(CNN) -- The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan has a unique résumé: he served two tours in the country as a general, training Afghan police and troops, before trading his uniform for a diplomat's business suit. His career history may give Karl Eikenberry's word particular weight as President Obama struggles to come up with a way forward in Afghanistan. Eikenberry sent private cables to Obama last week, urging the president not to rush to send more troops to Afghanistan -- although the top U.S. military commander there, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, wants 40,000 more pairs of boots on the ground. Initial reports about the cables sent by Eikenberry appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. All three newspapers attributed the reports to senior U.S. officials, without identifying them. Two U.S. officials confirmed to CNN that Eikenberry sent two cables to Washington expressing reservations about troop increases amid uncertainty over President Hamid Karzai's government.
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Eikenberry retired from the Army after nearly 40 years of service
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Military career included time in Kabul as chief of Office of Military Cooperation
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He advised U.S. secretary of defense on China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia
He and his wife are hosting a dinner Saturday night in Kabul for a visiting @placeholder lawmaker.