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Fowler, former Al Quaida hostage, questions Canada's Afghan msn

by Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke | September 9, 2009 at 07:15 pm

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Robert Fowler, a Canadian diplomat, who had worked for three Canadian Prime Ministers was captured by Al Quaida and spend 130 days in captivity in Niger. The details for his release were not known. Fowler feels that someone gave something.

At one point demands were made to release 20 Al Quaida prisoners in exchange for his release.

In an interview yesterday with Peter Mansbridge, Chief Correspondent of CBC, Fowler described his anxieties while in captivity. This is a story in itself, the details of which can be read in the highlighted source.

Fowler also addressed Canada's role in Afghanistan.

"I cannot object to the objective in Afghanistan, but I just don't think in the West that we are prepared to invest the blood or treasure to get this done," says Fowler, a veteran diplomat who was in Niger as a UN Special Envoy when he was captured last December.

Fowler describes Afghanistan as a complex misery that will be hard to fix.

Fowler who has extensive experience in foreign affairs, seems to realize that the Western resolve is not there to complete this task, which will require the sacrifice of many young Western soldiers, particularly those in Canada.

Recent events in Afghanistan have demonstrated the resolve of the Taliban. A fraud riddled election seems to indicate that there is no real progress in the governance of a country with a long tribal history.

The United States, which is the NATO lead for the Afghanistan conflict, must clearly define objectives and a strategy that will work.

Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan is scheduled to end in 2011.

Retired Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler says the four months he spent in captivity with a band of al-Qaeda militants has fortified his critical view of Canada's role in Afghanistan - that the time and money would be better spent elsewhere.

"I cannot object to the objective in Afghanistan, but I just don't think in the West that we are prepared to invest the blood or treasure to get this done," says Fowler, a veteran diplomat who was in Niger as a UN Special Envoy when he was captured last December.

In an exclusive interview with CBC chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge on The National, Fowler revealed details of his harrowing 130 days in captivity after he and assistant, Louis Guay, were abducted northwest of Niger's capital, Niamey.

"It strikes me as rather extreme that one goes out and looks for particularly complex misery to fix," Fowler said about Canada's mission in Afghanistan. "There's lots of things to fix that can be done more efficiently and probably more effectively."