After Afghanistan pullout, US pursues long-distance diplomacy from Qatar

Without a diplomatic presence on the ground in Kabul, the United States will engage with the Taliban from a remote mission in Doha.
Afghan refugees, fleeing the Afghan capital Kabul, exit an US air force plane upon their arrival at Pristina International airport near Pristina on Aug. 29, 2021.
Afghan refugees, fleeing the Afghan capital, Kabul, exit a US Air Force plane upon their arrival at Pristina International Airport near Pristina on Aug. 29, 2021. - ARMEND NIMANI/AFP via Getty Images
Elizabeth Hagedorn
Elizabeth Hagedorn
@ElizHagedorn

With the US military withdrawn from Afghanistan, the focus has shifted to what Secretary of State Antony Blinken has billed as the next chapter of America’s engagement with the Taliban-run country.

But outreach to Afghanistan’s new rulers will be complicated by the fact that US diplomats are no longer in Afghanistan. Embassy operations have relocated to the Qatari capital of Doha and will be led by Ian McCary, the Kabul embassy's deputy chief of mission.

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