To revert to Mr Holbrooke's question, Islamist militancy is not the only crisis of Pakistan.
Mr Holbrooke must have had to leave much still sensitive detail out of this account.
Towards its end, Mr Holbrooke reflects more broadly on American foreign-policy aims and tactics.
There were renewed calls for a ceasefire but Mr Holbrooke again regarded them as premature.
Holbrooke added that it was "reasonable to hope" for fewer irregularities in a runoff.
And you can say many things about Ambassador Holbrooke, but harmony was not his first priority.
Earlier Monday, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright delivered an equally grim assessment of the Holbrooke mission.
Holbrooke's frantic pre-Dayton shuttle often took him to three countries in a single day.
"For all its warts and flaws, the U.N. greatly serves our national interests, " Holbrooke said.
Holbrooke also stressed that it is still too early to declare victory in Afghanistan.
Holbrooke negotiated the 1995 agreement at Dayton, Ohio, that ended the war in Bosnia.
Mr Holbrooke is respected, though not always liked (some consider him to be domineering).
In 2010 she met with U.S. Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke.
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke introduced his mother, then tearfully wished his dead father could have been there.
He appointed an envoy to South-West Asia (ie, Afghanistan and Pakistan): Richard Holbrooke, a veteran diplomat.
Holbrooke said the United States has received commitments from "many countries" to contribute troops during Afghanistan's election.
CNN: Officials: Afghanistan strategy formed with great deliberation
Both Ambassador Holbrooke and I approached this review keenly aware of where things stood 22 months ago.
WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing on Afghanistan-Pakistan Annual Review
Holbrooke also played down reports the U.S. is courting Zardari's main political rival, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Christopher gave Holbrooke an "unprecedented degree of flexibility" and was always prepared to wade in himself if needed.
Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali bears the full brunt of Holbrooke's contempt, especially for his early opposition to NATO bombing.
Before the 1998 elections, Richard Holbrooke, the Clinton administration's special envoy to the Balkans, reflected on the problem.
ECONOMIST: From Bosnia, East Timor, and other fragile places
Holbrooke also said that he had "cleared up some confusion" over which weapons the Serbs have committed to move.
CNN: NATO extends deadline for Bosnian Serbs to move weapons
Mr Holbrooke makes no pretence that the Dayton deal for Bosnia is ideal.
Mr Holbrooke recently returned from a tour of the camps housing those displaced by the fighting in north-west Pakistan.
Holbrooke's mission is in response to a series of rapid-fire Kremlin volleys begun by President Boris Yeltsin last week.
With the payments, Holbrooke said, the U.S. has greatly improved its international standing.
Holbrooke urged election observers to wait for Afghanistan's Electoral Complaints Commission to conclude its investigation into allegations of fraud.
And then there are the values implicitly endorsed by Obama's new Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke.
Karzai "is extremely grateful and will issue his statement of support, " Holbrooke said.
CNN: Obama: Anti-terror plans focus on Pakistan, Afghanistan
It took Mr Holbrooke, and his fellow American mediator, Robert Gelbard, four days of arm-twisting to get dialogue going.
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