Karl Eikenberry

We need a strong cadre of Americans in our Government, military, business, civil society, academe, and beyond who have the right skills and experience to help America stay connected with the world and shape outcomes that secure our…

When we hear ourselves being called occupiers and worse, and our generous aid programs are being dismissed as totally ineffective and the source of all corruption, our pride is offended, and we begin to lose our inspiration to carry on.

After 8 years of insufficient resources and lack of focus, we risk providing a stronghold for al-Qaeda and threatening the stability of nuclear Pakistan.

We and our international partners must implement a thoughtful civilian strategy that strengthens effective government services and builds a stable coalition.

I believe the course the President outlined offers the best path to stabilize Afghanistan and to ensure al-Qaeda cannot regain a foothold to plan new attacks against us.

The challenge of establishing accountable governance in Afghanistan goes beyond one individual. This is a societal problem.

It's essential that the Government of Afghanistan has a capable army that is able to reach throughout the country.

There is a balance here. It's the absence of a coherent state of Afghanistan that paved the way for the rise of the Taliban and then facilitated the entry of al Qaeda.

Success for all of us in Afghanistan, of course, is the point when the Government of Afghanistan is able to provide for the security of its own people.

It is critical that the United States and other nations within the region find ways to have cooperative approaches made toward Afghanistan.

Our strategic objective inside of Afghanistan and Pakistan is to disrupt and eventually defeat the international terrorist networks that still threaten our homeland.