Karl W. Eikenberry served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 until 2011, during the U.S. troop surge. He had a thirty-five-year career in the U.S. Army, retiring with the rank of lieutenant general. Eikenberry is presently the Director of the U.S.-Asia Security Initiative and faculty member at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University. He is a Stanford University Professor of Practice, and an affiliate at the FSI Center for Democracy, Development and Rule of Law, Center for International Security Cooperation and The Europe Center.