US envoy to warn Taliban not to bet on Afghan takeover

A U.S. peace envoy is back in the Middle East to warn the Taliban not to pursue a military victory on the ground in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A U.S. peace envoy was back in the Middle East on Tuesday to warn the Taliban not to pursue a military victory on the ground and deliver a blunt message: A Taliban government that comes to power through force in Afghanistan will not be recognized. The U.S. State Department said Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy, was in Doha, Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office, to “help formulate a joint international response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.” The development comes amid a weekslong, relentless Taliban offensive as American and NATO forces finalize their pullout from war-torn Afghanistan. The insurgents have captured five out of 34 provincial capitals in the country in less than a week. They are now battling the Western-backed government for control of three others, including the city of Lashkar Gah, the capital of southern Helmand province, and the city of Kandahar, the capital in neighboring Kandahar province.