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Khalilzad says IEA has ‘surprisingly’ been good for US counterterrorism interests
Khalilzad said Washington should have considered negotiating with the IEA in the early stages of the war.
Former US diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad has said the Islamic Emirate has “surprisingly” been beneficial to US counterterrorism interests since returning to power in Afghanistan.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Khalilzad reflected on US decisions following the attacks, saying anger and fear contributed to policies that shaped two decades of war.
“Anger was a factor of urgency because the people wanted to see action: What are we going to do about this?” he said.
Khalilzad was a senior director on President George W Bush’s National Security Council when the September 11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people. Less than a month later, the US invaded Afghanistan to target al-Qaeda and remove the IEA government.
Looking back, Khalilzad said Washington should have considered negotiating with the IEA in the early stages of the war.
“One thought that has emerged is that we should have negotiated with the Taliban (IEA) or included the Taliban in the political process in Afghanistan,” he said.
“We were angry, and we wanted to get information from them,” Khalilzad added. “But if we could have included them … realistically, that could have been helpful.”
He also acknowledged problems with the intelligence used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq, particularly claims that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.
“With regard to Iraq, well, there the information was the problem,” Khalilzad said.
“Without 9/11, I don’t think we will attack Iraq,” he added.
Khalilzad defended the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, saying the war could have continued indefinitely and that the US had largely achieved its original counterterrorism objective.
“We had been there for 20 years. Afghanistan was changed. The war could have gone on indefinitely,” he said.
The IEA returned to power after the US withdrawal and the collapse of the US-backed Afghan government.
Despite the IEA’s former status as Washington’s main adversary in Afghanistan, Khalilzad said its current approach to terrorism has, unexpectedly, benefited US interests.
“I think the Taliban (IEA), surprisingly, have been good in terms of terrorism for the United States interests,” he said.
Bloomberg News has reported that the US government is planning to deport some detained Afghan migrants to Pakistan, including relatives of Afghans who worked with US forces.
Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing a US federal government official, immigration lawyers and advocacy organizations, that some detained Afghans had been informed they could be deported to Pakistan in the coming weeks.
According to the report, US officials have not yet publicly commented on the plan, and it remains unclear how many Afghans would be included in the potential flight.
AfghanEvac, an organization that supports Afghans who worked with US forces, said it had received information indicating that a special flight was being considered to transfer some detained Afghans from the state of Louisiana.
According to the organization, some detainees had been told they would be sent to Pakistan, while others had been informed that Afghanistan was their destination. Citing its sources within the US government, AfghanEvac added that Pakistan could potentially be used as a transit route to send these individuals to Afghanistan.
The reported plan comes after the United States previously deported a group of migrants, including 12 Afghan nationals, to the Central African Republic. Among those deported was a young Afghan man whose brothers had worked with US forces.
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Afghanistan signs AFN 1 billion water supply deal to benefit 50,000 Kabul families
The initiative aims to strengthen water supply infrastructure in the 17th district and improve residents’ access to drinking water.
Afghanistan’s state-owned Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Corporation has signed a AFN 1 billion contract with private company Paktia Mawoj to develop a water supply project expected to benefit around 50,000 families in Kabul’s 17th Police District.
Mohammad Nabi Bahar, spokesperson for the General Directorate of State-Owned Companies, said the project will combine surface water from the Shah wa Arus Dam with supplies from five deep wells.
The system is designed to provide a total of 200 litres of water per second, comprising 100 litres per second from the dam and another 100 litres per second from the wells.
Bahar said the project is expected to be completed and handed over for public use within three years.
The initiative aims to strengthen water supply infrastructure in the 17th district and improve residents’ access to drinking water.
With an estimated investment of AFN 1 billion, the project represents a major planned infrastructure development for the Afghan capital.
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UNDP launches second phase of economic recovery programme in five Afghan provinces
UNDP said REVIVE II builds on the achievements of the programme’s initial phase, with the new stage intended to extend support and improve economic conditions for vulnerable communities.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched the second phase of an economic recovery initiative aimed at strengthening livelihoods, restoring community infrastructure and supporting vulnerable communities across five Afghan provinces.
In an announcement on Monday, October 26, UNDP said the second phase of its Reviving Economic Activities and Improving Vulnerable Environments (REVIVE II) programme would expand recovery and reconstruction efforts, with financial support from the Republic of Korea.
The programme will cover Kabul, Paktia, Ghazni, Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, focusing on restoring social infrastructure, revitalising local economic activities and improving communities’ ability to withstand economic shocks.
UNDP said REVIVE II builds on the achievements of the programme’s initial phase, with the new stage intended to extend support and improve economic conditions for vulnerable communities.
However, the agency did not disclose the programme’s total budget, implementation timeline or the number of people expected to benefit.
The initiative comes as Afghanistan continues to face significant challenges in economic recovery and the creation of sustainable livelihood opportunities, particularly for vulnerable communities seeking to rebuild their livelihoods and strengthen their resilience.
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