U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Rains on Surge Parade
Karl W Eikenberry, a former top-ranking general who once commanded allied forces in Afghanistan and now leads America's diplomatic mission in Kabul, has reportedly urged President Obama to delay any escalation of the war until Hamid Karzai (continued).
Karl W. Eikenberry, a former top-ranking general who once commanded allied forces in Afghanistan and now leads America’s diplomatic mission in Kabul, has reportedly urged President Obama to delay any escalation of the war until Hamid Karzai does something about his notoriously corrupt government.
The Washington Post reports that Eikenberry sent two strongly worded classified cables to President Obama, communiqués that have “rankled his former colleagues in the Pentagon — as well as Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal.”
The president is considering four options for the war, all of which, according to leaks published in major papers, would increase U.S. troop levels by at least 20,000.
There are currently 68,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, serving with 33,000 other NATO personnel. — PZS
WAIT, BEFORE YOU GO…Washington Post:
The U.S. ambassador in Kabul sent two classified cables to Washington in the last week expressing deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government demonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption and mismanagement that has fueled the Taliban’s rise, said senior U.S. officials.
Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry’s memos were sent in the days leading up to a critical meeting Wednesday between President Obama and his national security team to consider several options prepared by military planners for how to proceed in Afghanistan. The proposals, which mark the last stage of a months-long strategy review, all call for between 20,000 to 40,000 more troops and a far broader American involvement of the war.
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