Parallels

A giant H has been painted on the broad boulevard in front of the American Embassy in Kabul, creating a new helipad that recently has been used only by Zalmay Khalilzad, the special United States diplomat who has been talking with the Taliban.  

The pecking order is clear. As American policy in Afghanistan seems bent more than ever on making a deal with Taliban insurgents to withdraw American troops from the country after nearly two decades of war, Mr. Khalilzad’s diplomacy is taking priority.

The talks between Mr. Khalilzad and the Taliban have raised some parallels to Henry A. Kissinger’s talks with North Vietnamese leaders, which presaged the American pullout from South Vietnam in 1973 and the collapse of South Vietnam two years later.

The learning curve to create Peace is 20 years. Just a thought.