Karl Eikenberry Karl Winfrid Eikenberry ( born 1951 ) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and former U . S . ambassador to Afghanistan . He is currently the Frank E . and Arthur W . Payne Distinguished Lecturer at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University . Early life and education . Eikenberry was born in 1951 and graduated from Goldsboro High School in Goldsboro , North Carolina in 1969 and then attended West Point , where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant upon graduation in 1973 . He received an Master of Arts in East Asian Studies from Harvard , where he would later return as National Security Fellow at the John F . Kennedy School of Government , and an M . A . in political science from Stanford , where he was also a Ph . D candidate . In addition , Eikenberry has studied in Hong Kong at the UK Ministry of Defence Chinese Language School , earning the Foreign Office ' s Interpreter ’ s Certificate for Mandarin Chinese , and Nanjing University , earning an advanced degree in Chinese History . Military career . In the Army , Eikenberry commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 87th Infantry Regiment ( Light ) in the 10th Mountain Division , and commanded and held staff positions in airborne , ranger , and mechanized infantry units in the United States , Korea and Europe . He also served as an assistant Army attache in the American Embassy in the People ' s Republic of China , and then as division chief with the Strategy , Plans and Policy Directorate of the United States Department of the Army Staff in Washington , D . C . Eikenberry served two tours of duty in the war in Afghanistan . His first tour in Afghanistan was from September 2002 - September 2003 . During this time he filled two positions ; his primary duty was as the United States Security Coordinator for Afghanistan and the second position was the Chief of the Office of Military Cooperation - Afghanistan ( OMC - A ) . As the Security Coordinator he worked closely with UNSG Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi to forge a unified international effort to build a cohesive security sector . This Security Sector Reform ( SSR ) project included building the Afghan National Army ( U . S . ) , reforming the Afghan Police ( Germany ) , Counter - Narcotics ( U . K . ) , Judicial reform ( Italy ) , and Disarmament , Demobilization , and Reintegration of the militias ( Japan and U . N . ) . In his role as Chief of the OMC - A he was the chief architect of the strategy that built and fielded the first Afghan Army Corps . During his second tour he was Commander of the Combined Forces Command for 18 months , leaving in 2007 to become the Deputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee . Ambassador . On January 29 , 2009 , " The New York Times " reported that President Barack Obama had chosen Eikenberry to be the next U . S . ambassador to Afghanistan , replacing William Braucher Wood . The choice of a career army officer for the sensitive post was described by " The Times " as " highly unusual " . On April 3 , 2009 , the Senate confirmed Eikenberry ' s nomination , and on April 29 , 2009 , he was sworn in as the U . S . Ambassador to Afghanistan . The official announcement of his nomination was made on March 11 . Following his confirmation as ambassador , he retired from the U . S . military with the rank of Lieutenant General on April 28 , 2009 . Leak of classified cables . In November 2009 , Eikenberry sent two classified cables to his superiors in which he assessed the proposed U . S . strategy in Afghanistan . A description of the content of the cables was leaked soon after . In January 2010 , the " New York Times " obtained and published the cables which " show just how strongly the current ambassador feels about President Hamid Karzai and the Afghan government , the state of its military , and the chances that a troop buildup will actually hurt the war effort by making the Karzai government too dependent on the United States . " In June 2010 , General McChrystal was described in a Rolling Stone magazine story as feeling blindsided by Eikenberry ' s statements in the leaked cables . On the other hand , Eikenberry is described elsewhere as being frank and vocal about his concerns about the Karzai government as being a reliable or unreliable partner for the U . S . in its efforts in Afghanistan . Awards and decorations . Personal decorations and badges . Eikenberry ' s personal decorations include : Other . In August 2007 Eikenberry was given the key to the city of Goldsboro , North Carolina by the mayor .