His resignation was submitted by the US government’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmai Khalilzad. This is the person whose name was identified with the painful failure of the US in the country of Asia, where the Taliban regained power on August 15.
Zalmai Khalilzad resigned and ceased to perform his duties as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced yesterday Monday (18/10).
«Zalmai Khalilzad was replaced by his deputy, Thomas West, a White House adviser during Joe Biden’s presidency.“, Clarified the head of the American diplomacy in his laconic announcement.
According to information, Mr. Khalilzad submitted his resignation on Friday (15/10).
US: We will not participate in the talks on Afghanistan in Moscow
The US announced earlier yesterday that will not take part in the talks on Afghanistan scheduled to take place today in Moscow, with the participation, in addition to Russia, China and Pakistan.
Meetings of this kind “have been fruitful in the past,” but “it is difficult for us to attend this week” due to planning difficulties, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
In his letter to the US Secretary of State, Zalmai Khalilzad defends his actions, but at the same time acknowledges the failure of his efforts.. He also assures that he wants to put aside this “new phase” of US policy regarding Afghanistan.
“The political agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban did not go as planned,” he said in a letter of resignation, adding that “the reasons for this are very complex and I will share my thoughts in the coming days and weeks.”
Who is Zalmai Khalilzad?
A 70-year-old Afghan-born career diplomat, Zalmai Khalilzad was present at talks with the Taliban in Doha, where an agreement was reached between the Donald Trump administration and Islamist insurgents calling for the departure of from Afghan territory after twenty years of war.
To close this deal, which was characterized as historic at the time, he conducted intensive negotiations for months traveling from one capital to another, participated in conversations in luxury hotels, appeared to speak at prestigious study centers.
Everywhere, he assured that Taliban they were willing to make concessions, to do what was their duty to reach a compromise. Ultimately, it contributed to the Taliban’s return to power and the death of the Afghan republic.
Mr. Khalilzad, whose particular hometown is Mazar-i-Sharif (north), speaks Pashto and Dari, the country’s two main languages. His career was inextricably linked to the “hawks” of the administration of Joe Walker Bush in the early 2000s; he was particularly close to Vice President Dick Cheney in particular.
He held various positions at the State Department and the Pentagon, before becoming US Ambassador to Afghanistan (2003-2005), wielding decisive influence, and then holding the same post in Iraq. He gained a reputation as an extremely capable negotiator.
The US ambassador to the United Nations from 2007 to 2009 later criticized President Barack Obama’s handling of the war in Afghanistan, specifically his decision to withdraw some US troops. He returned to the forefront in 2018, in the days of Donald Trump, when he was named an adviser to a government that had decided to talk to the Taliban.
On February 29, 2020, in Doha, the Donald Trump administration signed the agreement with the Taliban with drumbeats, which stipulated that all foreign troops would leave by May 1, 2021. In return, the Taliban pledged not to their allies, but the rest of their commitments – to burn bridges with al Qaeda to other jihadist groups, to negotiate with the Afghan government – remained a dead letter.
The new American president Joe Biden decided to implement the agreement and actually withdraw US troops, simply postponing it until August 31st. On August 15, with the Afghan government disintegrating and its army collapsing, the Taliban regained power.
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