Afghan Official Accuses US Envoy of Seeking to Become ‘US Viceroy’

The Afghan government has made no secret of its disdain for the US-Taliban peace talks, mostly because of their lack of direct involvement in a deal that is meant to see the US leave Afghanistan. Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib, however, sees the US negotiator as the real problem.

Mohib accused US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad of having political ambitions in the negotiations, and that he was cutting the Ghani government out because he wants to be installed as America’s “viceroy” for Afghanistan.

Mohib went on to claim Khalilzad was not successfully reconciling people, but instead was alienating the existing US partners in Afghanistan by talking with the Taliban. State Department officials rejected Mohib’s comments as “inaccurate and unhelpful.”

The allegations don’t appear to make a lot of sense, given Khalilzad’s whole job is to get US forces out of Afghanistan, which presumably would preclude him from ending up with any sort of job involving ruling Afghanistan.