General

Hold your horses

U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan speaks up against troop surge

The Washington Post is reporting the content today of two classified cables from Karl Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, in which Eikenberry urges Washington to reconsider a large-scale troop surge, saying it should wait until Afghan President Hamid Karzai shows a real willingness to tackle corruption and mismanagement in the country. Eikenberry is no garden-variety diplomat, but a former three-star general who commanded U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2006-07. His cables have apparently rankled his former colleagues at the Pentagon and Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the current commander of American forces in the country. His is one of the first credible voices heard from the ground in Afghanistan who have reservations about the troop surge McChrystal has recommended and Obama is thought to support.

The Washington Post

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