Damned in Afghanistan
2010 2010-07Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 11 →
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T best chance for a lasting leg- outed as the Canadian state’s acy in Afghanistan, the $50 million Dahla Dam irrigation project in Kandahar is all but dead in the water. The Canadian engineering giant SNC Lavalin is losing the battle for control of the project to an Afghan security firm loyal to Afghanistan’s ruling Karzai family.
While Ottawa claims the project is on time and budget, a Toronto Star investigation, including interviews with more than 20 private contractors, government officials, Afghan tribal leaders and others, reveals the opposite is the case.
A nearly deadly showdown on Feb. 20 between Canadian security officials and Afghan mercenaries proved critical. It led to the resignation of Alan Bell, a Torontobased security consultant hired by SNC Lavalin, who now refuses to discuss the situation.
Watan Risk Management, a company operated by Rashid Popal, a cousin of President Hamid Karzai, whose largest shareholder is one of the president’s brothers, Qayum Karzai, apparently seeks ‘protection’ money. Watan recently was stripped of the highly lucrative task of escorting NATO convoys on the highway between Kabul and Kandahar. But the removal of Watan and another Afghan firm, Compass Security, lasted barely two weeks.
On the very first day, a NATO supply convoy was attacked, with one truck overturned and burned. Two weeks later, with more than 1000 supply trucks stalled on the highway, the company’s security privileges were restored. U.S. officials are investigating whether the Karzai-linked firm may be colluding with insurgents to maximize profits. While Watan denies this, the
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Darren Calabrese / The Canadian Press / AP