sudden death comes just days before the Obama administration is scheduled to announce the latest review of US policy in Afghanistan. Holbrooke’s death is bound to impact US diplomatic initiatives with the governments in Kabul and Pakistan as the US moves towards reducing military involvement in Afghanistan.

Obama described Holbrooke as “a true giant of American foreign policy”, and paid homage to the veteran diplomat as “a truly unique figure who will be remembered for his tireless diplomacy, love of country, and pursuit of peace.”

Holbrooke was nicknamed ‘the Bulldozer’ for arm-twisting warring leaders to the negotiating table as he hammered out peace in Bosnia. His forceful presence also earned him the moniker “Raging Bull”, and the distinction of being “Washington’s favourite last-ditch diplomat”.

“Holbrooke was a world-class negotiator and had a passion for South Asia and its future,” geopolitical analyst Kanpur-born Parag Khanna, who has coached Obama’s campaign on foreign policy, told DNA.

Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger once said that “If Richard calls you and asks you for something, just say yes. If you say no, you’ll eventually get to yes, but the journey will be very painful.”

Once hailed by Time magazine as “America’s toughest diplomatic tactician,” Holbrooke’s death leaves Obama with a hole to fill in his administration.

New Delhi will be watching to see who replaces Holbrooke as it works full throttle to resist the US-Pakistani game plan to engage the Taliban and to reintegrate them in Afghan power structures.