Report: Holbrooke replacement to be named by Clinton

Tue, 15 Feb 2011

Washington - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to name a former ambassador to Turkey as Washington's new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, newspaper reports said early Tuesday.

Marc Grossman, a retired senior diplomat, is to be named Friday to replace Richard Holbrooke, who died suddenly in December of a torn aorta, the Washington Post reported.

The Post and New York Times cited unnamed officials as their sources. Clinton is expected to announce the appointment Friday at a major speech on Afghanistan and Pakistan at the Asia Society in New York.

Grossman is currently the vice chairman of a consulting firm.

Holbrooke's death came at a crucial time for Afghanistan, where US President Barack Obama is aiming to start winding down the US presence later this year.

US-Pakistan relations have also been shaky. Late last week, a US diplomat in Pakistan denied a report that Washington had threatened to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Islamabad in an attempt to secure the release of one of its citizens held for double murder.

The report by ABC news said that US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon had told the Pakistani ambassador to the US to release the suspect or face diplomatic consequences.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/367387,replacement-be-named-clinton.html.