Former Afghan Ambassador to Canada Omar Samad: ‘Do not disengage’/Atlantic Council via YouTube

August 17, 2021

Less than a month before the 20th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001 that led to the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban have retaken the country amid the stunning collapse of both the Afghan Army and the country’s government. Omar Samad was a senior advisor to former Afghan presidents Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah and served as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Canada from 2004-2009. Now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., he did the following email Q&A with Policy Deputy Publisher and Associate Editor Lisa Van Dusen on August 16.

Lisa Van Dusen: The last time we met, you were delivering a speech at McGill University about Canada’s contribution to the future of democracy in Afghanistan. Today, the elected government of Afghanistan has collapsed, President Ashraf Ghani has fled the country and the Taliban is in the presidential palace. Are you shocked by what’s happened?

Omar Samad: It is a stunning reversal but I am one of those who saw it coming, warned about it and tried to focus our so-called leaders’ attention to ending the war and aiming for a political settlement while the opportunity existed and before the Taliban decided to pursue a full-fledged takeover. Our hopes and aspirations, as expressed during my tenure in Canada (2004-2009), evaporated over time as we continued to pursue disjointed and erratic militaristic strategies that started hurting and targeting the Afghan people instead of going after terror sanctuaries, became a money-making contracting venture, undermined a nascent democracy through electoral fraud and turned Afghanistan into the most corrupt country in the world. That was not my idea of state- or nation-building. We ended up with low-grade leadership that was disconnected from the country’s realities. Yes, we all did some good in terms of education and health care and human and gender rights, but they became elite pet projects and did not help the bulk of women or youth. I hope that we can learn the lessons and now that conditions are harder, that we can first find peace and then rebuild step by step and make Afghans owners of their own country again.

LVD: As a son of Afghanistan, whom do you blame for this outcome?

Omar Samad: I blame many in Afghanistan and overseas who were in charge of strategy, policy, implementation and accountability — or lack thereof. At the end of the day, it’s usually who pays the bills and funds the war as well as development efforts that calls the shots. Over $2.2 trillion was spent by the US alone on the overall conduct of war and civilian work relating to Afghanistan over the past 20 years. That is an astronomical amount and if you add others’, including Canada’s generous expenditure in blood and treasure to it, it becomes even more important. What we have to show for it is abysmal and shallow. I also have to say that almost 80 percent of that money was repatriated to the donor countries or contracting nations as a result of the system put in place. At the most, 20 percent went into Afghan rebuilding efforts. Many greedy companies, contractors, consultants, NGOs and other providers became very rich but the bulk of the Afghan population – 90 percent — still live on less than $2 a day. Again, there are many lessons to be drawn about post-conflict reconstruction, post conflict state building etc. I could write a book about it.

LVD: It’s very difficult to understand how, as the New York Times has reported, US intelligence analysis on how things would play out on the ground so “badly missed the mark” in a country that has arguably hosted more intelligence operatives than any other jurisdiction in the world for two decades. Do you think this was primarily an intelligence failure?

Omar Samad: Perhaps having too many intelligence outfits, too many analysts and too much reporting bordering on rivalries and redundancy create confusion and lack of focus on the real job at hand. There is definitely failure overall. I am not sure what portion was intelligence, strategic, military or diplomatic. Probably a mix. At the same time, there is good intel and analysis versus bad. I have experienced think tanks and analysts masquerading as experts who turn their jobs into contracting businesses. We have also been a victim of bad advice and politicized or biased analysis for a host of reasons. I think that we all paid the price at the end.

Many greedy companies, contractors, consultants, NGOs and other providers became very rich but the bulk of the Afghan population – 90 percent — still live on less than $2 a day. Again, there are many lessons to be drawn about post-conflict reconstruction, post conflict state building etc. I could write a book about it.

 

LVD: If you were still Afghanistan’s ambassador to Canada, what would you be asking Ottawa for?

Omar Samad: Today’s environment and priorities are very different from the time I was in Canada. Back then it was about Canada’s most important military and diplomatic engagement since the Korean War. It was about combat and deaths, about the largest development portfolio and a political hot potato. I had to do my job under extreme conditions, engaging all levels of Canadian society to help keep us on the same page without crossing the line. Today, respecting your losses and ours and in their memory, I would urge Canada to remain engaged with the humanitarian, education, health, agri-business and natural resources/minerals files. Engage the Taliban at all levels to impress on them good governance and human/women rights. Do not disengage.

LVD: Ten days ago, the most recent incumbent in the job you once filled as the Afghan government’s director of media and information, Dawa Khan Menapal, was assassinated by the Taliban. Would you feel safe returning to Afghanistan right now?

Omar Samad: I left my comfortable life in America and went back to Afghanistan in December of 2001 before any other expat had returned from diaspora. I did not have a home, a job or a car for a while — just the enthusiasm to be back and to be part of an historic moment to rebuild a shattered nation. A lot has happened since then, not just to me but also to every other Afghan and many others around the world impacted by 9/11. I am sorry for every loss of life. Many could have been avoided. Today, we are at a 180 turning point. Not yet sure what to make of it. Either it will be a slow yet peaceful recovery accompanied by extreme mindset and lifestyle challenges that we will eventually overcome, or the country will go into isolation for a while. I will continue to be a voice of reason until circumstances and conditions are right to serve again.

LVD: Do you retain any hope for democracy in Afghanistan?

Omar Samad:  I come from a background and family that has fought and promoted democracy in Afghanistan for the past 60 years. I also believe that nations need to develop their own indigenous models of democracy or pluralism. I no longer believe in imposing a particular model by will or by force. We need to do whatever it takes to allow men and women to be part of a system that is participatory and based on consultation and, ultimately, voting rights. In our case, we sabotaged democracy over the past 20 years and lost the trust of the population. We need to rebuild trust and let them organically build their own democracy. I hope that freedom of expression/media, movement and participation in civic and political affairs are protected and reformed as we try to build a new system that will be influenced by Islamic values and traditions.

Omar Samad was Afghanistan’s ambassador to Canada from 2004-09 and to France from 2009-11. He was spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul from December 2001 to September 2004. He is currently a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.

Lisa Van Dusen is associate editor of Policy Magazine. She was Washington columnist for the Ottawa Citizen and Sun Media, international writer for Peter Jennings at ABC News, and an editor at AP National in New York and UPI in Washington.