WASHINGTON: Speaking at the Middle East Institute's 63rd annual conference's gala dinner this week former US ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said the only way out of the current Afghan war is to give Afghan leader Hamid Karzai the incentives he needs to make the right decisions "to build a competent, strong government."
"This would draw Afghan respect, enhance the chances of regional stabilization and ease the American path to eventual disengagement," he added.
Khalilzad said Afghanistan needs the strength to rebuff Al-Qaeda, a reconciliation policy and peace with its neighbors.
"It will be a huge challenge to the coalition to achieve peace as long as the border issue remains unresolved and unstable with Pakistan," said Khalilzad.
He also said that the US should engage Karzai and not distance itself from him following the results of the controversial elections.
"I don't think the best way to get him to cooperate is to heckle him publicly," he added. "This is a significant challenge diplomatically."
Commenting on this week's report by the US military that a violent shift of power has occurred between insurgent groups in Afghanistan, Khalilzad insisted the US must generate enough resources to strengthen and sustain the Afghan Armed Forces, "while weakening the enemies in Afghanistan."
With President Barack Obama still mulling whether to implement a buildup of troops in the country, Khalilzad said he favored "a package that increases forces, short term, in Afghanistan, but only if it is a new engagement of political and economic dimensions."
Khalilzad stressed that bringing stability to the country could not be done by force alone; instead it was "essential" to bring about economic progress to the Afghans.
"Without that, and without functional regional and Afghan government, force alone will not be enough for the challenges we face," he said.
Karzai will be sworn in for a second term on Nov. 19, an official said on Wednesday, after being returned to power despite a fraud-tainted poll in which more than a quarter of his votes were invalidated.
Turning to Iraq, Khalilzad said the biggest risk for that country is the "risk of neglect," adding that the biggest danger with the current focus on Afghanistan "is that we might do less in Iraq than warranted."
He said the US needs to enhance our political engagement in Iraq and remain engaged to affect their future evolution.
"Iraq's future will have a tremendous impact on the future of the region," said Khalilzad.
With Jay Garner, the retired general who led reconstruction efforts immediately after the war, Khalilzad is leading a new business push into Iraq. Khalilzad Associates this year set up offices in Baghdad and the northern Kurdish city of Erbil from which it is advising companies wanting to do business in Iraq.
The US, he said, "needs to improve relations with Iraq and region, especially Iraq and some (other) Arab countries."
As for Iran, Khalilzad said he was caught by surprise.
"I never saw it coming -- never saw the domestic situation in Iran becoming as important as it is," he said.
The Iranian regime has been weakened by the election crisis, the results of which are still causing ripples of dissent throughout the country, he said, noting that the domestic struggle within the weakened government had been reduced during the election, and after election.
"I don't know if they are able to make decisions on key issues and deliver on them," he said, "specifically regarding issues such as nuclear weapons."
Khalilzad said it was imperative for the world to "keep focused on how the internal situation evolves."
