Zalmay Khalilzad, US envoy for Afghanistan, steps down
The American envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, symbol of the bitter failure of the United States against the Taliban, is stepping down.
AP - Jose Luis Magana
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The American envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, symbol of the bitter failure of the United States against the Taliban, is leaving office, announced Monday (October 18th) the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken.
He is replaced by his deputy Thomas West, who was a White House adviser when Joe Biden was vice president, the secretary of state said in a brief statement.
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The United States had announced earlier today that it would not participate in the talks on Afghanistan scheduled for Tuesday in Moscow, in which Russia, China and Pakistan are to take part.
These meetings “
have been effective in the past.
It is simply difficult for us from a logistical point of view to take part in it this week
, declared to the press the spokesman of the American diplomacy, Ned Price.
►
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In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Zalmay Khalilzad defends his record but nonetheless draws attention to failure. He also says he wants to step aside during this "
new phase
" of US policy towards Afghanistan. “
The political agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban did not go as planned,
” he wrote, adding: “
The reasons for this are too complex, and I will share my thoughts in the coming days and weeks
”.
Career diplomat, born in Afghanistan and 70 years old, Zalmay Khalilzad served as Washington's representative in
talks with the Taliban in Doha
, which culminated in the February 2020 agreement providing for the withdrawal of American and foreign forces from this country. country.
►
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A role in the death of the Afghan republic
Before reaching this agreement, described at the time as historic, he led for months of intense negotiations that took him from capital to capital, participated in summits in luxury hotels and lectured in many prestigious think tanks. Everywhere, he assured that the Taliban were ready to make concessions and find a compromise. In the end, he will have mainly contributed to the return of the Taliban and the death of the Afghan republic.
Born in Mazar-i-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan, he is fluent in Pashtun and Dari, the country's two main languages.
His career remains associated with the "
hawks
" of the administration of George W. Bush of the early 2000s, to which he was close, in particular Vice-President Dick Cheney.
He held various positions at the State Department and the Pentagon before being a very influential United States Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005, then occupying the same functions in Iraq.
He gained a reputation as a fine negotiator.
►
To read also: Suhail Shaheen, spokesperson for the Taliban: "To weaken Afghanistan, it is in the interest of nobody"
Ambassador of the United States to the UN from 2007 to 2009, he then criticized the management of the Afghan war by President Barack Obama, in particular his decision to withdraw American troops.
He returned to the forefront in 2018 under Donald Trump, appointed National Defense advisor to an administration that had decided to speak to the Taliban.
On
February 29, 2020 in Doha
, the United States signed with great fanfare an agreement with the Taliban providing for the withdrawal of all foreign soldiers by May 1, 2021. The Taliban pledged not to attack the United States and their allies, but their other promises - cutting ties with al-Qaeda and other jihadist groups, and negotiating with the Afghan government - remain a dead letter.
President Joe Biden had confirmed the American withdrawal, which he just postponed to August 31, and on August 15, the Taliban regained power.
►
To read also:
Afghanistan: the American envoy meets the Taliban in Doha
(With
AFP
)
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