The Daily Telegraph, 29 February 2020
In this portrait of the US chief envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, there are a few quotes from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig:
It was here that America and Mr Khalilzad made critical mistakes which would come to badly undermine nation-building efforts, said Thomas Ruttig, director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, a research group.
Firstly Mr Khalilzad pursued a “big tent” approach to the country’s leaders, allowing the hated warlords of the 1990s who had been kicked out by the Taliban to regain a central place in Afghan politics. Secondly, he was accused of strong-arming the former Afghan king out of politics, and depriving the Pashtun ethnic majority of their preferred candidate to lead the country.
“He stood at the beginning of the re-escalating conflict,” said Mr Ruttig. (…)
“Actually, he is trying to clean up the china he had broken himself,” said Mr Ruttig.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 9 Apr 2020
