Canada’s last ambassador to Afghanistan could be on the hotseat at parliamentary hearings to explain why he fled the country leaving 1,250 citizens behind, says Blacklock’s Reporter..“They had months to plan for U.S. troops pulling out of Afghanistan, to plan for what that would mean for Canadians on the ground and Afghans on the ground who fought or served alongside Canada,” Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole told reporters Monday..O’Toole said Conservative MPs will ask the Commons to appoint a special committee to conduct hearings on the collapse of Afghanistan..“The real failure of the government was not using the last few years, and not using the last six months, to get people out of harm’s way in Afghanistan who were going to be at risk when the Taliban were re-exerting control,” said O’Toole..A special committee “will get to the bottom of it,” he said..The Department of Foreign Affairs last August 31 counted “roughly 1,250 either Canadian citizens, permanent residents or family members that are in Afghanistan” when Kabul fell to the Taliban..The Canadian military suspended all flights on August 26. Canadian diplomats including Ambassador Reid Sirrs had shuttered the embassy and fled 11 days earlier..The department in a subsequent travel advisory said Canadians left behind faced risks of “terrorist attacks,” kidnapping and street crime, and recommended they go in hiding..“They’ve left people behind,” said MP O’Toole, adding: “This committee will help Canadians understand why they failed to act.”.A motion to conduct special hearings is expected to pass the Commons..Internal research dating from 2019 by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service correctly warned Afghanistan “could collapse quickly” with the final withdrawal of American troops..“Many Afghans who can leave are doing so,” said the report..“The Afghanistan of 2019 is remarkably similar to the Afghanistan of 1992 to 1996,” wrote researchers. “The only reason rockets are not raining down on Kabul today is because of the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan.”.Sirrs has never explained why his embassy did not have evacuation plans for all Canadian citizens in Kabul, or why he fled Afghanistan..Sirrs, as director-general of security for the Department of Foreign Affairs, boasted of preparedness exercises at the Kabul embassy..“If you’re dealing with Afghanistan, you’re talking about a terrorist attack of some type,” Sirrs said in 2019 testimony at the Senate foreign affairs committee..“These exercises prove to be very valuable for informing our emergency management plan.”
Canada’s last ambassador to Afghanistan could be on the hotseat at parliamentary hearings to explain why he fled the country leaving 1,250 citizens behind, says Blacklock’s Reporter..“They had months to plan for U.S. troops pulling out of Afghanistan, to plan for what that would mean for Canadians on the ground and Afghans on the ground who fought or served alongside Canada,” Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole told reporters Monday..O’Toole said Conservative MPs will ask the Commons to appoint a special committee to conduct hearings on the collapse of Afghanistan..“The real failure of the government was not using the last few years, and not using the last six months, to get people out of harm’s way in Afghanistan who were going to be at risk when the Taliban were re-exerting control,” said O’Toole..A special committee “will get to the bottom of it,” he said..The Department of Foreign Affairs last August 31 counted “roughly 1,250 either Canadian citizens, permanent residents or family members that are in Afghanistan” when Kabul fell to the Taliban..The Canadian military suspended all flights on August 26. Canadian diplomats including Ambassador Reid Sirrs had shuttered the embassy and fled 11 days earlier..The department in a subsequent travel advisory said Canadians left behind faced risks of “terrorist attacks,” kidnapping and street crime, and recommended they go in hiding..“They’ve left people behind,” said MP O’Toole, adding: “This committee will help Canadians understand why they failed to act.”.A motion to conduct special hearings is expected to pass the Commons..Internal research dating from 2019 by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service correctly warned Afghanistan “could collapse quickly” with the final withdrawal of American troops..“Many Afghans who can leave are doing so,” said the report..“The Afghanistan of 2019 is remarkably similar to the Afghanistan of 1992 to 1996,” wrote researchers. “The only reason rockets are not raining down on Kabul today is because of the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan.”.Sirrs has never explained why his embassy did not have evacuation plans for all Canadian citizens in Kabul, or why he fled Afghanistan..Sirrs, as director-general of security for the Department of Foreign Affairs, boasted of preparedness exercises at the Kabul embassy..“If you’re dealing with Afghanistan, you’re talking about a terrorist attack of some type,” Sirrs said in 2019 testimony at the Senate foreign affairs committee..“These exercises prove to be very valuable for informing our emergency management plan.”
