US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban’s rise

Khalilzad led the US negotiations with the Taliban, but critics say the weak agreement lead to the group’s return.

If one individual could bring peace to Afghanistan, US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad touted himself as the man for the job. In the end, however, the seasoned diplomat seems to have overseen nothing more than the demise of the republic he helped assemble. The 70-year-old envoy spent years as Washington’s point man for talks with the Taliban that paved the way for the deal to end the US’s longest war and exit Afghanistan.