Canada spent $84M on Kabul embassy security before abandoning it to Taliban

The Department of Foreign Affairs poured $84 million into security measures at the Canadian Embassy in Kabul, only to abandon it on the same day the city fell to the Taliban in 2021, according to official records.

Blacklock's Reporter says the abrupt closure left over 1,200 Canadian citizens and Afghan allies stranded.

“The Kabul mission was both the costliest and one of the most dangerous in the department network,” stated a departmental report, Evaluation Of The Duty Of Care Envelope 2017 To 2023.

The report highlighted extensive security investments, including private guards, reinforced anti-rocket bunkers, and bulletproof vehicles. For comparison, the department spent $13 million each on security upgrades at embassies in Beijing and Nairobi, and $11 million in Port-au-Prince.

Then-Ambassador Reid Sirrs, a former director general of security for the department, had previously touted the embassy’s preparedness.

“We cover approximately 70 missions a year with exercises,” he testified before the Senate foreign affairs committee in 2019.

“If you’re dealing with Afghanistan, you’re talking about a terrorist attack of some type. These exercises prove to be very valuable for informing our emergency management plan.”

Despite the investments and planning, Sirrs shuttered the Kabul Embassy and fled on August 15, 2021, as the Taliban seized the city. Canada was the first G7 nation to abandon its mission during the crisis, halting evacuation efforts while other countries continued to rescue their citizens and allies.

Witnesses at 2022 hearings of the Commons Special Committee on Afghanistan criticized Canada’s response as disorganized and inadequate.

David Lavery, an Afghan War veteran and Kabul security consultant who helped evacuate people, described the embassy’s lack of action as disheartening.

“Maybe they were overwhelmed. Maybe they were preoccupied with other issues. But the desire and the will to try to engage — they pushed us aside,” he testified.

Wendy Long, founder of the Afghan-Canadian Interpreters group, echoed the frustration.

“Unfortunately for so many, Canada had left too little time to do the job right and Afghanistan fell to the Taliban August 15,” she said. “Any hope for a swift but orderly evacuation went out the window, effectively leaving thousands behind.”

From Taliban hideouts, stranded Afghan allies pleaded for help in video testimony to MPs. “We lost,” said Hameed Khan, a former interpreter for the Canadian infantry. “We failed. Look at us now.”