Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Khalilzad | |
---|---|
U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation | |
In office September 5, 2018 – October 18, 2021 | |
President | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Thomas West[1] |
26th United States Ambassador to the United Nations | |
In office April 30, 2007 – January 22, 2009 | |
President | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
Preceded by | John Bolton |
Succeeded by | Susan Rice |
United States Ambassador to Iraq | |
In office June 21, 2005 – March 26, 2007 | |
President | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | John Negroponte |
Succeeded by | Ryan Crocker |
United States Ambassador to Afghanistan | |
In office September 2, 2004 – June 20, 2005 | |
President | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Robert Finn |
Succeeded by | Ronald E. Neumann |
Personal details | |
Born | Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad March 22, 1951 Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan |
Spouse | Cheryl Benard |
Children | 2 |
Education | American University of Beirut (BA, MA) University of Chicago (PhD) |
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad (
Raised in the Afghan capital of
Khalilzad was rumored to be a potential candidate in the
Early life and education
Khalilzad was born in
He first spent time in the
Early career
This section of a poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Zalmay Khalilzad" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2019) |
From 1979 to 1989, Khalilzad worked as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at
In 1984, Khalilzad accepted a one-year
From 1985 to 1989, Khalilzad served in the
Between 1993 and 2000, Khalilzad was the director of the Strategy, Doctrine, and Force Structure at the RAND Corporation.
Support for U.S. global leadership
Khalilzad also wrote several articles on the subject of the value of U.S. global leadership in the mid-1990s. The specific scenarios for conflict that he envisioned if a decline in American power occurred have made his writings extremely popular in competitive high school and college policy debate, particularly his writing that links the loss of US hegemony to global instability.[16] Khalilzad was a signatory of the letter from members of the Project for the New American Century to President Bill Clinton sent on January 26, 1998. It called for Clinton's help in "removing Saddam Hussein and his regime from power" by using "a full complement of diplomatic, political and military efforts."[17]
Views
American politics
Khalilzad has been described as a "lifelong Republican", though he did not support Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.[18]
United States' role in the world
Khalilzad has sometimes been characterized as a
In 1995, Khalilzad articulated his views regarding the appropriate role of the United States in the
"The United States should be willing to use force if necessary for this purpose. There are currently two regions whose control by a hostile power could pose a global challenge: East Asia and Europe. The Persian Gulf is critically important for a different reason—its oil resources are vital for the world economy. In the long term, the relative importance of various regions can change. A region that is critical to American interests now might become less important, while some other region might gain in importance."
Regarding U.S. military preeminence, Khalilzad argued in favor of maintaining a sufficiently strong military to be able to embark in "two major regional contingencies nearly simultaneously":[21]
"For the foreseeable future, this means having the capability for fighting two major regional contingencies nearly simultaneously, e.g., Korea and the Gulf. The United States should also acquire increased capabilities for occasional intervention in lesser regional conflicts, such as humanitarian relief operations, and for countering weapons of mass destruction and ballistic and cruise missiles. For the longer term, it should consider moving toward sizing its forces to be able to defeat the plausible military challenges to critical American interests that might be posed by the two next most powerful military forces in the world—which are not allied with the United States."[21]
Afghanistan
Taliban
In June 2001, Khalilzad argued that the "United States must act now to weaken the Taliban and stem the spread of Talibanism".[22] In a letter, Khalilzad endorsed the following policies to weaken the Taliban's control over Afghanistan:[17]
- "change the balance of power by offering assistance to the foes of the Taliban;
- oppose the Taliban ideology--giving air time over the Voice of America to Taliban opponents and moderate Islamic leaders;
- press Pakistan to withdraw its support;
- aid victims of the Taliban;
- support moderate Afghans through helping to convene a grand assembly to select a broad transitional government; and
- elevate the importance of Afghanistan at home."
Peace Process in Afghanistan
In June 2009, Khalilzad stated the following at a
"I believe and I've told president
UC Berkeley Events
North Korea
In a published 1993 paper, he advocated for "trade sanctions" against North Korea, "enhancing U.S. and South Korean military readiness", and "direct military attacks".[24]
"Use of force by a U.S.—allied coalition has better prospects for achieving the U.S. objective, either by setting back the program or by producing a more compliant North Korea—depending on how much and how effectively the force is applied. However, given the risk of triggering a second Korean war, it is unclear whether the South Koreans or Japanese could be induced to agree."
George W. Bush administration (2001-2009)
U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan
In 2001, President
After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Bush came to rely on Khalilzad's Afghanistan expertise. Khalilzad was involved in the early stages of planning to overthrow the Taliban and on December 31, 2001, he was selected as Bush's Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan. He served in that position until November 2003, when he was appointed to serve as US ambassador to Afghanistan. Khalilzad held that position from November 2003 until June 2005.[26]
During that time, he oversaw the drafting of the
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq
Khalilzad began his job as the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq on June 21, 2005. He was credited for helping negotiate compromises which allowed the ratification of the
In comparison to his predecessors, Paul Bremer and John Negroponte, in Baghdad, Khalilzad was considered a success as an ambassador and credited with bringing a cultural sophistication and human touch to the job that helped connect with Iraqis.[33]
Khalilzad was one of the first high-level administration officials to warn that sectarian violence was overtaking the insurgency as the top threat to Iraq's stability. After the
Khalilzad's term as ambassador ended on March 26, 2007. He was replaced by Ryan Crocker, a career diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan.[citation needed]
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
On February 12, 2007, the White House submitted Khalilzad's nomination to the Senate to become the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Colleagues at the UN noted that Khalilzad has a different style from Bolton and was more conciliatory.[36]
In November 2007, Khalilzad charged that
In August 2008, he urged the Security Council to "take urgent action" and to "condemn
Private sector (2009–2018)
From 2009 to 2018, Khalilzad served as the President of Khalilzad Associates, LLC, an "international advisory firm that serves clients at the nexus of commerce and public policies, helping global businesses navigate the most promising and challenging international markets."[40] Khalilzad Associates and its parent company, Gryphon Capital Partners, have, as clients, international and US companies that interested mainly in doing business in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to Khalilzad, they include companies in the sectors of energy, construction, education, and infrastructure.
Khalilzad served as a Counselor at the
On September 9, 2014, a news items appeared in the Austrian media, stating that Khalilzad was being investigated by authorities in Austria for suspected money laundering, and that his wife's accounts had been frozen.[42] On September 10, the Austrian court made known that the case had been dismissed and the accounts had been ordered unfrozen a week earlier, on September 3. The leak was the result of court documents having been discarded unshredded in the general trash, and then found by scavenging bloggers.[43]
In 2015, he donated over $100,000 to the Atlantic Council, a US think tank.[44]
Khalilzad's political autobiography, The Envoy: From Kabul to the White House, My Journey Through a Turbulent World, was published by St. Martin's Press in 2016.[citation needed]
Envoy for Afghan Reconciliation and aftermath
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In September 2018, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo named Khalilzad as the Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, a newly created envoy with the mission of securing a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Afghanistan. As of March 2021, he has continued in this role under the new administration of Joe Biden.
On May 18, 2021, at a U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on U.S. policy in Afghanistan, Khalilzad downplayed the prospect of a swift Taliban takeover when U.S. forces leave saying, "If they [Taliban] pursue, in my judgment, a military victory, it will result in a long war, because Afghan security forces will fight, other Afghans will fight, neighbors will come to support different forces."
He later added at that same hearing, "I personally believe that the statements that the [Afghan] forces will disintegrate, and the Talibs will take over in short order are mistaken. The real choices that the Afghans will face is between a long war and negotiated settlement."
In 2022,
Awards
Khalilzad's service in the government has been recognized by three different secretaries of defense: Robert Gates awarded Khalilzad the Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service for his service in Iraq. Donald Rumsfeld awarded Khalilzad the Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service for his work in Afghanistan. Dick Cheney awarded Khalilzad the Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service for his time as assistant deputy under secretary of defense for policy planning from 1991 to 1992.[49]
Khalilzad has also been awarded the highest national medals by the presidents of Afghanistan, Georgia and Kosovo. In Afghanistan he was awarded the King Amanullah Medal in 2005. The Georgian president awarded Khalilzad the Order of the Golden Fleece in 2016. Kosovo's president awarded Khalilzad the Order of Independence in 2017.
Personal life
Khalilzad is an ethnic Pashtun.[50][51][52] Khalilzad's wife is author and political analyst Cheryl Benard. They met in 1972 while they were both students at the American University of Beirut. They have two children.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Marquardt, Alex; LeBlanc, Paul (October 19, 2021). "US envoy for Afghanistan steps down following chaotic evacuation". CNN. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ^ Crowley, Michael (October 18, 2021). "Zalmay Khalilzad, Biden's Envoy for Afghanistan, Steps Down". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
- ^ Brennan, Margaret (October 18, 2021). "U.S. envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad resigns". CBS News.
- U.S. Department of State. Archived from the originalon November 22, 2018.
- ^ "Biden administration asks US negotiator with Taliban to stay on". Al Jazeera. January 28, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ Chang, Andrew (January 6, 2006). "Who Is Zalmay Khalilzad?". ABC News. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ Saikal, Amin (May 29, 2020). "Resolving the Afghan Presidential Dispute". Australian Institute of International Affairs. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ International House at the University of Chicago. Archived from the originalon November 11, 2007. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ "Zalmay Khalilzad". www.rand.org. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ a b News, A. B. C. "Who Is Zalmay Khalilzad?". ABC News. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- ^ "Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad: United States Ambassador to Iraq". George W. Bush White House Archives. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- ^ Khalilzad, Zalmay (1995). "Losing the moment? The United States and the world after the Cold War". The Washington Quarterly. 18 (2): 85–107. .
- ^ a b Abrams, Elliott; Armitage, Richard L.; Bennett, William J.; Bergner, Jeffrey; Bolton, John; Dobriansky, Paula; Fukuyama, Francis; Kagan, Robert; Khalilzad, Zalmay; Kristol, William; Perle, Richard; Rodman, Peter W.; Rumsfeld, Donald; Schneider, William Jr.; Weber, Vin; Wolfowitz, Paul; Woolsey, R. James; Zoellick, Robert B. (January 26, 1998). "PNAC letters sent to President Bill Clinton". www.informationclearinghouse.info. Information Clearing House. Archived from the original on September 27, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ Borger, Julian (March 10, 2006). "Washington's man in Baghdad is pulling off a high-risk balancing act". the Guardian. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ Khalilzad, Zalmay (March 28, 2016). "The Neoconservative Case for Negotiating With Iran". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ a b c Khalilzad, Zalmay (1995). "From Containment to Global Leadership: America and the World After the Cold War". www.rand.org. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- ^ Khalilzad, Zalmay; Byman, Daniel (2001). "Afghanistan: The Consolidation of a Rogue State". www.rand.org. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- ^ a b Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Conversations With History - Zalmay Khalilzad, retrieved November 24, 2019
- ^ Khalilzad, Zalmay; Davis, Paul K.; Shulsky, Abram N. (1993). "Stopping the North Korean Nuclear Program". www.rand.org. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- The White House – Statement by the Press Secretary (December 2, 2002)
- The White House. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
- ^ Parker, Kathleen (April 11, 2010). "The U.S. can't ignore Karzai's tantrum". The Washington Post.
- ^ TIME – Inside Karzai's Campaign (October 4, 2004)
- ^ "Azizi Hotak General Trading Group". Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
- ^ "Friends of the American University of Afghanistan – Education First". friendsofauaf.org.
- ^ Dagher, Sam (July 14, 2010). "Prospects Abound Among the Kurds". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Steele, Jonathan (April 23, 2006). "The viceroy of Baghdad". The Guardian. London.
- The White House. February 12, 2007. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ Lederer, Edith M. (April 23, 2007). "New U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Starts Job". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ "A matter of honour". The Economist. July 26, 2007. Retrieved August 16, 2007.
- ^ Pajhwok Afghan News, Iran supports insurgent groups in Afghanistan: Khalilzad (November 16, 2007)[dead link]
- ^ "UN Must Demand Russian Withdrawal From Georgia, U.S. Envoy Says". Bloomberg. August 10, 2008. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012.
- U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Archived from the originalon September 22, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2008.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Our Team". Gryphon Partners. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ Riechmann, Deb (September 4, 2014). "Ex-US diplomat Khalilzad contests financial probe". Associated Press. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ "Austrian court lifts bank account freeze for ex-US diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad". Fox News. Associated Press. March 24, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ "Honor Roll of Contributors". May 17, 2017. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017.
- ^ "Clip of House Hearing on U.S. Policy in Afghanistan". C-SPAN. May 18, 2021.
- ^ "Clip of House Hearing on U.S. Policy in Afghanistan". C-SPAN. May 18, 2021.
- ^ a b Ramani, Samuel (September 21, 2021). "Former Afghan ambassador to UK says the Taliban is weaker than it looks". TRT World. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ Seligman, Lara; Mcleary, Paul; Forgey, Quint; Alex; Ward (June 23, 2022). "After Roe's fall, the Pentagon has no answers for female service members". POLITICO. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ "AMB. ZALMAY KHALILZAD NAMED CSIS COUNSELOR". Center for Strategic and International Studies. February 3, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
- ^ "Bush names special envoy to Afghanistan". USA Today. December 31, 2001.
- ^ Chang, Andrew, ed. (September 30, 2004). "Who Is Zalmay Khalilzad?". ABC News.
- ^ "US refuses to discuss Iran's nuclear plans in face-to-face talks on Iraq". The Guardian. April 18, 2006.
External links
This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. (December 2014) |
- Zalmay Khalilzad on United States Department of State
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Zalmay Khalilzad on Charlie Rose
- Zalmay Khalilzad at IMDb
- Zalmay Khalilzad collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Articles
- Losing the Moment? The United States and the World After the Cold War Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- The Washington Post – Afghan Roots Keep Adviser Firmly in the Inner Circle
- US Mission to the UN – United States Ambassadors to the United Nations
- Current Biography August 2006 cover story
- The New Yorker – American Viceroy Archived November 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- RFE/RL interview with Zalmay Khalilzad (May 18, 2007)
- Profile: Khalilzad, The Center for Cooperative Research
- Video: Khalilzad discusses Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East
- The Long Shadow of a Neocon
- What to Read on Afghan Politics 2010