Word: khalilzad
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...Bush administration had, in fact, some time ago authorized its Baghdad ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, to seek talks with Iran about the situation in Iraq...
...Khalilzad's latest idea is to get the Iraqis to decide on a Prime Minister, then hold the equivalent of an off-site meeting, at which they would come up with a framework for multisectarian governance. The plan is clearly based on the 2002 London conference of exiled leaders that Khalilzad presided over. "Sometimes meetings went on until 3 or 4 in the morning," he says as his SUV roars to his next appointment. "That may be what's required to get this job done at a faster pace." A major impediment is the current Prime Minister. Al-Jaafari...
...been a trying day, and Khalilzad looks exhausted. He may be the most homesick man in U.S. government, having spent the past five years away from Benard and their two sons, now 22 and 14. (It doesn't help that he says he may spend an upcoming break from Baghdad in Afghanistan.) He talks every day to Benard, who describes their communications as "very frustrating--satellite phones and terrible connections and as I have been assured, many fellow listeners in various countries' security agencies." Because of safety concerns, Khalilzad is unable to see much of the country he is trying...
With so much riding on his words and actions, Khalilzad knows no conversations with Iraqis can be entirely casual. But there are some moments when he can let his diplomatic guard down. Earlier in the day, he visits the palatial home of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd and a longtime U.S. ally. Here, Khalilzad is among friends. Talabani calls him Zal, and offers flattering compliments instead of angry complaints. They make jokes in Farsi and enjoy a Kurdish meal that includes several kinds of breads, pomegranate-infused rice and heaping plates of lamb. The ambassador blushes when the President...
...read more of TIME's interview with Ambassador Khalilzad, visit time.com