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Zalmay Khalilzad, America's chief negotiator in Afghanistan before the Taliban took over power in Afghanistan, has been blamed for the fiasco. Former U.S. President Donald Trump appointed this Afghan-American in 2018 and continued to hold the position in the Biden administration before he resigned two months after the U.S. withdrew in chaotic circumstances.
Although the U.S. administration led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked Khalilzad "for decades of tireless service," he has been facing the flak for agreeing to a deal with the Taliban without the involvement of the then Afghan government. The agreement was on the withdrawal of U.S. troops with the condition that the Taliban would not attack them.
He has been largely silent at the stinging criticism he has faced, saying that the deal with the Taliban set the Islamists on the path to Kabul. Former Afghan government leaders lashed out at Khalilzad. Rahmatullah Nabil, the former chief of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS), called him a con-man and Rangin Dadfar Spanta, a former Afghan foreign minister said that he played a "destructive role". (https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/amrullah-saleh-asks-ashraf-ghani-to-release-tapes-on-peace-talks-with-khalilzad-101635856127326.html)
Khalilzad is now in the mood to clear his name. Khalilzad, In an interview to The New York Times argues that the United States "lost the will to fight" in Afghanistan, partly because of the failures of his "former military colleagues." (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/16/us/politics/zalmay-khalilzad-afghanistan-war.html)
In another interview a few weeks back, he mentioned that the withdrawal that he negotiated, known as the Doha Agreement, was meant to be "conditions-based" rather than driven by calendar date. (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/zalmay-khalilzad-sticks-by-taliban-deal-says-the-u-s-should-have-pressed-president-ghani-harder/)
He also says that it was not his decision to negotiate with the Taliban. "The decision was made by the presidents, I think starting with President Obama, to negotiate directly with the Taliban," he has said. (https://www.npr.org/2021/10/26/1049221967/zalmay-khalilzad-explains-what-went-wrong-with-the-u-s-withdrawal-from-afghanist)
He feels that history will be kind and also says that the "American people should be pleased. Not with the way the final phase happened — we all are unhappy with that — but that the Afghan war is over for the United States."
Read more:
'Don't Blame Khalilzad for the Afghanistan Debacle'
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/10/27/zalmay-khalilzad-blame-us-taliban-deal-afghanistan-withdrawal-ghani/