WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Richard Holbrooke, US Presi-dent Barack Obama’s special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, was in critical condition yesterday after doctors performed surgery to repair a tear in his aorta, the State Department said.
The 69-year-old veteran US diplomat, who brokered the 1995 accord ending the Balkans war, has been a key player in Obama’s efforts to turn around the faltering 9-year-old war in Afghanis-tan, where violence has surged and at least 477 US soldiers have been killed this year alone.
Holbrooke fell ill at the State Department on Friday and was admitted to nearby George Washington University hospital.
“This morning, doctors completed surgery to repair a tear in his aorta,” the State Department said in a statement yesterday. “He is in critical condition and has been joined by his family.”
A tear in this major artery of the body — known as an aortic dissection — is a painful and life-threatening condition that carries the risk of complications such as stroke, heart attack and kidney failure, according to Dr Duke Cameron, chief of cardiac surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
Recovery often entails a week in the hospital and another three to four months for full recovery, said Cameron, who is not one of Holbrooke’s doctors.
A prolonged absence for Holbrooke could be a blow to Obama’s efforts to demonstrate swift progress in Afghanistan next year, when Washington hopes to start putting Afghan forces in the lead and start bringing US troops home in July.
A frequent visitor to both Afghanistan and Pakistan, Holbrooke has personal relationships with the region’s leaders while at home he has sought to allay concerns in the US Congress over the course of the war.
