UH OH: Barack Obama ‘risks Suez-like disaster’ in Afghanistan, says key adviser. “A key adviser to Nato forces warned today that Barack Obama risks a Suez-style debacle in Afghanistan if he fails to deploy enough extra troops and opts instead for a messy compromise. David Kilcullen, one of the world’s leading authorities on counter-insurgency and an adviser to the British government as well as the US state department, said Obama’s delay in reaching a decision over extra troops had been ‘messy’. He said it not only worried US allies but created uncertainty the Taliban could exploit.”