Richard Holbrooke, who was named by US President Barack Obama on Thursday as special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, was a former United Nations ambassador. The 67-year-old diplomat was the chief architect of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war in Bosnia. He negotiated the Dayton accord while serving as assistant secretary of state for European and Canadian affairs from 1994 to 1996. Some of his other positions include: US ambassador to Germany from 1993 to 1994; assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1977 to 1981; and a member of the US delegation at the 1968-1969 Paris Peace talks on Vietnam. He was a top foreign policy adviser to Hillary Clinton in her failed presidential bid. After Obama won the Democratic nomination, Holbrooke served as one of his advisers. In testimony on Capitol Hill last year, Holbrooke criticized the Bush administration for “pathetic” assistance to Pakistan's tribal areas. In the September/October 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs, Holbrooke said the new government needed to restore the United States' reputation in the world. He called the current US policy in Afghanistan a “failure” and urged the incoming administration to focus on tribal areas of Pakistan. Holbrooke has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize seven times and is the author of “To End A War.” Obama takes oath - again After the flub heard around the world, President Barack Obama has taken the oath of office. Again. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the oath to Obama on Wednesday night at the White House - a rare do-over. The surprise moment came in response to Tuesday's much-noticed stumble, when Roberts got the words of the oath a little off, which prompted Obama to do so, too. Don't worry, the White House says: Obama has still been president since noon on Inauguration Day. -
