2020-03-02_Time_Magazine_International_Edition

Time March 2–9, 2020

TheBrief News

For more Than a year, U.S. envoy Zalmay

Khalilzad has been trying to negotiate an end

to the 18-year war in Afghanistan. Now Khalil-

zad, or Zal, as he’s widely known, is confident

he’s on the brink of inking an elusive peace

deal between Washington and the militant

group that sheltered al-Qaeda terrorists while

they plotted the attacks of 9/11.

If he succeeds, Zal will deliver a pivotal

election-year victory for his boss, President

Donald Trump, who has long pledged to end

America’s involvement in “endless wars.” If he

fails, the U.S. will remain mired in the longest

war in American history, a conflict that has

killed more than 3,500 U.S. and NATO troops,

cost the U.S. government nearly $900 billion,

and left more than 100,000 Afghan casualties

and millions more displaced.

Khalilzad’s allies say the Afghan-born dip-

lomat is a wily and skillful dealmaker who

brings a rare combination of regional experi-

ence, ambition, charisma and healthy cyni-

cism to the job. But his detractors in Washing-

ton worry that he’ll say anything to anybody

to get the key players to sign off on a deal for

Trump, whether or not it’s built to last.

At its core, Khalilzad’s deal offers this basic

bargain: the Taliban will reduce its violent at-

tacks on U.S. and Afghan troops, and the U.S.

will withdraw much of its forces from the

country. Talks between the Taliban, Afghan

CRIME

Bungled burglaries

Two burglars who broke into a London LGBT bookstore lingered long

enough to get caught in the kitchen drinking prosecco, reports

emerged on Feb. 13. Here, other thwarted thefts. —Suyin Haynes

HANGING AROUND

In 2011, a burglar

in China’s Liaoning

province tried to

climb through a fifth-

floor window into

an apartment, but

got stuck dangling

above the street.

Firefighters rescued

him before handing

him over to police.

CAR CALAMITY

A suspected car thief

in Pretoria, South

Africa, was caught

when an auto-lock

system trapped him

inside the car he was

trying to rob in 2014,

reportedly imprisoning

him for over an hour

and a half before the

owner returned.

IDENTITY ISSUE

In March 2019,

police accused a

Montana man of

breaking into a bike

shop and stealing

some sunglasses

and a bicycle. He left

his wallet and state-

issued ID behind,

making it easy to

track him down.

NEWS

TICKER

Johnson aide

resigns over

race scandal

Andrew Sabisky, a newly

appointed adviser to

U.K. Prime Minister

Boris Johnson, resigned

on Feb. 17, after past

comments on race

and IQ resurfaced

indicating his support

for eugenics. Sabisky

accused the media of

“selective quoting”and

“hysteria.”

Protests shut

down Canada’s

rail networks

Indigenous and other

activists protesting a

natural-gas pipeline in

British Columbia shut

down government

buildings, bridges

and rail lines around

Canada for more than

a week. Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau said on

Feb. 17 he hoped for

a quick and peaceful

resolution to the

blockade, which has

had a significant impact

on the economy.

Trump lifts

penalties on

11 individuals

President Trump

pardoned or commuted

the sentences of

11 people convicted of

white collar crimes on

Feb. 18. They included

ex–Illinois Governor

Rod Blagojevich,

who was serving a

14-year sentence for

corruption; financier

Michael Milken,

convicted of securities

fraud; and ex–NYC

police commissioner

Bernard Kerik.

officials and other Afghan parties will deter-

mine the future shape of the country and the

militants’ role in it. On Feb. 14, U.S. officials

said the Taliban committed to a seven-day

“reduction in violence” to show it’s serious,

but its leaders won’t publicly agree to Wash-

ington’s demand of keeping U.S. counter-

terrorism forces in Afghanistan.

To get past that roadblock, Khalilzad has

come up with a rickety work-around. The deal

contains secret annexes, according to three

people familiar with the draft: an agreement

for U.S. counterterrorism forces to stay in

Afghanistan for now; details of a Taliban de-

nouncement of terrorism and violent extrem-

ism; a mechanism to monitor the semi-truce

while talks between warring Afghan parties

proceed; and details on how the CIA will op-

erate in Taliban-controlled areas. The State

Department and Khalilzad’s office declined to

comment on those annexes, and a Taliban offi-

cial has insisted they are just “rumors.”

The fragile deal could be signed by the end

of February—if everyone stays on board. Tali-

ban leaders could refuse to work with Afghan

President Ashraf Ghani, who on Feb. 18 was

declared the winner of September’s disputed

presidential election. Taliban fighters could

break the weeklong “cease-fire” in reaction

to their leaders’ agreeing to allow some U.S.

forces to stay behind. Or Trump could tap out

a damaging tweet—and send his envoy back to

the negotiating table.

For Zal, it would be the deal of a lifetime.

And for the Afghan generation that has grown

up during the war, the stakes couldn’t be

higher. —Kimberly DoZier

GOOD QUESTION

Can a White House

envoy deliver Afghan

peace for Trump?

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