Zalmay Khalilzad, President Trump’s special envoy for Afghanistan peace talks, has announced a preliminary peace deal with the Taliban, in theory ending the Afghanistan war and allowing U.S. forces to come home.

Khalilzad has been singing his deal’s praises, but his efforts to silence criticism and smother dissent should raise alarms: Through much of the negotiations, he kept the elected Afghanistan government in the dark. When Afghanistan’s National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib criticized Khalilzad’s negotiating conduct, the State Department responded with an over-the-top campaign to blacklist him, never mind that Mohib was 1) right in his criticism and 2) is crucial for counterterrorism coordination.