Born to a mid-level government official and an illiterate mother in Afghanistan’s northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Zalmay Khalilzad has a remarkable and, in many ways, inspiring story. As a teenager, he travelled to America through a cultural exchange programme in 1996 – an experience that had a profound, life-changing impact on him.

After completing a PhD at the University of Chicago, he joined the US government and rose through the ranks, working for Reagan, the Bushes and Trump. The 9/11 attacks and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan gave him the opportunity to become America’s all-powerful fixer in the country. He later served as US ambassador to Iraq, then to the United Nations, and returned to Afghanistan, where he negotiated America’s withdrawal deal with the Taliban – a deal that paved the way for the group’s recapture of power in August 2021.

In this tell-all interview, he recounts his story. Part 1 covers his childhood, teenage years in Kabul, his falling in love with America, and his path into the US government.

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Producer | Host: Roh Yakobi

Assistant Producer/Researcher: Sa-aadat Yakobi

Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh

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