Karl Winfrid Eikenberry (born November 10, 1951)[2] is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from April 2009 to July 2011.

[8] He received an MA in East Asian Studies from Harvard University, where he would later return as a national security fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

He also commanded the military task force sent to Pakistan to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the wake of the October 8th, 2005 Kashmir earthquake.

[10] 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.

On the other hand, Eikenberry is described elsewhere as being frank and vocal about his concerns about the Karzai government as being an unreliable partner for the United States in its efforts in Afghanistan.

While at Stanford University, Eikenberry joined the faculty of the Ford Dorsey Program in International Policy Studies, served as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences congressionally mandated Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences, acted as a consultant for NATO and the RAND Corporation, and lectured and written on civil-military relations, U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy and Sino American relations, counter-insurgency and state-building strategies, and the contribution of the arts and humanities to America's international competitiveness.

[20] Eikenberry's personal decorations include:[10] Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Centennial Medal Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree, North Carolina State University [22] Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree, Ball State University [23] Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree, University of San Francisco [24] George F. Kennan Award for Distinguished Public Service State of North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award [25] Goldsboro High School Athletic Hall of Fame [26] In August 2007 Eikenberry was given the key to the city of Goldsboro, North Carolina by the mayor.