Zalmay Khalilzad, Former US Envoy, May Take Key Role In Afghan Government

nytimes.com:

Zalmay Khalilzad, who was President George W. Bush's ambassador to Afghanistan, could assume a powerful, unelected position inside the Afghan government under a plan he is discussing with Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, according to senior American and Afghan officials.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[FranklinS]

02:01 PM on 05/19/2009

Great news for the State Department!!
Finally, a former Unocal Exec. who can stay on point.
Karzai is such a wuss.

[jakesh]

01:16 PM on 05/19/2009

I love how Huffington Post promotes this "story", that misleads people into believing that this was some unilateral decision between Karzai and Khalilzad, when two months ago, they posted a news item regarding how NATO countries sought to create a new position in the Afghan government to bypass Hamid Karzai as linked to the Guardian newspaper:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/22/us-afghan-plan-to-bypass-karzai

related audio:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/audio/2009/mar/23/karzai-afghanistan-usa-nato

[finishcurve]

11:39 AM on 05/19/2009

In foreign policy speak, Democracy is the same thing as Puppet.

[jerrypl]

11:38 AM on 05/19/2009

What are they talking about? There is no government in Afghanistan. There is only a government in Kabul. The rest of country is tribal and does not acknowledge a central, and national government. Or, maybe he wants a piece of that poppy action.

http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com

[mesmorize3]

11:27 AM on 05/19/2009

Zalmay Khalilzad is one the most corrupted people in the world, not to mention he was instrumental in the bushchaney failed policy in that region for the last 8 years.

[Ihaveadream]

11:12 AM on 05/19/2009

What's the Dari word for oil mafia?

[NewAmericanCenturySucks]

11:29 AM on 05/19/2009

"TAPI"

[KCFreedom]

11:06 AM on 05/19/2009

So an agent of U.S. oil companies will now become the viceroy?

Some change in foreign policy. Sounds like the n-e-0.cons are still getting their way.

You know it's getting bad when people like Lindsay Graham are saying Obama's "doing the right thing" lately.

Look for the Afghans to step up their rebellion against us. Then it will be the road to complete economic collapse just like the Soviet Union, all for the convenience of Big Oil.

[NewAmericanCenturySucks]

09:55 AM on 05/19/2009

Pipeline must be almost done...

Any American who regrets the past eight years (brought to you by The Project for a New American Century) might want to act now to clean up your foul, fetid foreign policy. Backdoor installations of greasy UNOCAL flunkies like ZK is right out of the Cheney playbook. I had thought you voted for change.

Or keep doing nothing - I'm not fussed either way. We Canadians can just sell our natural resources to the next superpower.

[lightningbolt]

09:54 AM on 05/19/2009

So now the US wants to install a dictatorship in Afghanistan? Technically, you can call him whatever you want, but it seems this guy will be like a viceroy. The US has sure turned into an empire.

[totaldisbelief]

09:47 AM on 05/19/2009

so this guy and Karzai can rule downtown Kabul together.....cause that's all of Afghanistan that their government does rule.