Glittering Emissaries’ Dazzle Wears Off in the Trenches - nytimes

On Friday, Mr. Holbrooke turned up at the State Department podium to deliver a briefing on Pakistan that seemed intended mainly to show that he had not been sidelined, after his absence from efforts last week to persuade President Hamid Karzai to accept the need for a runoff election in Afghanistan.
Diplomatic Memo Glittering Emissaries' Dazzle Wears Off in the Trenches