The administration seems remarkably nonplussed by the whole thing. Is it possible that this is that move?

1) “Western and Eastern spheres” doesn’t matter much for an official in Kabul. First off, most of the officials there already do — think of Hamid Karzai — but what they don’t do is relate to people in the countryside at the village level. It’s like asking people raised in New York City, to manage an insurgency in Kansas.

2) My specific complaint is that Khalilzad has used his connections to great harm to American, Afghan, and Pakistani interests in the region.

3) There is no evidence Khalilzad’s background makes him a better manager than any other American (who would not have Khalilzad’s political and social baggage). Khalilzad is about as “Afghan” as Gary Schroen—and has demonstrated as much understanding of the country.

4) There is plenty of counter-evidence to the claim that Khalilzad will “wheel and deal the other tribes into a shared path” from his previous term as Ambassador, just as there is plenty of reason to think that what’s needed in Afghanistan isnt’ yet another disconnected power-man in Kabul racing around in armored humvees and Xe watchmen, but effective governance—and the evidence on hand is that Khalilzad sidesteps or undermines government when it suits him.

Look at Afghanistan’s needs in logistics, infrastructure, healthcare, education, capital markets, energy, foreign direct investment guidance, governance, policing, and military and you’ll see that there are few Afghans who can manage developing these sectors and the necessary regulatory institutions. Plenty of outsiders are coming to help with the PRT work. But that means that the Afghans themselves take little intellectual part in the actual development.

A person like Khalilzad isn’t going to do all the work. But the Laghman seem to have a critical mass in terms of educated folks so he’ll grow support from there, and he probably can wheel and deal the other tribes into a shared path and common good. Even if it’s a corporate good.

I would wait to see where Khalilzad throws his weight. He is still looking for the winning ticket before he forms his alliance. We have to see if Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah form a collation, which it reported that they are in talks this week. That could be the only challenging ticket.

If Karzai gets elected, there has to be someone besides him that calls the shots for better governance and progress. I would be more scared about Fahim as the vice president and the drug ties with Karzai’s brother and the nepotism of the Karzai clan in the affairs of Afghanistan.

And a side note, Khalilzad roots are from Laghman. And as we Afghans say, “Laghmani shaytan baazi dad” (the Laghmani fooled the devil).

Apart from anything else, if you were an ordinary Afghan (or even a member of the public in a Western country), would this not look like a blatantly sinister and conspiratorial move to you? I think it has the potential to be a PR nightmare and to hammer one of the last nails into the coffin of any positive narrative we’re trying to put forward. I also love the way it’s being fixed so he can basically play Vlad Putin to Karzai’s Medvedev while keeping his American citizenship. Fabulous.