The U.S. appears to begin re-engaging with the Taliban and North Korea

Zalmay Khalilzad
(Image credit: WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images)

The United States rebooted discussions on two crucial geopolitical fronts this week.

First, U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with the Taliban in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Friday for the first time since President Trump declared peace negotiations to end the 18-year conflict in Afghanistan "dead" in September. Few details have been released about the meeting, which was described as informal, but there reportedly has not yet been a resumption of peace talks.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.