Khalilzad: The Doha Agreement Could Be a New Option for the U.S. Government in Afghanistan
Bayan News – Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Peace, stated that implementing the Doha Agreement with the Taliban could be one of the options for the new U.S. administration regarding Afghanistan.
Khalilzad said, “The Doha Agreement is the only formal agreement that the United States has with the Taliban, and the Taliban also claims that it remains committed to this agreement.”
He made these remarks on Wednesday (November 13) at a conference hosted by the Global and National Security Institute at the University of Florida. This university has organized an event to discuss Afghanistan’s place in the future U.S. foreign policy.
Several prominent Afghan political figures are scheduled to speak at this conference.
On the first day of the event, Khalilzad described the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as a difficult situation, explaining that Washington decided to withdraw due to factors such as the nature of the conflict, rising costs, shifts in global dynamics, and the evolving nature of terrorism. Ultimately, this decision was made as the time had come for U.S. forces to leave Afghanistan.
According to Khalilzad, by the time the U.S. forces were withdrawn, the conflict had reached a deadlock since both sides had enough resources to continue fighting indefinitely. Therefore, the need for a responsible withdrawal became clear, with the objective of prompting Afghans to negotiate. The main message was that a political solution was needed, not a military one.
Khalilzad, whose duty was to ensure the safe withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, emphasized the importance of giving peace a chance and bringing Afghan political leaders together to reach an agreement with the Taliban, a goal that was not achieved. At the same time, the United States realized it needed to reach an understanding with the current administration in Afghanistan (the Taliban).
Regarding the Doha Agreement with the Taliban, Khalilzad explained that the agreement envisioned the establishment of an Islamic government or administration based on Afghan-led dialogue. If that government desired, U.S. presence in Afghanistan could be maintained. However, no agreement was reached, and the timeline for U.S. withdrawal eventually arrived.
The former U.S. official further noted that the text of the Doha Agreement was deliberately somewhat ambiguous. If it had explicitly stated that the U.S. would not withdraw without an intra-Afghan agreement, the Taliban would not have accepted it. There was also concern that the United States might again find itself entangled in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, General Frank McKenzie, former CENTCOM commander, expressed clearly during the conference that excluding the former Afghan government from the Doha negotiations was a U.S. mistake.
The former U.S. official added that Khalilzad tried to involve the Afghan government in the negotiations, but the conditions were challenging, and this goal was never achieved.
