The week that former US Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad was leaving the United Nations, I asked him to share his thoughts about American diplomacy, the UN as an institution, nation building and our brewing problems in Afghanistan at an event at the New America Foundation.
This relatively short 11-minute discussion was separately recorded and includes the following questions:
What does Khalilzad think of the United Nations as an institution?
Does the UN help or harm American interests?
What boxes didn’t Khalilzad get checked off during his tenure?
What does Khalilzad think about nation-building today, particularly looking at Afghanistan today and a piece he wrote in 2005 for National Interest on nation-building there?
What does he think about changing the equilibrium in the Middle East?
How would he approach Hamas?
What was the back story on the Israel/Gaza ceasefire resolution?
I think it’s a fascinating exchange as was the longer program and hope some of you find it of interest.
— Steve Clemons
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