Meet Our New Man in Baghdad

Zal Khalilzad has been pulled out of Afghanistan and moved to Iraq to try hold off a disaster. At least he appears to know just how at risk Iraq is.

Failure, or even undue delay in reaching national consensus among Iraqis, could mean disaster not just for Iraq, but for the United States. "There is a danger that if we don't [build Iraq] we're going to have a civil war," Khalilzad told NEWSWEEK at his house inside the American-run Green Zone. "Iraq's success is our success, and Iraq's failure is our failure."

He does appear to have a mix of unique skill sets that should help things along. In addition, he appears to have been involved in a number of the past decisions that have placed us where we are right now.

By the mid-'80s, he was a policy planner in Reagan's State Department, where he urged that America arm the mujahedin resistance in Afghanistan with Stinger antiaircraft missiles; the war-winning weapon, it turned out. During the first gulf war, he served in the Pentagon, and when Bush 41 was contemplating a ceasefire, he was a key voice in arguing that Defense should agree. It was Khalilzad who, at an important meeting, pushed the consensus view that Iraq would fragment if Baghdad fell. Now that Bush 43 has orchestrated such a strike, Khalilzad is tasked with picking up the pieces.

One final bit of irony in this saga is the fact that until this appointment, he had been working in Afghanistan. Again Bush strips assets away from the war against the people who attacked us, and moved them to combat a foe who, until our assault, was not a threat.