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An Afghan American and a uncommon Trump appointee who survived into the Biden administration, Mr. Khalilzad played a cardinal relation successful the U.S. exit from the country.
Oct. 18, 2021, 5:03 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — Zalmay Khalilzad, President Biden’s envoy for Afghanistan and a uncommon Trump appointee to stay successful the caller administration, is departing from the government, the State Department said connected Monday.
Mr. Khalilzad, 70, who was calved successful Afghanistan and grew up successful the capital, Kabul, was a seasoned of past Republican administrations erstwhile President Donald J. Trump appointed him successful September 2018 to prosecute bid negotiations with the Taliban.
He spent overmuch of the pursuing 18 months successful Doha, Qatar, gathering with Taliban representatives to trade an agreement, signed successful February 2020, nether which the Trump medication committed to the afloat withdrawal of American troops that Mr. Biden completed successful August.
To his critics, Mr. Khalilzad enabled a bid process that was small much than a fig leafage for Mr. Trump’s determination to exit Afghanistan swiftly, with small respect for the destiny of its authorities oregon people. In caller interviews, Mr. Khalilzad has argued that helium did not acceptable wide U.S. argumentation and extracted arsenic galore concessions arsenic helium could from Taliban leaders.
In an Oct. 18 resignation missive to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, successful which helium said helium would measurement down connected Tuesday, Mr. Khalilzad said that helium was asked to articulation the Trump medication “after the determination had been made to substantially trim oregon extremity the subject and economical load of the Afghan engagement connected the U.S. and to escaped those resources for captious priorities, including home needs and the situation of dealing with issues related to China.”
Mr. Khalilzad, who agelong supported the imaginativeness of a much modernized, pluralistic and antiauthoritarian Afghanistan, lamented successful his missive that “the governmental statement betwixt the Afghan authorities and the Taliban did not spell guardant arsenic envisaged.”
“The reasons for this are excessively analyzable and I volition stock my thoughts successful the coming days and weeks, aft leaving authorities service,” helium wrote.
As the Taliban stormed done the state successful August, capturing metropolis aft city, Mr. Khalilzad continued to negociate with its leaders, urging them to negociate a peaceful governmental modulation and governmental power-sharing statement with the Afghan government. He was incapable to bash truthful earlier President Ashraf Ghani fled the state connected Aug. 15, saying helium feared for his life.
After the Taliban captured Kabul, Mr. Khalilzad helped facilitate harmless transition for American civilians and at-risk Afghans. In all, 120,000 radical were evacuated from the country.
A naturalized American citizen, Mr. Khalilzad had a lifelong idiosyncratic concern successful the state helium archetypal near for the United States arsenic a precocious schoolhouse speech student. He served arsenic President George W. Bush’s White House envoy for Afghanistan and past U.S. ambassador, and adjacent erstwhile considered seeking the Afghan presidency.
During the 2016 statesmanlike campaign, Mr. Khalilzad introduced Mr. Trump earlier a overseas argumentation code hosted by the Center for the National Interest, with which Mr. Khalilzad was affiliated, and was rewarded with the Afghanistan envoy station nether Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Understand the Taliban Takeover successful Afghanistan
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Who are the Taliban? The Taliban arose successful 1994 amid the turmoil that came aft the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan successful 1989. They utilized brutal nationalist punishments, including floggings, amputations and wide executions, to enforce their rules. Here’s much connected their root communicative and their grounds arsenic rulers.
Many Democrats assumed that Mr. Khalilzad would permission authorities astatine the extremity of the Trump administration, but Mr. Blinken asked him to stay successful his job, with the authoritative rubric of peculiar envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation.
Mr. Blinken valued Mr. Khalilzad’s heavy familiarity with Taliban leaders arsenic the Biden medication continued to negociate the presumption of America’s subject exit. Mr. Khalilzad besides benefited from his narration with Mr. Biden, whom helium hosted during visits to Afghanistan.
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