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Ryan Crocker
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Washington, May 22 (Reuters): US ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker confirmed today that he plans to step down this summer because of ill health and sources said he was held in high regard and was not pushed out.
“Today, ambassador Ryan Crocker confirmed to the Afghan government, US Mission Afghanistan and the ISAF community that he intends to depart his post for health reasons in mid-summer,” state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, referring to the International Security Assistance Force.
Reuters reported yesterday that Crocker, a veteran diplomat who came out of retirement to take the demanding Kabul post, was expected to step down soon, leaving as Washington negotiates a host of challenges on its course out of the long, costly war.
The Obama administration is considering deputy ambassador James Cunningham to replace Crocker when he leaves the post as early as this month, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday.
A summit of the 28-nation Nato security alliance, which makes up the core of ISAF, yesterday endorsed an exit strategy that calls for handing control of Afghanistan to its own security forces by the middle of next year. However, it left unanswered questions about how to prevent a slide into chaos and a Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan after the pullout.
Several sources who spoke on condition that they not be identified said Crocker — a six-time US ambassador — was well-respected and by no means was forced out of his position.
A US official who has closely monitored events in Afghanistan said that there was “nobody better in the US government” than Crocker to deal with Afghanistan.
The official described Crocker as a “pit bull” who was doing a “great job” in handling the shifting Afghan tribal alliances and mercurial Afghan President Hamid Karzai and in keeping US congressional oversight panels apprised of what was going on.
“Ryan Crocker has done superbly the toughest jobs American diplomacy had to offer in the last forty years,” said Ronald Neumann, a former US ambassador to Kabul.
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