Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 6 sepTember 2018
New US adviser to Afghanistan raises hackles in region

By KATHY GANNON ment. But after a week he
Associated Press was barely halfway to his
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The goal of 5,000 signatures.
choice of Zalmay Khalil- "We had a bad experience
zad as a U.S. special envoy when Zalmay Khalilzad was
to Afghanistan has raised last special envoy and U.S.
some hackles in the region, ambassador," said Naji. He
with many saying the veter- said Khalilzad "slowly whit-
an diplomat's tough stance tled away the authority of
on Pakistan could hinder his non-Pashtuns."
mission to convince a resur- President Ashraf Ghani is a
gent Taliban to engage in Pashtun, as is former presi-
peace talks. dent Hamid Karzai and
In the past, Khalilzad has most Taliban insurgents.
called on the U.S. to de- Ghani was also sent to the
clare Pakistan a terrorist United States in his youth,
state, saying it harbors in- on a student exchange
surgents. The Trump ad- program, and he and
ministration has embraced Khalilzad later studied to-
a similar position, recently gether at the American
suspending $300 million in University of Beirut. Afghan-
aid to Pakistan, saying it istan's opposition accused
isn't doing enough to elimi- Khalilzad of working to help
nate Taliban safe havens Ghani win the presidential
on its territory. election in 2014.
But even critics of Pakistan Pakistan's new Prime Min-
— which denies the alle- ister Imran Khan, also an
gations — acknowledge ethnic Pashtun, has said
it is a pivotal actor in any he is ready to partner with
peace process because of the U.S. in peace, but not in
its close ties to the insurgent war. Khan has consistently
group. advocated peace talks
U.S. Secretary of State Mike and is opposed to the long-
Pompeo announced Khalil- time U.S. strategy of using
zad's appointment as spe- military assaults to try and
cial adviser on reconcilia- force the Taliban to the
tion ahead of a brief visit table.
to Pakistan on Wednesday, In this March 2009, file photo, Zalmay Khalilzad, special adviser on reconciliation in Kabul, Af- Khalilzad's ethnic back-
where he held talks for just ghanistan. ground could give him
four hours before flying on- Associated Press credibility with the Taliban,
ward to India. who have long demanded
Despite the frosty relation- sage to Islamabad, when warlords and plagued with at the National Interest for direct talks with the United
ship, Pompeo acknowl- Washington badly needs corruption and infighting, a foreign policy speech," States and dismiss the Af-
edged that the U.S. needs Pakistan's cooperation for saying it has contributed to said Daniel Markey, senior ghan government as an
Pakistan's help in ending peace and stability in Af- the Taliban's resurgence. research professor at Johns American puppet. The Tal-
America's longest war, ghanistan," he said. "He is "The Americans are quite Hopkins University's School iban declined a request
which began when the U.S. known as a Pakistan-hater, keen on some dialogue of Advanced International from The Associated Press
invaded Afghanistan to who has been unable to with the Taliban and for Studies. National Interest for comment on Khalilzad's
topple the Taliban after the rise beyond his prejudices that they know they need is a U.S.-based magazine appointment.
Sept. 11 attacks. against Pakistan." Pakistan's help, but ap- that promotes American in- "His insider perspective —
"We need Pakistan to seri- Khalilzad was born in Af- pointing Zalmay Khalilzad terests abroad. including knowing most of
ously engage to help us ghanistan, raised in the will not help move things Khalilzad was also said to the players — puts him in
get to the reconciliation northern city of Mazar-e- forward," said Zahid Hus- have been considered for rare company," said Mar-
we need in Afghanistan," Sharif and came to Ameri- sain, a defense analyst and U.S. secretary of state fol- key. "As the (U.S.) admin-
he told reporters aboard his ca as a teenage exchange the author of two books on lowing Trump's presidential istration is itching to find
plane. "They have impor- student, where he discov- militancy in the region. win. a way to get talks off the
tant interests, security inter- ered the merits of a very "His biases against Pakistan In Afghanistan, some ground, this skill set is in
ests in Afghanistan to make different way of life, ac- are well known," he added. members of smaller ethnic higher demand."
sure they get the issues at cording to his 2016 memoir. For a U.S. administration groups say Khalilzad fa- But Michael Kugelman,
their border right, and we He studied at the University that prizes loyalty, analysts vored his fellow Pashtuns deputy director of the Asia
need their help." of Chicago. said Khalilzad is a predict- when he previously served Program at the U.S.-based
But the chairman of Paki- He was appointed Wash- able choice, having ingra- in the country. Pashtuns are Wilson Center, said that
stan's Senate Foreign Rela- ington's special envoy af- tiated himself with Donald the largest ethnic group in given its close ties to the
tions Committee, Mushahid ter the fall of the Taliban in Trump during the 2016 pres- Afghanistan. Taliban, Pakistan remains
Hussain, said the choice of 2001 and later as the U.S. idential campaign. A leading rights activist for an important player in any
Khalilzad was unwelcome ambassador to Afghani- "One thing that makes him Afghanistan's minority Haz- reconciliation process.
news and did not bode well stan. While there, Khalilzad attractive to the Trump ad- ara community, Dawood "While we may be closer
for U.S. attempts to end the was often seen as a king- ministration is that he paid Naji, said he was so wor- than ever before to launch-
Afghan conflict. maker and de-facto ruler. his dues during the cam- ried about Khalilzad's re- ing a peace process, we've
"Zalmay Khalilzad's ap- Many Afghans blame him paign, not least by over- turn to Afghanistan that he never been further from
pointment is a bad choice for cobbling together a looking the anti-Muslim launched on online peti- successfully concluding
and sends a negative mes- government dominated by rhetoric and hosting Trump tion to stop the appoint- one," he said.q