Ambassador Eikenberry and EFM Heading to Kabul?

The newswire reports that General Eikenberry has been confirmed yesterday, April 2, as US Ambassador to Afghanistan by voice vote. Reports did not bother to mention the fate of the other nominees except that Ambassador Hill’s confirmation has been delayed. Must be quite galling to other nominees to be ignored – I’ve been digging but daily digest is still MIA from the Senate webpage. The confirmation record by unanimous votes is now posted here.

In any case, expect the General to be up over at “M” to try and get his wife to accompany him to Kabul. During the hearings he did say he wanted to take Mrs. E. with him to post. Kabul is currently an unaccompanied post, but adult EFM (eligible family member) may get authorization from the Under Secretary for Management on a case by case basis (apparently EFM must secure employment at mission). But an ambassador’s spouse trying to work in an embassy is often tricky because of nepotism issues. Let's see what happens ...


Related Items:

Congressional Record - Confirmation p.1
(Verma, Brimmer and Gottemoeller)

Congressional Record - Confirmation p.2
(Eikenberry and Verveer)