Ambassador Karl Eikenberry discussed current counter-insurgency and state-building efforts in Afghanistan. He examined the challenges posed over time by discontinuities in strategies, something he experienced firsthand during his three tours of duty in Afghanistan beginning in 2002.  He also addressed problems that international civilian and military actors have encountered establishing realistic and sustainable institutional goals. Lastly, Ambassador Eikenberry spoke about the prospects of achieving transition to Afghan security lead by the objective date of 2014.

Prior to his arrival at Stanford, Karl Eikenberry served as the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from May 2009 until July 2011, and before that as the Commander of the American-led Coalition forces in Afghanistan from 2005-2007.
During his 35-year career with the U.S. Army, he has served in various policy and political-military positions, including as Deputy Chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Military Committee in Brussels, Director for Strategic Planning and Policy for U.S. Pacific Command at Camp Smith, Hawaii; U.S. Security Coordinator and Chief of the Office of Military Cooperation in Kabul, Afghanistan; as well as in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia. Ambassador Eikenberry is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, and has aster’s degrees from Harvard University in East Asian Studies and Stanford University in Political Science, an Interpreter’s Certificate in Mandarin Chinese, and an Advanced Degree in Chinese History.

MO_11463 | CRICOS# 00120C