WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Tuesday named veteran diplomats to be the next ambassadors to Afghanistan and Pakistan, two highly sensitive positions vacated when envoys recently resigned.
Obama named Richard Olson, a former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, to serve in Pakistan and James Cunningham, the number two at the US embassy in Kabul, to be the ambassador, a White House statement said.
The two men will need confirmation by the Senate. They would serve as the United States prepares to withdraw combat forces from Afghanistan in 2014, a transition that profoundly impacts rocky relations with Pakistan.
"I am grateful that these talented and dedicated men and women have agreed to take on these important roles and devote their talents to serving the American people," Obama said in a statement announcing several new postings.
"I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years," said Obama, who is seeking a second four-year term in November 6 elections.
Munter had been an advocate within the Obama administration for reconciliation with Pakistan. People close to him said he was frustrated that the CIA and Pentagon took the lead on Pakistan policy, with Munter's job effectively to contain the fallout.
After a half-year standoff, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this month said sorry to Pakistan for the deaths of 24 troops in an air raid near the Afghanistan border, leading Islamabad to reopen key supply routes.
Just two weeks after Munter's announcement, the US ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, also said he would leave his post early. The State Department said he decided to leave the stressful job for health reasons.
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