Frank Ruggiero Replaces Holbrooke as acting U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan

"The death on December 13 of U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke, who was President Barack Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, blew a gaping hole in the U.S. team heading up the civilian mission of the White House's strategy.  On Friday, December 10, Holbrooke was meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when he fell ill and was rushed to hospital. Three days later, he was gone -- the victim of a ruptured aorta.  The drama unfolded at the start of the week in which the White House was set to unveil its long awaited strategy review of the war in Afghanistan.  State Department spokesman Philip Crowley announced the day after Holbrooke's death, on December 14, that one of his top deputies, Frank Ruggiero would step in as acting special envoy." 

Read the rest of the article here at Eurasianet.org (December 18, 2010).