Another reason for the AIG distraction.

Obama administration special envoy Richard Holbrooke was on the American International Group Inc. board of directors in early 2008 when the insurance company locked in the bonuses now stoking outrage across the U.S.

Holbrooke, a veteran diplomat who is now the administration’s point man on Pakistan and Afghanistan, served on the board between 2001 and mid-2008. During that period, AIG undertook the aggressive investment strategies that led to a near-collapse and forced a multibillion-dollar federal bailout.