ambassador richard holbrooke holbrooke went to vietnam shortly after joining the foreign service in 1962. he worked on vietnam issues for president johnson, east asia for president carter, including china when relations with the u.s. were normalized. and for president clinton, he took on the bosnian war. his biggest diplomatic achievement may have been his most personal. i don t think there s ever been a negotiation any more difficult than this one. 48 hours with almost no sleep, people dying, incredible pressure. holbrooke, whose grandfather escaped hitler in nazi germany said the conflict brought the world modern day scenes of ethnic cleansing. he reflected on that in a 2008 advise to bosnia. i thought, i m seeing a color remake of the black and white scenes we ve seen in world war ii. he also served as u.s. ambassador to germany and later the united nations. leaving the spotlight after the