Praise at U.N. for a New U.S. Envoy’s Inclusive Tactics and Convivial Style

UNITED NATIONS, June 5 — One by one, the ambassadors at an unusually jolly diplomatic dinner last month rose to pay tribute to the new American ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad. --- Afghan-born, educated in Lebanon and able to converse in five Central Asian languages, Mr. Khalilzad says his origins, appearance and accented English give him an advantage with the envoys, particularly those from the developing world who eye American policy with such doubt. “The way I look and my background and style resonate with many of them,” he said. “I try to explain to them that I understand their culture and I know where they are coming from, that they are seeing conspiracies where the motives are really innocent. Often when I make a comment like that, they laugh because they can see I have read them correctly.”