James Kirchik, writing in the New Republic, discusses the “admittedly bizarre rumor circulating at the United Nations and the State Department, where many are speculating that Khalilzad–currently America’s ambassador to the United Nations and the highest-ranking Muslim to serve in the Bush administration–is contemplating a run for Karzai’s job”. Kirchik continues:
…Khalilzad himself has done little to quiet the speculation, offering only vague, quasi-denials in person and through his spokespeople. Asked about the rumor while speaking at Columbia University earlier this month, Khalilzad first joked, “I didn’t come here to collect contributions for my campaign. I know how poor students are.” He then added, “I can say categorically that I am not a candidate for the presidency of Afghanistan.”
Lest you think that sounds like a categorical denial: “as a U.N. diplomat stressed to me, he only said he was not currently running, rather than saying he would never run”. Sounding like the fevered speculations of a media machine looking for a story? Perhaps so, but
A former State Department official told me that Khalilzad should have immediately deflated the rumor himself, and that his recent comments on the matter are still too equivocal. “When you’re the U.S. ambassador, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, representing the U.S. government, one should not tolerate rumors that you’re interested in running a foreign government,” this person told me. “It can easily be put to rest with an unequivocal, firm ‘I have no intention of seeking the office,’ ” says Bruce Riedel, a friend of Khalilzad who served on the National Security Council during the Clinton and second Bush administrations. “Why does this [rumor] keep surfacing?”
