Eikenberry’s Dire Cables Asked for a Top NATO Civilian in Afghanistan
In case I left the impression in my previous post that the elevation of British diplomat Mark Sedwill to a new senior NATO civilian envoy to Afghanistan was a
Jul 31, 2020968.4K Shares13.4M Views
In case I left the impression in my previous postthat the elevation of British diplomat Mark Sedwill to a new senior NATO civilian envoy to Afghanistan was a demotion for U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, let me correct it straight away. In Eikenberry’s dour November cables warning about the treacherous road ahead in Afghanistan, he explicitly called for a new NATO civilian partner for Gen. McChrystal to equalize civilian and military efforts:
“„The proposed strategy does not remedy an inadequate civilian structure. There is no civilian organizational counterpart to ISAF and no political leadership equivalent to NATO-ISAF commander [Gen. Stanley McChrystal], a deficiency that hampers civilian effectiveness and heavily skews the NATO-ISAF dialogue with the Afghan government. UNAMA [the United Nations mission to Afghanistan] is not capable of coordinating all the civilian efforts, because its role is not to serve as the civilian policy and program counterpart to NATO-ISAF. … [O]ur coalition efforts will remain less than optimum unless a stronger civilian structure is created.
That structure will be formally unveiled on Thursday in London.
Paolo Reyna
Reviewer
Paolo Reyna is a writer and storyteller with a wide range of interests. He graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies.
Paolo enjoys writing about celebrity culture, gaming, visual arts, and events. He has a keen eye for trends in popular culture and an enthusiasm for exploring new ideas. Paolo's writing aims to inform and entertain while providing fresh perspectives on the topics that interest him most.
In his free time, he loves to travel, watch films, read books, and socialize with friends.
Latest Articles
Popular Articles