In 1976 Abdullah Sharif departed Afghanistan first for France and then the United States, leaving behind a viable nation state. Thirty-five years later he returned as a US diplomat. The country he remembered was gone, lost to the ravages of a Russian invasion, the harsh rule of the Taliban, and ongoing clashes between insurgents and US-led forces.
As an Afghan-American, Sharif's thoughts are deeply revealing. Sardar presents his insights through nineteen missives written over the course of the first of two civilian deployments with the Departments of State and Defense.
With a bird's eye view of US reconstruction efforts, he deconstructs setbacks and mistakes made during the peace process, and offers suggestions on how to better address such problems.
A compelling read for anyone interested in US involvement in Afghanistan, Sardar reveals what it takes to carry out daily duties deployed in a foreign country where differing ideologies, language, religion, and social norms provide fertile ground for misunderstandings, conflict, and distrust.
About the Author: Abdullah Sharif spent three decades consulting as an aviation engineer in North America and Europe. Since 2009, he has served as a US diplomat in Afghanistan. His first deployment, from 2009-2011, was for the Department of State, with a second, from 2012-2013, under the auspices of the Department of Defense working on peace and reintegration.
Born in Afghanistan, Sharif spent a happy childhood in Kabul. He moved to Europe in 1976 and eventually to the United States in 1978, avoiding the communist take-over and the eventual Russian invasion of his homeland, the chaos following the Soviet withdrawal and the Taliban's oppressive regime. Saddened and heartbroken by the changes in his homeland, Sharif is deeply motivated to assist with reconstruction efforts and build peace bridges between Afghanis and Americans.
