Biden recklessly decides to US withdrawal, Zalmay
Former Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Zalmai Khalilzad says President Joe Biden decided to withdraw the US from Afghanistan regardless of the conditions and outcome, just looking at history.
In an interview with US TV, former US special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmai Khalilzad said that US President Biden had decided to withdraw on a calendar basis regardless of the conditions.
He said the Afghan government had misjudged the effects of the ongoing war. Ashraf Ghani was not serious about a political settlement. The Ashraf Ghani government preferred the status quo to a political settlement. Political arrangements between the Afghan government and the Taliban have not progressed as expected. The reasons are very complex and I will share my thoughts in the coming days and weeks.
The former special envoy also said that he respects those who say that we should not have negotiated with the Taliban without the government there, but I do not know if there is more to persuade the Taliban. How many fights had to be fought.
It should be noted that Zalmai Khalilzad, a 70-year-old US diplomat born in Afghanistan, held senior positions as a close associate of former President George W. Bush. In addition to Kabul and Baghdad, he became US ambassador to the United Nations.
When former President Donald Trump expressed a desire to end America's longest-running war in Afghanistan, he brought back Khalilzad, who led talks with the Taliban in Kabul without involving the US-backed government.
The talks resulted in the February 2020 agreement, which called for the withdrawal of US troops next year (2021).
Knowing the language and customs of Afghanistan, Zalmai Khalilzad was an extraordinary American diplomat who was able to establish cordial relations with Taliban leaders.