Abdul Rahim Wardak
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abdul Rahim Wardak is the Defence Minister of Afghanistan. He was appointed by President Hamid Karzai on December 23, 2004.[1] Before this appointment General Wardak was the deputy Defence Minister to Mohammed Fahim. Wardak was also involved in the Soviet war in Afghanistan. He is an ethnic Pashtun from Wardak.
Contents |
[edit] Career
General Wardak has studied overseas in U.S. military schools as well as in Egypt. He joined the army in Afghanistan and became an officer in the 1980s but defected to the Mujahideen movement, and joined the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan party of Pir Sayyed Ahmad Gailani. He was a notable Mujahideen commander, and testified several times before the U.S Congress during the war against the Soviets. In 1989, he was wounded by a Scud missile and received treatment in the United States.
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (May 2008) |
| lecturer | Cadet University | |
| Assistant of Protocol | Afghan Defense Ministry | |
| military assistant | National Islamic Front of Afghanistan | during the "years of migration" |
| military assistant | tri-lateral unity | |
| commander of the Jihadi fronts | National Islamic Front of Afghanistan | |
| member | Itehad-e-Mujahiddin | |
| member of the security committee of Kabul City | ||
| Chief of the Army Staff | ||
| Director | Military Officers Society | |
| Director | Education Committee | |
| Commission member | Rehabilitation of the National Army Commission | |
| Director | Disarmament Program | |
| Director | Reform of National Army |
[edit] Not "reasonably available" to provide testimony for Guantanamo detainees
Two Guantanamo Bay detainees, Hiztullah Nasrat Yar and his father, Nasrat Khan, claimed, during their Combatant Status Review Tribunals, that Yar had been assigned the responsibility to guard the weapons cache that triggered his arrest by General Wardak himself. [3] They had requested Wardak provide an affidavit, testifying to his role. Their Tribunals had told them that the State Department had contacted the Afghan government, and that Wardak's testimony would be unavailable.
Another Guantanamo detainee Hamidullah, claimed to be a protege of General Wardak's, because they both supported the restoration of Zahir Shah, the last King of Afghanistan.
The Boston Globe reported that Guantanamo detainees were routinely told that witnesses who could have been found with a trivial effort were "not reasonably available.[4][5]
[edit] References
- ^ Hamid Karzai announces his new cabinet (.pdf), Afghanistan: Monthly Review, December 2004
- ^ Afghan Cabinet, United Nations
- ^ Witness statement (.pdf), from Haji Nasrat Khan'sCombatant Status Review Tribunal - page 26
- ^ Detainees not given access to witnesses: But in one case, 3 quickly found, Boston Globe, June 18, 2006
- ^ Guantanamo Bay detainees not given access to witnesses despite availability, The Jurist, June 18, 2006
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Mohammed Fahim |
Minister of Defense December 2004 – Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
