Background for Hamed Wardak

Hamed Wardak is a founder of Fedayeen-e-Sol, founding vice-president of the Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce, and President and CEO of NCL Holdings, LLC.  Born in Kabul, Afghanistan and raised in Pakistan and the United States, Mr. Wardak has a great deal of insights about Afghanistan and about how the United States can help and support life there.

He received a BA in Government and Political Theory at Georgetown University in 1997, where he was the Valedictorian of his class.  After this, he was elected as an American Rhodes Scholar and he read for the M. Phil. And M. Litt in Politics at the University of Oxford.

Following his studies, Mr. Wardak worked in mergers and acquisitions at Merrill Lynch in New York and California.  From 2002-2003 he was the Afghan Finance Minister’s Private Envoy to the U.S.

NCL & Hamed Wardak Giving Back

One of the driving forces behind NCL Holdings is to give back to the community in Afghanistan.  This drives NCL Holdings and its founder, chairman and CEO Hamed Wardak to create a Community Outreach program.  Their most recent endeavor was their support of the National Gallery of Arts Exhibit, “Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures for the National Museum, Kabul.”

This exhibit, sponsored in part by NCL and Hamed Wardak, shows 228 objects that range from 2200 BC to the second century AD.  They come from four archeological sites and include fascinating objects from pottery to jewelry and more.

NCL strives to continue this mission to involved themselves in community-based philanthropic programs.  This is part of their vision for a new Afghanistan.

Insights About Afghanistan

The Afghanistan Partnership (CUSAP) is an organization that believes in the strong ties between the U.S. and Afghan citizens. They want to see Afghanistan become a strong, prosperous nation again, and they recognize that America’s support is critical to this mission.  As one of eight founders of the organization, Hamed Wardak works to create this partnership along with many others.

Certainly, to understand Afghanistan today, we must understand some basic and important facts about this country.  Since the 19^th century, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States have all invaded Afghanistan.  During the Soviet occupation, between 600,000 and 2 million Afghans were killed.  During this time, 5 million Afghans were displaced, mostly to neighboring countries.

Donation to USA for UNHCR

In recent news, Hamed Wardak, President of NCL Holdings in McLean, Virginia, has pledged $100,000 to USA for UNHCR.  This is the U.S. Association for the U.N. Refugee Agency.  Mr. Wardak’s generous gift will directly benefit the people of Afghanistan, including the hundreds of thousands who are currently displaced.
As Hamed Wardak explains, “I have long admired and respected the work of the UNHCR. Their work is critical in Afghanistan today. I wanted to provide support to the most disadvantaged group in Afghanistan – Afghan women.”
Mr. Wardak’s contribution will help Afghans of all ethnicities who were displaced as a result of the ongoing conflicts.  It will also help those who are now returning to Afghanistan after years in Pakistan.  His projects will focus on helping women and increasing employment opportunities.

Hamed Wardak Reacts to President Obama Recent Interview

President Obama recently tried to reassure people on 60 Minutes by explaining his July 2011 deadline for removing American troops from Afghanistan.  Hamed Wardak, however, believes that this move will merely encourage the Taliban and Al Queda.

As the founder and vice chairman of the Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce (AACC) and founder of the Committee for U.S.-Afghanistan Partnership, Hamed Wardak certainly has a vested interest in having peace in Afghanistan.  As he explained on HuffingtonPost.com, however, he believes that the Taliban and Al Queda will do everything that they can to prevent peace and from having a legitimate government in Afghanistan.

To create a situation where America and Afghanistan are working together towards peace, Mr. Wardak recommends the following:

“The United States can reassure the Afghan people by entering into bilateral agreements similar to the two signed the end of last year between the U.S. and Iraq. One was the Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA), a non-binding agreement with mostly aspirational language, and the other was a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), an agreement on the withdrawal of U.S. troops.”

Wardak Envisions New Afghanistan

Hamed Wardak has been critical of the current president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai. Wardak believes that Karzai has made, “compromises with the devil” because he has cooperated with militia leaders, drug traffickers and Islamist leaders.

Although Wardak does believe that Karzai is a patriot and sincerely wants to do what’s best for Afghanistan, he is not convinced, and disagrees in a fundamental way, with many of the policy decisions Karzai has made.

Wardak explained:

“These policies and bad allies can jeopardize our young democracy. It’s also distressing to our movement that many Americans and Western observers believe that only President Karzai is a bulwark against the Taliban. To us, this is an insult to our country, our long history and our new democracy.”

AACC Founder Hamed Wardak

In addition to leading his Afghan movement for change, “Sacrificers for Peace,” (Fedayeen-e-Sol), Hamed Wardak is also one of the founders of the Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce.

Wardak is striving to encourage a strong relationship between the United States and Afghanistan, and to encourage the U.S. to help Afghanistan overcome their Islamic political rivals who Wardak says are backed by Iran.

“Right now our allies, the Americans and our European friends, focus on state institution development, you don’t have anything politically. But our neighboring countries, particularly Iran, are focused on creating a movement, a political apparatus on the ground,” he said. “Our movement believes that the American and allied long-term presence is vital and desirable for building a stable and democratic order,”

he added.

Leader for Change in Afghanistan:Hamed Wardak

Fedayeen-e-Sol, or “Sacrificers for Peace” is a movement which sees itself as an ideological alternative to the Taliban movement in Afghanistan. Leading this movement for change is Hamed Wardak, the son of the Afghan defense minister and a graduate of Georgetown University and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.

The 31-year old leader is hoping to lead his country on the path to free markets, low taxes and stifling the influential hold that drug trafficking and militias have had on Afghan society.

Hamed Wardak – Sacrificers for Peace

In January 2007 the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute held a forum titled “An Afghan Civil Society Movement — Sacrificers for Peace” at the Rome Auditorium, 1619 Massachusetts Ave. NW.

The keynote speaker was Mr. Hamed Wardak, the Founder and then temporary President of Fedayeen-e-Sol – “Sacrificers for Peace.” Fedayeen-e-Sol is a multiethnic civil society movement that seeks to bring about national and governmental reform in Afghanistan. As a broad-based movement, Wardak has ensured that this movement approach all of Afghan society and enact change a reform through non-violent means.

Mr. Wardak has toiled greatly to help Afghanistan move into the future as a democratic, liberal and western power.

Wardak:U.S. Should Support ANA

In an article published in May, in the on-line journal Asia Chronicle, Hamed Wardak lists ten ideas he hopes the United States can implement in order to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda and to bring security and stability to Afghanistan. Here is a brief summary of one of those ideas.

The United States should support the Afghan National Army: According to public opinion polls of Afghani citizens, the Afghan National Army, (ANA) is the most respected government body in Afghanistan. The 3,600 U.S. troops now in Afghanistan cost more money to U.S. taxpayers than if the United States would invest in the 250,000 ANA soldiers who themselves could defeat al Qaeda and the Taliban.