Russ Feingold: “it is with great sadness that I pay tribute to the memory of my friend Richard Holbrooke, who passed away earlier this…”

“it is with great sadness that I pay tribute to the memory of my friend Richard Holbrooke, who passed away earlier this week. Richard was a masterful diplomat who brought his extraordinary skills to bear on some of the thorniest issues in U.S. foreign policy. Every step of the way, from his tremendous accomplishments at the Dayton Accords to his work as U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, he showed his deep commitment to our country, and to serving the greater good the world over. I came to know Richard when we travelled to Africa together in 1999, when he was serving as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. He had never been to Africa before, and yet on the trip he was able to thoroughly grasp the complex issues facing the continent immediately. His brilliance was apparent, and it enabled him to identify emerging issues quickly and push for critical action. On that trip our purpose was to focus on the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but we also saw the incredible devastation of the HIV/AIDS crisis firsthand. Richard called then-U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and told him that the Security Council needed to address AIDS directly. When the Secretary-General responded that the Security Council only addressed security issues, Richard replied that this was, indeed, a security issue.”