When General David H. Petraeus takes over the helm in Afghanistan, the two top American civilian officials in the theater will be walking a tightrope, according to a report by the New York Times.
Under the gun of an inpatient president and troubled Congress is Richard C. Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s special representative to the region.
Also under fire will be Karl W. Eikenberry, the ambassador to Afghanistan.
Reportedly, some administration officials have run up the flagpole the notion that Ambassador Eikenberry might be replaced by Ryan C. Crocker, the former ambassador in Iraq who enjoyed a productive partnership with General Petraeus during the Iraq troop surge.
Whatever heads roll, General Petraeus may be wearing the cloak of a virtual viceroy in Afghanistan -- among other things, coaxing President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan into a political settlement.
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