Karl Eikenberry

Karl Eikenberry is a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center, senior adviser to the United States Institute of Peace and a faculty member of Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University. His four decades of national service culminated in his serving as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 until 2011. Before that, Eikenberry had a 35-year career in the U.S. Army, retiring as a lieutenant general. His postings included operational units in the U.S., Korea, Italy and in Afghanistan as commander of the U.S.-led coalition forces. He held political-military positions including deputy chairman of the NATO Military Committee; director for strategic planning and policy for the U.S. Pacific Command; senior country director for China and Taiwan for the Office of the Secretary of Defense; and assistant army (and later defense attaché) at the U.S. Embassy in China. After his diplomatic and military career, Eikenberry taught at Stanford University and later advised on Saudi Arabia’s defense transformation.