Former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker paid his respects to his fallen Foreign Service officers and outlined a difficult road ahead for Afghanistan during remarks before Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Monday.
“My good friend and colleague and a friend of many of yours, along with three of his colleagues, recently returned from Libya to Andrews (Air Force Base) after their assassination in Libya,” said Crocker. “Chris Stevens was one of our best and our brightest. We have very few who are equally adept at managing the complexities of Washington as they are at managing the complexities of the region. Chris was one of that very small tribe.”
Addressing Afghanistan’s future, Crocker predicted that the road ahead will be rough, particularly with President Hamid Karzai. Karzai, Crocker explained, would not seek to amend the constitution to allow Karzai to be re-elected but rather would seek his personal safety.
“This is a part of the world the coined the phrase, ‘Two men, one grave,’” Crocker said. “It’s you or me.”
Crocker’s career spanned stints in Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait, Pakistan and Iraq, ultimately earning the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his diplomatic career.
