Meeting Omar Olumee

Omar Olumee sits on the board for the Campaign for a US-Afghanistan Partnership (CUSAP) along with Hamed Wardak and Assad A. Mattin. This board, and the organization in general, aims to help Afghanistan to become a strong, prosperous nation with the continued support of the United States.

As a founding member of CUSAP and an Afghan-American, Omar Olumee is also a Senior Consultant on the Business Systems Integration team in Deloitte & Touche’s Public Services Business Unit.

He has a B.A. from George Mason University in International Studies and a Masters in Information Technology from Virginia Tech.

CUSAP Pillars of Action

CUSAP, the Campaign for a US-Afghanistan Partnership, has 9 pillars by which they function. As a nonprofit organization founded by Hamed Wardak and others, they have American and Afghan members, and they work to create a sustainable peace and prosperity for Afghanistan. Two of their 9 pillars include generating a sustainable economic base and uniting leadership.

Generate a Sustainable Economic Base
CUSAP and Hamed Wardak want the United States to help Afghanistan to rebuild its traditional economic base and to develop its wealth of natural resources. Only in this way can Afghanistan have a sustainable economic base and ensure that military-aged men can support their families and build Afghanistan.

United Leadership
According to CUSAP, the United States can help Afghanistan to build a successful government by encouraging Afghan leaders to engage with local and tribal leaders. This will ensure local support and will recognize the important of the tribal system for creating peace in Afghanistan.

3 Pillars of CUSAP

CUSAP is a nonprofit organization founded by 8 people, including Hamed Wardak, that works to promote peace and prosperity in Afghanistan. The Campaign for a US-Afghanistan Partnership has 9 main pillars that guide their work and their efforts. 3 of them will be discussed here.

1. A Commitment to Reduce the Drug Trade: Hamed Wardak and CUSAP want the Afghan government, in partnership with the U.S. to aggressively counteract the drug trade in Afghanistan.

2. Combat Corruption & Foster Good Governance: CUSAP believes that Afghanistan can’t stabilize without reducing corruption and that the U.S. should tie their aid programs and support to progress that Afghanistan makes in the area of corruption.

3. Embrace Traditional Islam to Counter al Qaeda: CUSAP and Hamed Wardak want the U.S. and Afghanistan to embrace moderate Islamic leaders who have shown an ability to combat Islamic extremists. When working with people in Afghanistan towards reconciliation, the U.S. and Afghanistan, according to CUSAP, should separate the traditional Afghan Muslims from radical Salafi-Taliban figures and should only negotiate with traditional Afghan Muslims.

Background on Hamed Wardak

Hamed Wardak has a great deal of experience with U.S. and Afghanistan relations. As the founder of Fedayeen-e-Sol, a multiethnic civil movement that tries to achieve reform in Afghanistan through non-violent means, he works tirelessly for the causes of the Afghan people. He is also the founding vice-president of the Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce.

Hamad Wardak is the founder and CEO of Ludus Athletics, a company dedicated to helping people achieve their maximum physical strength and give back to their communities. From 2004-2005, Hamed Wardak was a Managing Director for International Operations with Technologists, Inc. In this capacity, he generated $44 million in design-build contracts in Afghanistan. More recently, he founded, along with 7 others, the Campaign for a US-Afghanistan Partnership (CUSAP) which is a nonprofit organization of American and Afghan citizens. Their goal is to achieve a sustainable peace and security in Afghanistan and to promote prosperity and growth.

Hamed Wardak speaks English, Dari and Pashto and lives between Washington, CD and Kabul.