Washington Insider Takes on Envoy Role (to Iraq)

BAGHDAD, Iraq Jul 23, 2005 — He is virtually unknown to most Americans. Yet since the day of the Sept. 11 attacks, Zalmay Khalilzad has handled some of his country's most-delicate diplomatic assignments.

Now, the man known at the White House and CIA as just "Zal" takes on his biggest challenge running America's relations with Iraq. As he does, Khalilzad may be forced to scale back the high profile he held as ambassador to Afghanistan, where he met the Afghan president so often that some believed he virtually ran the place.
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He worked under Cheney when Cheney was defense secretary for the first President Bush, then served as the second Bush administration' transition head at the Pentagon. After that, Khalilzad moved to the White House's National Security Council the inner circle of foreign policy advisers to the president.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Khalilzad born in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif was the only policy-maker of Afghan heritage, or even much expertise, inside the White House.
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Before the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in March 2003, Khalilzad was a special envoy to the Iraqi opposition and held a key prewar meeting with opposition leaders in Kurdistan.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=970709&page=1

In service to Skull & Boner BushCo all the WAY.