Mar. 17, 2006. 07:42 AM OAKLAND ROSS FEATURE WRITER

Building a prosperous and stable Afghanistan will require blood, sweat and years, and Canada's role could be vital, especially over the long haul, says the war-weary nation's ambassador to Ottawa.

"If a country is to recover from being a failing state, you need to help it," Omar Samad said in an interview yesterday while visiting Toronto. "It is so critical for a country like Canada to have its troops there. It is equally important for Canada to be in Afghanistan to help us rebuild certain sectors of our society."

The envoy said his government is keen to discuss extending Canada's commitment of development assistance to Afghanistan — pegged at $620 million over seven years — beyond its current limit of 2009.

Canada has 2,200 troops patrolling the countryside around the city of Kandahar, among the most treacherous sections of real estate in the land.

Yesterday, Samad praised Canadian troops and encouraged Canadians to continue supporting their mission in his country, despite early casualties and the grim prospect of more to come.

"It's a very noble cause," he said. The question for Canadians, he said, is whether "to run away from danger while it challenges us or are we going to join with the Afghani people and resist it?"

Canadian troops have already come under attack in the Kandahar region, a hotbed of support for the radical and authoritarian Taliban that ruled Afghanistan until being overthrown by a U.S.-led invasion in late 2001.

While in power, the Taliban were closely linked to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist network, and the two groups continue to share common aims and to co-operate militarily. Both have sought safety in neighbouring Pakistan, using that country's territory as a base for incursions into Afghanistan.

Yesterday, Samad offered a mixed assessment of Pakistan's role in combating the terrorists.

"They have done a very good job of tracking down and eliminating the Al Qaeda elements," he said. "We think they can do a better job of denying the Taliban sanctuary, arms, training and support."

Prior to the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan's government openly supported the Taliban and changed its position only under intense U.S. pressure to do so.

This week, Canadian troops stationed in Kandahar fired on and killed an apparently innocent Afghan man in a rickshaw that reportedly strayed too close to a Canadian patrol.

Regrettable as they are, Samad said such tragedies are probably inevitable in wartime and are not likely to imperil Canada's mission in his country.

"The Afghan people are very understanding and very appreciative that troops are there from other countries," he said. "They understand there will be casualties on both sides. Tragic incidents will happen, but the mission has to go on."

Afghanistan has known little but war and disruption since the mid-1970s and Samad said it will take many years for the country to recover from the political, social and economic damage it has suffered.

"The Afghan people are tired of war, tired of living under extremist and intolerant rulers," he said. "But it will take years for a democracy to mature."

In the meantime, he said, it is essential for countries such as Canada to extend their help, by providing military security and by contributing to the huge task of economic reconstruction.

Samad said it will be three or four years before his country's police and military will be capable of countering terrorist insurgents without foreign help and even longer before Afghanistan can do without foreign troops entirely.

Among other challenges is the illicit cultivation of poppies for heroin and opium. Samad sees no easy solutions to the drug trade but said he believes it can be overcome in time, perhaps "up to a decade."

Now 44, the urbane and articulate Samad fled his country in 1980 during its occupation by the Soviet Union and lived in the United States until late 2001, when he went home to help rebuild. He arrived in Ottawa as ambassador in 2004.

Like many other Afghans, Samad is deeply distressed by his country's abiding torment but is hopeful of better times.

"I look forward to the day when Canadians will look at Afghanistan as a tourism destination."