# The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread - (December 2007)



## GAP (1 Dec 2007)

*The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread *  (December 2007)     

*News only - commentary elsewhere, please.
Thanks for helping this "news only" thread system work!*

*Articles found December 1, 2007*

NATO could fail if Canada quits Afghanistan, German leader warns
Peter O'Neil, CanWest Europe Correspondent, CanWest News Service  Published: Friday, November 30, 2007
Article Link

BERLIN -- The western alliance could collapse unless Canada remains committed to rebuilding Afghanistan and doesn't abandon efforts to convince reluctant European allies to send troops to that country's most dangerous areas, one of Germany's most prominent politicians says.

Hans-Ulrich Klose urged Canadian leaders, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to increase trips to Germany and other countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to press for a more muscular effort to develop Afghanistan and fight the Taliban insurgency.

The Canadian government has established a panel to advise on what role Canada should play in Afghanistan once its current commitment in Kandahar, where most of Canada's 2,500-soldier task force is based, expires in February, 2009. Meantime, the government has argued that other NATO partners, such as France and Germany, should rotate from relatively safe regions of Afghanistan to replace Canadians in Kandahar and other more dangerous Taliban-infested southern areas.

"There is a lot of fear that if Canada withdraws its troops, saying, 'We withdrew because we didn't get enough support from others,' this is the end of NATO," said Klose, a Social Democratic Party member of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, and vice-chairman of the Bundestag's foreign affairs committee. "NATO cannot be allowed to fail."
More on link

Rifles ready for ultimate test
By MICHAEL JIGGINS Staff Writer 
Article Link

What a difference a year makes.

Last fall, a huge question mark hung over the future of the Brockville Rifles as the unit faced a merger with the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders over declining numbers in its ranks.

Well, no one's doubting the historic militia unit's future now as the Rifles prepare for what will be their biggest deployment of soldiers since the Second World War.

By next September, up to 20 reservists and regular forces members from the unit - about 15 per cent of its total effective strength - will have their boots on the ground in Kandahar as part of Canada's 2,500-member mission in Afghanistan.

Wearing green camouflage fatigues and sitting behind his desk in his office at the Brockville Armoury, Rifles commanding officer Lt.-Col. Robert Parent makes no effort to conceal the pride in how his unit and the local community responded to the challenge.

"I'm very proud of the way this regiment has stood up and contributed to the mission and I'm proud to be serving with Brocks overseas," he told The Recorder and Times.

Although Parent said there's a bond between every community and its regiment, he insisted the link between the Rifles and Brockville is unique.

"We're one of the few regiments fortunate enough to carry the name of our community on our cap badge. Everywhere we go, we're Brocks from Brockville."

As he speaks, the sounds of dozens of reservists training under the watchful eyes of their leaders echo from the floor of the massive training area
More on link

Separate bomb explosions kill 3 civilians, 4 Taliban in southern Afghanistan  
The Associated Press Saturday, December 1, 2007 
Article Link

 KABUL, Afghanistan: A roadside bomb hit a civilian vehicle in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, leaving three people dead, while a mine explosion killed four suspected Taliban fighters at a wedding party, officials said.

The militants were attending a wedding party in southern Zabul province when a land mine they were carrying exploded accidentally, killing four and wounding eight others, said provincial police chief Gen. Yaqoob Khan.

Khan said the insurgents had been planting roadside bombs hoping to hit NATO and U.S. forces.

Separately, a roadside bomb exploded near a car and killed three civilians 5 kilometers (3 miles) north of Lashkar Gah, the main city in Helmand province, provincial police chief Mohammad Hussain Andiwal said.
More on link


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## GAP (2 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 2, 2007*

Afghanistan army to reach targeted strength by March
Sun Dec 2, 2007 6:11am EST  
Article Link

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's army will reach a targeted strength of a trained force of 70,000 within four months, but that will be insufficient to stand against internal and external threats, a government spokesman said on Sunday.

Currently the Afghan National Army stands at around 57,000 out of the 70,000 target, set at an international conference after the Taliban's removal in 2001.

"We think we need a 200,000 (strong) Afghan National Army which is in the interest of both Afghanistan and the international community," defense ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi said at a news conference.

He said a force of that size was needed to deal with possible external threats and to tackle the insurgency led by the resurgent Taliban.

It will also be much cheaper than the military expenditures by the nearly 50,000 foreign troops under the command of NATO and the U.S. army in Afghanistan, Azimi said.

"If the 200,000 are capable of providing security to the entire country, it will cost international forces less than the
More on link

Unsettling stillness in wake of battle
By BILL GRAVELAND, CP
Article Link 
  
SANGISAR, Afghanistan -- Just two weeks ago in this tiny village - the birthplace of the Taliban - the sound of machine-gun fire and rockets shattered the air and fiery artillery rained down from the sky leaving huge craters in the dusty earth. 

Yesterday there was near silence with only the sound of birds singing. 

Operation Tashwish Mekawa (No Worries) was meant to send a message to the Taliban. The dusty village, surrounded by walled mud compounds and grape orchards is where the Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, founded the armed movement in 1994. 

BASE FOR ATTACKS 

It is also believed to have been the base from which a number of ongoing attacks on various outposts and police substations have been launched in recent months. 

The goal of the mission was to build a strongpoint, essentially a small, heavily fortified base, to bring a level of stability to the region. 

The strongpoint is now in place - large gravel-filled bags called Heskos and razor-sharp barbed wire surrounding an abandoned village compound. 

As for the Taliban - things have been very quiet. 

"Since we're here everything is quiet. We found some ammunition points and some weapon points. I am working with the ANA (Afghan National Army) and the ANA guys are really good soldiers," said Lieut. Stephan Tremblay, from Alma, Que. 
More on link

Canada to renew battle against Afghan landmines
Updated Sat. Dec. 1 2007 8:31 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

OTTAWA --  Canada is set to commit its largest cash infusion yet to battle the landmine scourge in Afghanistan. 

Sources say International Development Minister Bev Oda will outline a major funding boost Monday that's expected to be worth at least $50 million dollars. 

A federal source tells The Canadian Press it will be the biggest announcement ever made against mine action, and it will only be for Afghanistan. 

Monday also marks the 10th anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, that abolishes anti-personnel landmines. 

Afghanistan signed on to the treaty on September 11th, 2002. 

The war-ravaged country reported last year that almost 66-thousand stockpiled mines had been destroyed and that the pace of demining has accelerated since 2005. 
More on link

Canadian soldier in Afghanistan making a name for himself as a wood artist
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - What started as a hobby several years ago has catapulted a reluctant Canadian soldier into the spotlight as a wood artist.

Sgt. Major Gary Crosby has a secret life at Kandahar Air Field.

"My friends call me Bing," said the 27-year member of the Canadian Forces who now calls Meaford, Ont. home when he is not serving in Afghanistan.

His secret life involves intricate wood carvings that have caught the eye of members of the coalition forces here in Afghanistan.

His most visible work is a huge totem pole sitting in the Canadian compound at the airfield. The eagle at the top symbolizes the flights that brought soldiers to Kandahar. A native Canadian is a symbol of the fighting spirit and the third character is a Viking in tribute to Canada's European allies serving in the mission in Afghanistan.

But Crosby is doing his best to avoid the spotlight and works his magic with a mallet and chisels away from the curious eyes of his co-workers.

"I try and keep a low profile. I do it as a hobby," said Crosby standing in front of his latest work in the RC (Regional Command)-South Compound late in the afternoon.

"I go out about 5:30 in the morning until 6:30 or quarter to seven and then sometimes at night in the dark with the lights so no one gets to see me do it."

His first major effort involved a carving for a warehouse in Kabul in 2002, his second was at the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) headquarters in 2003 and his last was the totem here at Kandahar Air Field earlier this year.

What started as a hobby four years ago after he viewed some wood carvings while on a mission to Africa has become almost a second job for the veteran soldier.

He credits his wife - sort of - for challenging him to become proficient at his craft.
More on link

Afghanistan Welcomes Dutch Decision to Extend Military Mission  
By VOA News 01 December 2007
Article Link

Dutch soldiers, part of the NATO forces, in Kandahar province, south of Kabul, 23 Dec 2007 
Afghan officials are welcoming the Netherlands' decision to keep its troops in southern Afghanistan, but the officials say the international community must do more to equip domestic forces.

Afghan Defense Ministry officials Saturday said the extension of the Dutch mission is a positive step. But they said further training of Afghan troops is necessary to ensure long-term security in Afghanistan.

The Dutch government announced Friday it will extend the mandate of its troops until 2010. The soldiers serve as part of a NATO force.

Around 1,700 Dutch troops have been deployed in the southern Uruzgan province, where NATO and U.S.-led forces are fighting fierce battles against Taliban militants
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (3 Dec 2007)

ARTICLES FOUND DEC. 3

Afghans 'still hopeful on future'
BBC, Dec. 3
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7124450.stm



> Most Afghans are relatively hopeful about their future, an opinion poll commissioned by the BBC has suggested.
> 
> They also support the current Afghan government and the presence of overseas troops, and oppose the Taleban.
> 
> ...



Afghans more critical of U.S efforts
AP, Dec. 3
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071203.wafghanpoll03/BNStory/Afghanistan/home



> Afghans are increasingly critical of U.S. military efforts in their country, while support for the Taliban is on the rise in the violence-plagued southwest, according to a poll released today.
> 
> The survey — conducted for ABC News, the BBC and the German public TV station ARD — noted that Afghans overwhelmingly prefer the government of President Hamid Karzai to the Taliban.
> 
> ...



Canada pledges $80 million for Afghanistan de-mining efforts
CP, Dec. 3
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/12/03/4704564-cp.html



> Bev Oda, the minister responsible for the Canadian International Development Agency, announced Monday that the money would go to the UN Mine Action Centre, to be used for clearing landmine-infested areas of Afghanistan, as well as to fund education programs and assist victims of landmines.
> 
> "Canada will continue its strong support of mine action activities in Afghanistan and the United Nations mine action service with a contribution of $80 million over the next four years," Oda told a news conference at the Canadian War Museum.
> 
> Critics, however, wondered out loud why only Afghanistan is being targeted when so many other countries are plagued with the deadly hidden devices...



5 Guard Units to Go to Iraq, Afghanistan
AP, Dec. 3
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Troop-Deployments.html



> The Pentagon announced Monday that five Army National Guard units have been alerted that they are going to serve in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
> 
> The units include some 8,000 troops going to the Iraq war and 7,000 to Afghanistan, all as replacement units to deploy in the summer of 2009...
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## The Bread Guy (4 Dec 2007)

*Canada's new Leopards leap into Afghan theatre*
Kelly Cryderman, Calgary Herald, 3 Dec 07
Article link

The boom that comes from a Leopard tank firing is a bone-shaking, deafening noise that can rattle even the most experienced soldiers if they aren't expecting it.  On Sunday, Canada's newest shipment of tanks, received this week, was tested against a craggy Afghan mountain in the desert west of Kandahar city. The new Leopard 2A6M created tidy, plate-shaped holes in paper targets, hitting bull's eyes from 500 metres.  Less accurately, they can fire at targets as far away as four kilometres.  "It's probably the most modern battle tank today in the world," said Maj. Trevor Gosselin, the officer in command of C Squadron, the battle group's tank squadron ....



*Tactical Operation nerve centre for Canadian battle plans in Afghanistan*
Canadian Press, 3 Dec 07
Article link

Whether it takes two hours or two months of planning, all of the major Canadian military decisions on the battlefield or otherwise in Afghanistan come through the Tactical Operations Centre at Kandahar Airfield.  Known as TOC, this operational nerve centre is in a large wooden building with a wall of computer screens stacked up to the ceiling and large maps throughout. It works around the clock with between 10 and 20 staff.  Like any major organization there is a definite hierarchy in the Canadian military. The Canadian commanders receive their marching orders from both Ottawa and ISAF - NATO's International Security Assistance Force.  It's the responsibility of those working in the centre to understand the wishes and ultimate goals of those in charge and translate them into orders for the troops in the field.  "We are the grey matter behind all those actions we see on the ground," explained Maj. Eric Laforest. "All that is aimed at speeding up the decision/action cycle. That's the bread and butter of all operations - the speed which you go through it." ....



*Manley's war panel flooded with proposals*
Advisory group on Canada's role in Afghanistan extends its deadline for public comment by a week
Allan Woods, Toronto Star, 3 Dec 07
Article link

They have sipped tea with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul and been treated like NATO royalty in Brussels, but the advisory panel on Canada's future in Afghanistan has also been flooded with advice from hundreds of individuals and organizations insistent that they have their say on the war.  The five-member group, headed by former deputy prime minister John Manley, will report late next month on what role they believe Canada's 2,500 soldiers in Afghanistan should occupy, if any, when the current mission expires in February 2009.  Submissions have been coming in so fast that they have decided to extend their Dec. 1 deadline for public comment by one week.  Insiders say individual Canadians have told the panel overwhelmingly that Canada should leave Afghanistan. But military historian Jack Granatstein, who met with the panel in mid-November, feels the Manley group may already be leaning in favour of recommending a mission extension ....



*UN mission to boost dialogue with former insurgents, envoy says*
UN News Centre, 3 Dec 07
Article link - news conference transcript

.....We also intend to continue reaching out to some groups hitherto involved in the insurgency, who are now seeking ways to end the violence. These people want to bring peace to their families and their communities and we know there are many such groups. Our objective is to help them re-connect with their government and their society, participate in strengthening institutions and join with us, in a concerted effort to consolidate peace....



*Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Continued*
Combined Joint Task Force 82 (Op Enduring Freedom) feature article, 3 Dec 07
Article link - More about Hekmatyar

Another of Afghanistan’s “old friends” crawled out from beneath his rock yesterday to add a little harmony to the latest meaningless threats from Osama Bin Laden. Hekmatyar, the leader of his own, outlawed branch of Hizb-i-Islami (HiG), didn’t come up with anything new, merely repeated his old hit “Foreign Troops Out, Elect an Islamic Government”. He praised the Japanese Government’s decision to withdraw their troops, failing to mention the millions of dollars in aid the decision withholds from the people of Afghanistan. In addition to demanding the withdrawal of “Foreign Troops” he wants the formation of a “Neutral Caretaker” Government to hold elections ....



*Gates Arrives in Afghanistan to Assess Conditions*
Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service, 3 Dec 07
Article link

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived here today on a fact-finding mission to get a face-to-face assessment from commanders about conditions on the ground, particularly in the volatile southern region.  The situation in the area will be the focus of a meeting the secretary is to attend next week in Scotland.  Gates, on his third trip here as defense secretary, told reporters he also plans get input from President Hamid Karzai and Defense Minister Abdul Raheem Wardak, following up his and Wardak’s recent Pentagon visit.  The secretary last visited Afghanistan in June.  He acknowledged “there’s clearly a lot going on” here and added that he plans to delve into the current situation with commanders and Afghan officials ....

*Military Weighs Recruiting Afghan Tribes to Fight Taliban*
Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post, 4 Dec 07
Article link

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates arrived in Afghanistan on Monday to weigh new strategies for quelling insurgent violence, which has escalated here in recent years despite increases in U.S. and NATO troop levels.  Senior defense officials said that under one initiative being considered, local tribesmen would be trained and armed to fight Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan, the stronghold of the radical Islamic militia. Attacks in that region have been particularly intense, and one senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States is "seeing early indicators that there may be some stepped-up activity by al-Qaeda." ....


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## MarkOttawa (4 Dec 2007)

Afghan Military Seeks More Equipment
AP, Dec. 4
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Gates-Afghanistan.html?_r=1&oref=slogin



> The Afghanistan military needs more trainers and equipment in order to gain control of their country's security, the Afghan defense chief told Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Tuesday.
> 
> Gen. Bismillah Khan said that while ''the U.S. has been more than generous,'' the Afghan army's weapons are inadequate and old, specifically its heavy artillery and armored vehicles. Speaking through an interpreter while sitting at a small table with Gates, Khan added that *''we don't have enough mentors, enough advisers* [emphasis added].''
> 
> ...



US backs Lord Ashdown for Afghanistan role
_Daily Telegraph_, Dec. 4
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/04/washdown104.xml



> The United States is backing Lord Ashdown, the former Liberal Democrat leader who served as the international community's "high representative" in Bosnia, to be the United Nations new "super envoy" to Afghanistan.
> 
> The proposed role would see Lord Ashdown being charged with uniting the efforts of both Nato and the UN in Afghanistan. Nato officials are understood to support his candidacy for a job with exceptional power.
> 
> ...



Understanding Afghanistan
_Ottawa Citizen_, Dec. 4
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=3580fb68-cd92-407e-9c67-432c13e809c5



> The Senlis Council's November 2007 report, "Stumbling into Chaos: Afghanistan on the Brink," presents an oft-repeated argument that a one-dimensional, military-focused approach is a recipe for failure in Afghanistan. That human and economic development are quintessential elements of stabilization in conflict countries is a universally accepted concept.
> 
> Senlis further argues that the donor agencies are unable to deliver the essential development services "fast enough" and that Afghanistan's reconstruction and development is at a "stand-still." High child-mortality, and lack of access to basic education, safe drinking water and health services are cited, together with hunger, and a humanitarian crisis faced by returned refugees and people internally displaced by the ravages of war against the Taliban.
> 
> ...



The Senlis report is here:
http://www.senliscouncil.net/modules/publications/Afghanistan_on_the_brink

Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (5 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 5, 2007*

Afghan mission extension proposed
 TheStar.com - December 05, 2007 Allan Woods Ottawa Bureau 
Unrealistic for Canada to leave current role in a year, analyst says
Article Link

OTTAWA–Canada has run out of time to find foreign replacements for its 2,500 soldiers fighting in Kandahar when the mission expires in 2009, a former government foreign policy adviser says.

Roland Paris, a University of Ottawa professor and former analyst in the Privy Council Office, says it is no longer realistic to believe the government can pull Canadian troops out of their current role in February 2009, just over a year from now. Even a "partial drawdown" of soldiers is a recipe for disaster in Afghanistan's violent southern province, he told the Star in an interview.

"We would, in effect, need to find another country to supply additional forces to Kandahar this winter. I think the chances of finding another NATO country to fill the space that would be vacated by a partial drawdown of Canadian Forces this winter ... are quite low."

Paris was echoing the recommendations he gave to a panel that is to make proposals on the future of the mission to the government in late January. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised to hold a parliamentary vote on Canada's future in Afghanistan shortly after he receives the recommendations from the panel led by former deputy prime minister John Manley.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay has said Canada must give its final decision to NATO at a meeting in Romania next April.
More on link

Wounded soldiers opt to return to Afghan conflict
Kelly Cryderman CanWest News Service; Calgary Herald Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Article Link

MASUM GHAR, Afghanistan - As Trooper Bryan Vallee was being flown away on a helicopter, just a half hour after being injured by a bomb explosion that damaged his Leopard 1 tank and lifted the floor beneath his feet, he decided to come back to the Afghan countryside as soon as possible.

Pulling Vallee, 22, back to the dangerous district he had just left was the thought of unaccomplished work, and the sense of "brotherhood" the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) tank gunner shared with his fellow soldiers.

"I thought, 'I gotta stay here some more and do my job,' " Vallee said, standing beside his tank on a recent cold, windy day. "It was about not leaving my buddies behind. I had been here for only three weeks and then, 'Hey, I get to go home.' All the others, they have to spend the whole six months here - maybe not getting injured - but still it wouldn't be fair."

Several weeks later, on leave back at his base in Edmonton with his fractured foot still healing, he found the idea of returning to Afghanistan much more difficult.
More on link


Margate woman will spend holidays bringing piece of home to soldiers  
Tanya Hamilton leaves for six-month tour in Afghanistan in mid-December
MIKE CARSON The Guardian
Article Link

MARGATE — While most Canadians look forward to celebrating the holidays with family and friends, one young Margate woman is foregoing these precious days to make Christmas a little more bearable for Canadian Armed Forces troops in Afghanistan.
Tanya Hamilton will be leaving for Afghanistan in mid-December, volunteering her time for a six-month tour to make the holidays a bit brighter for Canadian troops stationed so far away from home.
Hamilton learned of the opportunity through the Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency and applied to take part. 
She went to Kingston, Ont., for a two-week period while candidates for the program were reviewed and selected for the positions that were available.
“Their motto is Serving Those Who Serve,” Hamilton said. “It’s to boost the morale among soldiers. It’s to bring a little piece of home to them.”
Hamilton will be serving Tim Hortons coffee at the Afghanistan Tim’s as well as working in retail stores and an ice cream shoppe.
“You work in shifts from job to job,” she said. “Kind of like a jack of all trades.”
As heartwarming and unselfish as Hamilton’s decision is to give up her home holidays for the troops, there is the stark reality that she is going into an area that is unstable and one where she must be prepared for any eventuality. 
Hamilton and others went through a series of training sessions to deal with their new environment.
“In Kingston in the training, we got to experience all aspects of military life,” she said. 
“We got into the gas hut training (wearing full gas equipment and gas mask), to the mine awareness.”
She said they are restricted in their movements and security is extremely strict.
Hamilton is going into the program with her eyes wide open and knows what to expect on a daily basis.
More on link

Canadian minister rejects poll that suggests Afghan support for NATO plummets
Article Link

OTTAWA - Canada's international development minister took issue with a new poll Monday that suggests Afghans are increasingly critical of the war in their country.

Bev Oda, the minister responsible for the Canadian International Development Agency, dismissed the findings of the survey, which suggested support for NATO has plummeted the last year and the Taliban is growing in strength.

"I disagree," Oda said following an announcement to increase funding for mine-clearing in the war-torn country.

"I was in Afghanistan myself. I saw the progress we are making. I saw the difference it's making in the lives of the Afghan people."

The survey - conducted for ABC News, the BBC and the German public TV station ARD - suggested that Afghans overwhelmingly prefer the government of President Hamid Karzai to the Taliban. But they also believe that government should negotiate with the Taliban to end the war.

The poll found that in southwestern Afghanistan, support for NATO-led forces has plummeted to 45 per cent this year, from 83 per cent a year ago. According to the survey, the biggest complaint is the rising number of civilian casualties.

Almost all of Canada's 2,500 troops are based in the volatile southern province of Kandahar.

But Oda said she's seen lots of evidence of lives being improved by the presence and security of international troops.
More on link

Canadian troops told loose lips can kill, Taliban spies everywhere
Article Link

SPERWAN GHAR, Afghanistan - On any dusty road, rural village or busy street corner they are there - waiting, watching and ready to report in.

Without meaning to sound melodramatic, the military is reminding Canadian soldiers at every turn that Afghanistan is a country full of spies.

"Someone will have already reported that we had arrived and that we are now leaving," Sgt. Jean-Francois De Wolfe said with a shrug as his patrol roared out of a forward operating base near the village of Sperwan Ghar.

The patrol's mission is to search for improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. "They will already have called ahead and let the Taliban know we are on our way," De Wolfe said.

"It could be him on a cellphone," he said, pointing to a farmer standing in a marijuana field. "Or it could be anyone in one of those homes there," he added, pointing to a collection of mud huts along the narrow highway known at Route Foster.

An hour later, the patrol came upon an IED that resulted in a vehicle being heavily damaged.

The Taliban once had control of this area - lush with vegetation including marijuana, opium and grape orchards in some parts while barren and dry in others.

The fact that the Taliban was once in power in Afghanistan means there are still plenty of supporters willing to report on anything that may be of interest to them regarding coalition forces, whether it be for ideological reasons or just a few extra dollars.

Operation security, or OPSEC, is a priority at the main coalition base at Kandahar Airfield. Details of troop movements, times for convoys or any other sensitive information is forbidden from being discussed on cellphones or e-mails.

A large number of Afghan civilians work at the base and there are constant reminders to Canadian soldiers to be very careful about what they say.
More on link

3,300 Canadian soldiers to train at Fort Bliss
Times staff report  12/04/2007 09:28:33 AM MST
Article Link

A massive two-Canadian mechanized brigade will participate in Exercise Southern Bear at Fort Bliss in February, according to a news release from Canada's Land Force Central Area - Dept of National Defence.
The exercise, designed to prepare soldiers for deployment to Afghanistan in 2008, will involve roughly 3,300 soldiers, with the overwhelming majority of them based in Ontario at CFB Petawawa.

Involved in the exercise will be members of the Canadian Battle Group, Provincial Reconstruction Team, Observer Mentor Liaison Team, National Support Element and the Headquarters for Joint Task Force Afghanistan Rotation 5. 
More on link

Booming tanks give Canadian troops confidence
  By Kelly Cryderman CanWest News Service Sunday, December 02, 2007
Article Link

PANJWAII AND ZHARI DISTRICTS, Afghanistan - The boom that comes from a Leopard 2A6M firing is a bone-shaking, deafening noise that can rattle even the most experienced of tankers if they aren't expecting it.

On Sunday, Canada's newest shipment of tanks, received this week, was tested out against a craggy Afghan mountain in the desert west of Kandahar city. The new Leopards created tidy, plate-shaped holes in paper targets, hitting bull's eyes from 500 metres away.

Less accurately, they will be able fire as far away as four kilometres.

"It's probably the most modern battle tank today in the world," said Maj. Trevor Gosselin, the officer in command of C Squadron, the battle group's tank squadron.

The test results led to yelps of delight and high-fives from the armoured soldiers as they worked through a cold wind. The new tanks are bigger, offer greater protection from bombs and landmines, and break down less often than the old Leopards - which have no air-conditioning and are still in use in Afghanistan even after three decades of service.

"It's big, it's strong, it's aggressive and it's noisy," said Sgt. Dave Malenfant, a tank commander based in Valcartier, Que.

"When you go somewhere you know you have power. It's awesome," Malenfant said. "I'm glad that we bought these tanks. It save lives."

The tanks tested Sunday are part of a loan of 20 tanks from Germany through an agreement announced in April. Canada is also purchasing up to 100 used tanks from the Netherlands.

The type of war seen in Afghanistan has moved the previously sidelined tanks closer to centre stage. Before Canada became involved in heavy fighting in Afghanistan, tanks had not been used in any major way since the Korean War.

When Rick Hillier was still army commander in 2003, he said the Leopards were a "less relevant platform for the kinds of missions that we now undertake" and vowed to build Canada's future combat capability around a mobile gun system, according to Esprit de Corps, a Canadian military magazine.

Now Gen. Hillier, chief of the defence staff, says tanks are necessary and save lives.

"Tank use was on the decline because we didn't envision we'd need that capability," Gosselin said in Kandahar.
More on link

Canadian security forces 'ride shotgun' for supply convoys to remote outposts
Article Link

GUNDY GHAR, Afghanistan - This barren mountain top in the heart of the Zhari district may be one of the most inhospitable places on earth.

While the greenery of grape orchards and marijuana crops add a splash of welcome colour to the landscape down below, here in Gundy Ghar there are a handful of tents to provide shelter against the harsh winds that invariably blow. The ankle-deep dust is heavy with the choking consistency of talcum powder and actually seems to suck at your boots as you walk through it.

It is areas like these that members of SecFor - Security Force - travel to on a regular basis. The roads, where IED's are a constant threat, are off the beaten track and lead to these remote outposts that require constant attention, including a long list of supplies such as food, ammunition, fresh water and - on this special occasion - a crude plywood shower to allow soldiers to have ice-cold showers.

SecFor provides protection for the convoy of trucks and, in essence, rides shotgun through the dangerous areas in Taliban-ridden southern Afghanistan.

"I think we have the most dangerous job," said Sgt. Sylvain Latulippe of Gaspe, Que. "We're on the road all the time and it's pretty bad sometimes. But I have a good crew. Everytime we finish a convoy we talk to each other and make sure everybody's OK."

The danger on the roads was evident. A loud explosion nearby shattered the stillness.

"They just found an IED (improvised explosive device) up ahead," said Latulippe, pointing to the road the convoy was going to be taking in a few minutes time.
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (5 Dec 2007)

*Media Advisory: Land Force Central Area-Dept of National Defence-Media Invited to Attend Exercise Southern Bear*
LFCA news release, 4 Dec 07
News release link

Media are invited to cover Exercise Southern Bear, a massive 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade group exercise taking place at Fort Bliss, Texas designed to prepare soldiers for deployment to Afghanistan in 2008.  Media are invited to the exercise from February 21st to the 26th, 2008.  The exercise will involve roughly 3,300 soldiers, with the overwhelming majority based in Ontario at CFB Petawawa.  Media will be able to capture the visible likeness of Southern Texas to Kandahar Province while observing Canadian soldiers conduct various training exercises specifically designed to prepare them for deployment next summer.  Involved in the exercise will be members of the Canadian Battle Group, Provincial Reconstruction Team, Observer Mentor Liaison Team, National Support Element and the Headquarters for Joint Task Force Afghanistan Rotation 5.  Media attending will need to secure transportation to the American base at Fort Bliss, located just outside El Paso, Texas ....



*NATO revamps measures of Afghan progress*
Andrew Gray, Reuters (UK), 4 Dec 07
Article link

NATO has developed a standardized system for tracking progress in Afghanistan because the war so far has been judged largely using anecdotal evidence, the alliance's top commander said on Tuesday.  NATO headquarters had drawn up a set of 63 indicators to measure trends in the fight against Taliban Islamists and other militants in Afghanistan, where violence has surged over the past two years, U.S. Army Gen. John Craddock said.  "These metrics may not be right and we will probably have to adjust them, but we want to start out now," Craddock, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told a news conference in Washington ....



*US Defence Secretary Gates calls for more help for Afghanistan*
Agence France Presse, 4 Dec 07
Article link

KABUL (AFP) — US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday he was pushing the world's countries for more commitment to Afghanistan's fight against growing extremist violence.  Gates was here on a surprise visit to assess the international fight against the Taliban and their allies in Al-Qaeda, whom US officials say appear to have stepped up their activities here.  "I feel like I am the salesman around the world for Afghanistan," Gates said during a visit to the Kabul Military Training Centre where army leaders told him they needed more mentors and equipment.  "I asked the Chinese, the Koreans, Japan for more help," he said, adding he was also pressing countries in the 38-nation NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to "meet their promises" ....


*British soldier killed in Afghanistan on 4 December*
UK Ministry of Defence statement, 4 Dec 07 
News release link

It is with much sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that a soldier serving with the Brigade Reconnaissance Force (BRF), 5 Regiment Royal Artillery has been killed in an explosion today, Tuesday 4 December 2007, in southern Afghanistan.  Two other soldiers were also injured as a result of the blast.   Just after 1300 local time, the soldiers were conducting a tactical patrol to the north of Sangin, Helmand Province, when the vehicle they were travelling in was caught in an explosion.  Medical treatment was provided prior to all three soldiers being evacuated to the field hospital at Camp Bastion. Despite the best efforts of the medical team, one of the soldiers sadly died as a result of his wounds. The other two soldiers are currently receiving further medical treatment and their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening ....



*Board of Inquiry published into loss of Nimrod XV230*
UK Ministry of Defence statement/report, 4 Dec 07 
Article link

The MOD has today published the report of the Board of Inquiry into the tragic loss of Nimrod XV230 in which 14 servicemen lost their lives on 2 September 2006 ....  Des Browne, the Secretary of State for Defence said:  "I pay tribute to the fourteen Service personnel who lost their lives in this tragic incident. My thoughts are with their families and friends and, indeed, the men and women of the Armed Forces who I know feel the loss of their colleagues very deeply.  The Board of Inquiry established the most probable cause of the fire and subsequent loss of XV230 and in doing so identified failings for which the Ministry of Defence must take responsibility. On behalf of the MOD and the Royal Air Force, I would like to apologise to the House of Commons, and most of all to those who lost their lives, and to their families. I am sorry...."


*Leaked aid map of Afghanistan reveals expansion of no-go zones*
Almost half of Afghanistan is now too dangerous for aid workers to operate in, a leaked UN map seen by The Times shows.          
Nick Meo, The Times (UK), 5 Dec 07
Article link

In the past two years most foreign and Afghan staff have withdrawn from the southern half of the country, abandoning or scaling back development projects in rural areas and confining themselves to the cities or the less risky north. The pullback compounds the problems of the Government in Kabul, which has struggled to extend its authority to the regions and provinces, which are increasingly lawless or Taleban controlled.  Development has always been touted as a key factor in Western efforts to win over Afghans and bolster support for President Karzai but in the past six years little has been done on the ground in the critical south and east.  The failure to help ordinary Afghans or to rebuild areas damaged by fighting in provinces such as Helmand has caused huge resentment and is exploited by Taleban propaganda ....


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## MarkOttawa (5 Dec 2007)

Training for Afstan: You read it first in the _El Paso Times_
_The Torch_, Dec. 5 (with video)
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2007/12/training-for-afstan-you-read-it-first.html



> Who knew in the Canadian media? (Via GAP and milnewstbay)...
> http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/threads/68526/post-644269.html#msg644269
> http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/threads/68526/post-644280.html#msg644280



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (6 Dec 2007)

Canadian bomb disposal squad kept busy with 'the long walk' in Afghanistan
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - They are the anonymous ones, soldiers who don't talk about their duties and who have perhaps the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs in the Canadian Forces.

Members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit - EOD in military parlance, the bomb squad in layman's terms - have more than enough work to keep them busy in Afghanistan.

Over the past year, the Taliban have switched from head-on confrontations with coalition troops to devoting most of their time and energy to build improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

Add to that the fact that Afghanistan has more landmines than any other country in the world from 30 years of civil war and a battle against the Soviets, and the problem gets even worse.

A lot of information about the bomb squad is classified and those doing the jobs are reluctant to discuss it.

But Lieut. C. Mackenzie, a veteran EOD specialist, spoke about what it feels like to be in his profession in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Mackenzie is a navy diver. There are bomb experts from the air force, too, working alongside the army; there is just so much work to do getting rid of explosives in Afghanistan.

While new tools, like the Husky mine detection unit, is capable of finding many of the newly hidden IEDs, ultimately it is often the EOD squad that still gets called out.

Mackenzie shies away from suggestions that his job is the most dangerous one in the military.

"I don't like to use the word dangerous," he said with a chuckle.

"My mother said, 'Is it dangerous what you do?' I would say Mom, what I do is hazardous ... At times it can be significantly hazardous, but if it was really dangerous not only would I not be doing it, nobody here would be doing it."
More on link

More than just brothers in arms
 TheStar.com -December 06, 2007 Kim Barry Brunhuber SPECIAL TO THE STAR 
Article Link

Canadians helping to train soldiers in Sierra Leone have found the experience goes far beyond bullets

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone–"Bo! Bo! Bo!" the soldiers shout. They sprint a few metres, drop into the tall grass and aim. Their enemy is an enormous baobab tree. Their bullets are their voices. "Bo! Bo! Bo!" 

"They don't always have money for blanks," Warrant Officer Kevin Junor says, then turns to the Sierra Leonean soldiers who are scurrying for cover. "Don't bunch up! You're firing at the men right in front of you!"

Junor, who lives in Bolton, Ont., is one of 11 Canadians taking part in Operation Sculpture, Canada's contribution to the British-led international military training team in Sierra Leone. Their mission: to help the government rebuild its army following the country's brutal civil war in which government troops committed almost as many atrocities as the rebels.

"We've got lots of experience in a training role," says Lt.-Col. John Feller, commander of the Canadian Forces in Sierra Leone. "Maybe not so much in the jungles of Africa, but the tactics, the leadership skills required are the same around the world."

Not everyone would jump at the chance to live in a country deemed by the United Nations as the poorest on the planet. But for Junor, a reservist who grew up in Jamaica and Scarborough, it was a chance to connect with his family's history. In the 18th century, hundreds of runaway slaves known as Maroons were deported from Jamaica to Canada. Many of them later resettled in Sierra Leone. 

"My wife is a descendant of the Maroons, so this is like home," says Junor, who is with the Toronto Scottish Regiment. But it didn't take long for Junor and the other Canadians – many of whom are in Africa for the first time – to realize that the nearest Timbit was thousands of kilometres away. 

"I came around the corner and there was a monkey cooking on the grill of a fan," says Sgt. Tom Yurkiw of Kemptville, Ont. "Just the smell of the burning hair and everything, I was floored, I couldn't believe it. But that's normal for them in Sierra Leone."

The Canadians say getting used to local customs has been easier than adjusting to the ragtag state of Sierra Leone's army. Some of the soldiers have to share boots. There's often no oil for the guns and no food for the troops. Even elite soldiers have trouble hitting targets. And the idea of military time is all but unknown to the military.
More on link

Sault Legion sends mural to our troops in Afghanistan  
By SooToday.com Staff  SooToday.com Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Article Link 

NEWS RELEASE

BRANCH 25
ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION

*************************
A tree for our troops - a Legion Week project for 2007

With the Christmas season approaching, and with thoughts of our Canadian troops away from their loved ones, Legion Branch 25 of Sault Ste. Marie, has shipped a fabric mural of a decorated Christmas tree to be hung in the communal area at the Kandahar, Afghanistan Canadian Forces Base. 

During Legion Week of 2007 on September 16, Branch 25 of the Royal Canadian Legion in Sault Ste. Marie welcomed local children to help create a fabric craft mural. 

The canvas mural is 12 feet by eight feet and depicts a six-foot white felt tree with over 100 handmade decorations. 

The mural was decorated by over two dozen local children, the Big Sisters Association and school groups over a two-month period. 

Along with a donations from Legion Branch 25, the mural project was supported by Halina Peltonen who operates Arts & Crafts on Wheels. 

This project exceeded the expectations of its organizers not only by the finished product created, but by the care and awareness of the young people who participated in the project. 

The group was not only excited about sending something “cool” to the troops, but wanted to know more about what the soldiers and the Legion once the project was underway. 

Organizers took this opportunity to play a recently produced DVD - Bridging the Generations - as part of the local Veterans Remembrance Project 2007. 
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (6 Dec 2007)

*Germany gets thank-you note from Canadian IED survivor*
Murray Brewster, Canadian Press, 5 Dec 07
Article link

A Canadian officer in Afghanistan sent a personal thank you to the German government after he and his crew rumbling along in a tank borrowed from the NATO ally survived a powerful Taliban roadside bomb blast.  "My crew stumbled upon an (improvised explosive device) and made history as the first (crew) to test the (Leopard 2A6)M-packet," said the unidentified officer in an email to German defence officials about the specially-designed battle tank.  "It worked as it should."  The crew of four was battered by the blast and the driver broke a hip, but otherwise they were fine.  The note, passed to Berlin through a Canadian defence attache, has been quoted in the German media, but Canada's Defence Department was loath to acknowledge its existence.  Interview requests with both army and defence officials in Ottawa were denied and in what has become a troubling pattern for the department, it released only a series of written answers to questions about the incident posed by The Canadian Press.  The 13-line note failed to explain the unprecedented secrecy surrounding the incident ....



*Dutch ISAF Apache track insurgents in Afghanistan*
ISAF news/video release, 28 Nov 07
Link to page of videos

The following short video clips demonstrate how insurgent extremists in Afghanistan deliberately blend with the civilian population by adopting civilian clothing and mixing with children. These clips underscore the operational challenges for the Afghan National Security Forces and ISAF....



*Afghan Security and Aid Top Committees' Agendas  * 
Lee Berthiaume, Embassy, 5 Dec 07
Article link

....Afghanistan's security situation is the worst many NGOs have ever seen, civil society representatives told the committee on Thursday.   They added that Canada's current strategy in the south is making the situation more dangerous.  "This confusion in role between humanitarian and development projects, and military projects is a toxic brew," said Gerry Barr, executive director of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, adding that it leads to failure.  Lina Holguin with Oxfam-Quebec raised concerns about the high number of civilian casualties in NATO airstrikes, adding that recent fighting in the south has displaced up to 80,000 more people ....



*Afghan Mission Still a Priority for Opposition * 
The Liberal and Bloc Québécois defence critics deny they've let the government off the hook on an Afghan mission deadline.  Lee Berthiaume, Embassy, 5 Dec 07
Article link

Defence critics for the Bloc Québécois and federal Liberal Party say they remain committed to seeing Canada's military mission in southern Afghanistan end in February 2009.  However, while the Liberals had threatened prior to the throne speech to use their first opposition day to hold a vote on the motion, the party instead put forward a motion on women's pay equity.  At the same time, Bloc Defence critic Claude Bachand said the government has managed to block the opposition from taking strong action on the file by establishing a panel to examine future options for the mission.  "This is the big difference," he said last week. "We have to wait for what [former Liberal deputy prime minister and panel chariman John Manley's] going to say." ....



*Marines Won’t Move to Afghanistan for Now, Conway Says*
Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service, 5 Dec 07
Article link

The idea of Marine units moving into Afghanistan to replace Army units is off the table for now, the commandant of the Marine Corps said here today.  Gen. James T. Conway said he met with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and discussed the idea of Marine units moving to Afghanistan as they are drawn down from Iraq. “While it doesn’t appear that additional Marine units will be needed in Afghanistan in the near future, we will continue to be ready to respond if called to serve,” Conway said during a Pentagon news conference.  He and the secretary had a good exchange of ideas on the Marine proposal, Conway said. “My point to the secretary was when we are able to draw down in Iraq and it comes time for Marine units to leave the country – should we bring them home or should we start looking at putting them where there is still an active fight, in this case Afghanistan?” he said. “We were prepared to do that. That’s why young Americans join the Marine Corps -- to fight for their country. I think if there’s a fight going on, we need to be there.” ....


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## The Bread Guy (7 Dec 2007)

*Attack leads some to believe Taliban targeting new armoured tanks*
David ********, The Ottawa Citizen, 7 Dec 07
Article link

Afghan insurgents knocked out one of Canada's new Leopard tanks, sparking questions in the military about whether the attack was simply a lucky strike or a signal that enemy forces intend on targeting the armoured vehicles by increasing the amount of explosives used against them.  The Leopard 2A6M, on loan from Germany and outfitted with additional armour and protection to deal with landmines, was damaged beyond repair in an explosion last month. Military investigators believe the blast was caused by a landmine, but there have been suggestions that an improvised explosive device, or IED, was used.  At the time of the incident, the Canadian Forces only stated that a crew member was injured in the explosion, but did not give details about the extent of the damage to the vehicle. Members of Canada's tank community now privately confirm the Leopard was a write-off ....



*Canadian journalist escapes an explosive device*
Martin Croteau, La Presse, 7 Dec 07
GoogleEnglish - original French

A journalist of Radio and the cameraman who accompanied came to a whisker of losing life yesterday in Afghanistan.  Raymond St. Pierre and Sylvain Castonguay technician accompanying a convoy when a military vehicle drove over an explosive device.  St. Pierre was aboard the armored who was overthrown, not far from Kandahar. There were no injuries, nor among journalists nor in the military.  The pair had visited Afghanistan, where he was to produce a report for emitting an hour on earth. Spokesman for the CBC, Marc Pichette, was unable to clarify the circumstances of the accident, nor give details on the state of Saint-Pierre and Castonguay....



*UNICEF boss 'optimistic' on Kandahar projects*
Tobi Cohen, Canadian Press, 6 Dec 07
Article link

Boosting development work in southern Afghanistan is not only possible, it's happening despite heightened security concerns, UNICEF Canada president Nigel Fisher said today.  On his first visit to Afghanistan since 2005, Fisher admitted security is a worry both in southern Afghanistan and Kabul, where two suicide attacks in as many days occurred during his weeklong visit.  Still, Fisher disputed a recent report by the London-based Senlis Council that said the Taliban was regaining ground and suggested relief efforts ought to be handled by the military because it could be accomplished quicker and more efficiently.  "Saying that more than half the country is controlled by Taliban is dismissed by everybody I've talked to so there's a general feeling that (the Senlis Council) have really not done a great service to Afghanistan by over-dramatizing the situation," Fisher said during a stop at Kandahar Airfield ....



*WFP chief condemns killing of humanitarian worker in southern Afghanistan*
World Food Program news release, 6 Dec 07
News release link

The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today condemned the killing of a truck driver in Afghanistan, Ezatollah, while delivering WFP humanitarian assistance on 2 December in one of the most dangerous parts of the country. His assistant was abducted and remains missing.  “We strongly deplore this attack, as we do all acts of aggression against humanitarian workers assisting people in desperate need,” said WFP Executive Director, Josette Sheeran.  “No loss of life can be tolerated. Our deep condolences go to the family of Mr. Ezatollah.”  In the early hours of 2 December, a truck carrying 14 tons of high energy biscuits for WFP was ambushed by armed men on the road from Kandahar to Helmand in southern Afghanistan. The driver was shot dead. In October and November, two other attacks on trucks delivering WFP food occurred in the same area ....



*Moscow wants Canada to extend its Afghan mission*
Gilles Toupin, La Presse, 7 Dec 07
Original in French - GoogEnglish

The Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Canada, Georgiy Mamedov, said that the situation in Afghanistan is still "very difficult" and that the Taliban have not really been weakened by the Canadian military presence on the ground.  "They are still strong," said Georgiy Mamedov during a meeting with a few journalists in the federal capital. For the career diplomat, this is an unfortunate and painful fact that is not in any way a reproach to the Canadian military presence in Kandahar.  "It's in our interest even the most selfish that Canada remains in Afghanistan," he stresses. Because the day you get, we will be alone again.  And geographically, we can not fly to the moon or put our heads in the sand. "....



*Australian troops in Afghanistan ’for a decade’*
Pakistan Tribune, 6 Dec 07
Article link

Australian troops could remain in Afghanistan for more than a decade, a leading intelligence chief says.  The head of the Office of National Assessments Peter Varghese made the prediction in a rare and broad ranging public speech on Wednesday.  "Afghanistan will need heavy international support for 10 years and potentially much longer," Mr Varghese said.  The new Labor government is strongly committed to the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan, a fight that has now been running since late 2001 when former prime minister John Howard committed troops following September 11 ....




*Australian war on Afghanistan opium trade*
Mark Dunn, Herald Sun, 5 Dec 07
Article link 

The Rudd Government is preparing to send several teams of armed Australian Federal Police to help co-ordinate opium crop destruction in war-torn Afghanistan.  About 20 per cent of the heroin on Australian streets comes from Afghanistan.  The first batches appeared in Melbourne in 2004 as Taliban and al-Qaida-controlled crops entered a post-invasion boom phase.  About 12 federal police agents and a team of Australian civilian agricultural experts will be sent to Afghanistan, where they will travel in armoured vehicles and be guarded by private security contractors.  Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is expected to announce details of their deployment in the next few weeks.  Although the "Golden Triangle" of Burma, Laos and Thailand remains the major source of heroin into Australia, the growth in smuggling from Afghanistan to Australia has alarmed authorities ....



*Dutch hearing on Afghanistan gets under way*
Radio Netherlands, 7 Dec 07
Article link - permalink

The Lower House of the Dutch Parliament is holding a hearing on the Netherlands' mission in Afghanistan today. Representatives of NATO, the military, and aid organisations will testify at the hearing, as well as experts and government officials.  The first person to appear at the hearing is Afghan defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has said he will not be attending, much to the irritation of many Dutch MPs. The aim of the hearing is to pave the way for a parliamentary debate on extending the Dutch mission in the Afghan province of Uruzgan until 2010 ....


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## GAP (7 Dec 2007)

*Articles found November 7, 2007*

Crew safe, but Afghan insurgents total our best tank
David ******** , CanWest News Service Published: Thursday, December 06, 2007
Article Link

Afghan insurgents knocked out one of Canada's new Leopard tanks, sparking questions in the military about whether the attack was simply lucky or a signal that enemy forces intend to target the armored vehicles by increasing the amount of explosives used against them.

The Leopard 2A6M, on loan from Germany and outfitted with additional armour and protection to deal with landmines, was damaged beyond repair in an explosion last month. Military investigators believe the blast was caused by a landmine but there have been suggestions that an improvised explosive device or IED was used.

At the time of the incident the Canadian Forces only stated a crew member was injured in the explosion but did not give details about damage to the vehicle. Members of Canada's tank community now privately confirm the Leopard was a write-off.
More on link

Army lays down law on care parcels for Afghanistan troops
  CanWest News Service Thursday, December 06, 2007
Article Link

OTTAWA -- People wanting to show their support for troops in Afghanistan by sending parcels are being advised that certain rules need to be followed.

The Canadian Forces want people to know that care packages or other parcels addressed to "Any CF member" will not be delivered.

"This outpouring of support and generosity is very much appreciated," the army said. "Canadians should take note, however, that the resupply system cannot handle care packages addressed to 'Any CF member,' for a variety of reasons, including security and volume."

Space is limited on flights to military operations such as those in Afghanistan, so the Canadian Forces can't take anything and everything.

Postcards and letters addressed to "Any CF member" are acceptable, however, as are parcels addressed to a specific soldier. For packages to be delivered, they must include a soldier's full name, rank and the name of the operation. The guidelines also include restrictions on the size and weight of packages, which must also conform with certain customs rules.

For friends and family of deployed soldiers, Canada Post is offering free parcel delivery during the Christmas period, which runs until Jan.15. Canada Post should be contacted for more details on the offer.
More on link

Failed strategy connects Afghan fields, city streets
 TheStar.com - December 07, 2007  David Eaves Taylor Owen
Article Link

In the coming months, under the leadership of the former U.S. ambassador to Colombia, U.S. private contractors will likely attempt to fumigate poppies in Afghanistan. Around the same time, the Canadian government will decide whether to shut down the Insite supervised injection site in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

The two policies are inextricably linked and unambiguously bad. 

In April, the United States appointed William Wood, nicknamed "Chemical Bill," its new ambassador to Afghanistan. In his previous post, Wood championed and oversaw the fumigation of large swaths of the Colombian countryside. The result? For every 67 acres sprayed, only one acre of coca was eradicated. Moreover, production increased by 36 per cent. In addition, the spraying negatively impacted legitimate crops, contaminated water supplies and increased respiratory infections among the exposed populations.

Wood is in Kabul for a single reason – to execute a similar plan in Afghanistan. Poppy production, once held in check by the Taliban government, is exploding – up 60 per cent in 2006. Poppies yield 10 times the value of wheat, so it is unsurprising that about 10 per cent of an otherwise impoverished Afghan population partakes in the illicit poppy harvest. It earns them upwards of $3 billion (U.S.) a year, or roughly 65 per cent of Afghan GDP. 

The short-term economic costs and long-term development and health impacts of fumigation will be borne by those whose livelihoods are both directly and indirectly connected to poppy cultivation. Spraying could easily cause public opinion to turn against the Karzai administration and NATO forces, further compromising the mission and increasing the danger to Canadian soldiers.

Given the increased risks this policy poses to both our soldiers and the overall mission, the government's silence is unconscionable. Others have not been so quiet. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently observed that there is little international support for fumigation. He announced an alternative policy to wean farmers off of opium, one that includes an ambitious plan to top up payments for legal crops, such as wheat.
More on link

A giant card from Canada
Shoppers can send Christmas greetings
Ian Austin The Province Friday, December 07, 2007
Article Link

Soldiers stationed overseas will be getting some giant-size greetings this Christmas.

Sears Canada, along with the Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency, is circulating 23 oversized Christmas cards and inviting shoppers to send soldiers their best wishes.

"In a season that's full of get-togethers, we are always worried about where our loved ones are and concerned for their safety," said Barb Lapointe at Sears on Robson, where one of the cards was unveiled yesterday.

"When my daughter was two years old, my husband was in Afghanistan."

Yesterday Lapointe brought along her latest edition, baby Declan, just 10 weeks old, who cried for his mama while she told her tale to the assembled media.

"When the soldiers see the cards, they will know that they have been signed by someone in Canada.

"I don't think anyone can realize how powerful that is -- they're in a foreign land."

Teresa Foreman, whose son Master Cpl. Jason Foreman is stationed in Afghanistan, said she welcomes the Christmas-card concept.

"It's wonderful," she said. "I hope it makes people aware what people are doing over there."

Her husband, Len Foreman, said signing the cards will show the troops they enjoy public support: "It's nice for them to know that people are thinking of them and supporting them."
More on link

Treating Afghan kids hurt in roadside blast: day in life of Canadian medics
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - It was a scene not altogether uncommon for Canadian soldiers at Forward Operating Base Wilson: a passing Toyota Corolla brimming with four Afghan adults and five children rolled over an improvised explosive device and exploded.

The adults were killed instantly by the blast last week in the volatile Zhari district of Kandahar province.

The five terrified and injured children were swept away by the Canadians - gun-toting foreigners in military fatigues to them at the time - to be treated for shock, broken bones and lacerations.

"At first it was OK. They understood. We brought them toys to show them we were their friends and we were there to help them," Cpl. Patrick Aucoin said Wednesday during an interview at Kandahar Airfield.

"After about an hour they wanted to go home and see their parents, so it started to get delicate at that moment."

The ambulance driver was reading a book in his tent when a security patrol who had come upon the accident began rounding up medical technicians and those versed in critical combat care to help tend to the injured children, who ranged in age from four to 13 years old.

The oldest and most severely injured child was airlifted by helicopter to the military hospital in Kandahar, while the others were stabilized at FOB Wilson before they were taken to Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar City.
More on link

Afghan, Coalition forces foil Taliban ambush in Afghanistan  
 www.chinaview.cn  2007-12-07 16:34:21      Print 
  Article Link

    KABUL, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and the U.S.-led Coalition soldiers foiled a Taliban ambush in Kariz-e Sadeqin area of western Afghan Farah province on Dec. 5, said a Coalition statement issued here Friday. 

    "The combined force was conducting a reconnaissance mission fora weapons cache when two squad-size elements of insurgents ambushed them with small-arms, rocket and indirect fire," the statement said. 

    ANSF returned small-arms and mortar fire, which allowed them to out-maneuver the insurgent forces and engage them with close air support, it said. 

    "The combined forces overwhelmed the insurgents with superior firepower, despite the arrival of enemy reinforcements," the Coalition statement further added. 

    It however did not give the figure of casualties on the militants. 
More on link

UN food agency driver shot dead in Afghanistan
Thu Dec 6, 2007 2:58pm GMT 
Article Link

ROME, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The United Nations food aid agency said on Thursday one of its workers had been shot dead in an ambush while driving emergency rations through Afghanistan.

The World Food Program (WFP) said the Afghan man named Ezatollah had been driving a truck carrying 14 tons of high energy biscuits from Kandahar to Helmand in the early hours of Sunday when it was attacked.

The driver's assistant was abducted and has not been seen since, it said. The truck has not been recovered. 

"We strongly deplore this attack, as we do all acts of aggression against humanitarian workers assisting people in desperate need," WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said in a statement. 
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (7 Dec 2007)

NATO discusses "super envoy" for Afghanistan; Poland offers helicopters
AP, Dec. 7
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/07/europe/EU-GEN-NATO-Afghanistan.php



> NATO foreign ministers discussed Friday the possible appointment of an international "super envoy" to coordinate civilian and military efforts better in Afghanistan.
> 
> "Allies believe there is a need for greater coordination across the spectrum," alliance spokesman James Appathurai said.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## The Bread Guy (7 Dec 2007)

*"AFGHANISTAN:  Trends in Conflict and Cooperation"*
FAST Update, swisspeace.org, No 5 (October to November 2007), issued 6 Dec 07
Report link (.pdf)

Outlook:  Given the reluctance of involved countries to significantly increase their troops, the international troops’ supremacy over the Taliban will continue to depend on aerial strikes, which raises the risk of civilian casualties.  Taliban violence might, however, decline in the winter months because many of the infiltration routes from Pakistan will be blocked. This pattern was observed throughout past years, although it will be less marked this year due to shifting combat techniques. Political polarization is expected to intensify while local power holders consolidate their power bases. Given the current high prices for basic commodities, a harsh winter would add an additional strain on the Afghan population.


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## MarkOttawa (8 Dec 2007)

ARTICLES FOUND DEC. 8

Troops close in on Taliban town, NATO soldier killed: ministry
AFP, Dec. 8
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hAI2J-W7-f-Fke1RBQUiwbjvznuA



> Troops closed in on a Taliban-held town Saturday as a major operation to reclaim the area killed 15 including a NATO soldier and two children, the defence ministry said.
> 
> Ground troops were approaching Musa Qala from three directions, the ministry said, after deploying from helicopters Friday to kick-off a long-awaited assault to eject Taliban rebels who stormed in 10 months ago.
> 
> ...



Afghanistan: troops to stay on
Sydney Morning Herald, Dec. 9
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/afghanistan-troops-to-stay-on/2007/12/08/1196813079401.html

Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (8 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 8, 2007*

How we put our foot in it, in Afghanistan
JEFFREY SIMPSON From Saturday's Globe and Mail December 7, 2007 at 8:19 PM EST
Article Link

‘It is almost always far easier to get in than it is to get out,” write Janice Gross Stein and Eugene Lang in their must-read book about how Canada wound up in Kandahar.

Canada involved itself in that volatile Afghan province based on almost entirely false premises. Now there is no easy way out.

No NATO country wants to replace us, but Canada cannot leave Kandahar unoccupied, for it would soon be overrun by the Taliban and its disparate allies. Canada cannot leave without inviting defeat; Canada cannot stay with any reasonable assurance of success.

Canada is fighting a counterinsurgency war – against almost all the rules of that kind of combat. Our soldiers are undoubtedly brave and skilled, but there are too few of them, as there are too few NATO forces for the entire country. The ratio of troops to insurgents needed to “win” such a conflict is too low; the ratio of military to development deployment is too large.

The enemy has easy recourse to escape (into the hills, over the border to Pakistan), to money (from the drug trade, extortion and sympathizers elsewhere) and to time. Some of our allies in the Afghan government are corrupt; some of our allies in NATO are craven.
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Afghanistan: troops to stay on
Tom Hyland December 9, 2007
Article Link

AUSTRALIAN troops will remain in Afghanistan until at least 2010 - doubling the original two-year commitment - in a decision that has not been formally announced or debated.

This was revealed by the Dutch Government, which is extending its Afghan deployment until August 2010, in part because it says the Australians will also extend their stay.

When the Howard government sent reconstruction troops to Afghanistan in August last year, it said they were going for two years.

The Dutch announcement reveals Australia's deployment has blown out to at least four years, as defence chiefs warn that defeating the Taliban and securing Afghanistan could take at least a decade.
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Good News...Saturday?!!! (B*N*S*N3)  
Article Link

In the US there are many campaigns to send holiday cheer to troops in the sandbox. One of those is the Holiday for Heroes that Soldiers' Angels does annually. I have written about that before. Canada has it's own campaigns, as Canadians also send greetings to show that our troops are remembered as they are far from family and loved ones at Christmas

Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency (CFPSA) and a number of partners have joined together to create gift baskets for 3,250 Canadians deployed in Afghanistan, the 260 individuals on HMCS Charlottetown, and all other military personnel serving with the 17 operations Canada is currently involved in. 

The gift baskets were put together and shipped from 25 Canadian Forces Supply Depot (25 CFSD) during the last week of October and will be opened by the recipients during the Christmas holiday season. 

Packaging gifts for thousands of people is a major task, one which Michel Millette, the manager of special projects at 25 CFSD, is overjoyed to be part of`. "I love taking a part in this, it's the highlight of my year," he said. "Every deployed soldier and sailor has received a gift at Christmas since 1998. It's something special."
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NATO allies lend choppers to Afghan fight
Ministers unable to secure more troops
Mike Blanchfield, CanWest News Service  Published: Friday, December 07, 2007
Article Link

Canada continued to press some of its reluctant NATO allies Friday to contribute more to front-line fighting in southern Afghanistan, but had to settle for a few more Polish helicopters.

NATO foreign ministers ended their two days of meetings in Brussels on Friday by issuing a communique that stressed the need to more effectively deliver additional reconstruction help to legitimize the government of President Hamid Karzai, singling out the role of provincial reconstruction teams -- such as the one operated by Canada in Kandahar city -- as a crucial element.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier also got behind a push to create a new "super envoy" to better focus the international efforts on Afghanistan.

But Mr. Bernier wasn't able to significantly break new ground in an area that is crucial to Canada and its British, American and Dutch allies: persuading some reluctant NATO allies to lift caveats, or restrictions, which prevent them from fighting in the south, where the Taliban insurgency is strongest and where casualties have been the greatest
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Trees for Troops
Military families getting generous Christmas gift
Paul J. Henderson, The Times Published: Friday, December 07, 2007
Article Link

While artificial trees may be popular, for many families nothing says Christmas like the visceral experience of having a real live tree in the living room.

The trip to the farm, picking out and then hauling a nice bushy one back home, a trail of needles through the hallway, and finally the look, feel and smell of a real conifer is a tradition to hold onto.

In a show of support for Canadian troops overseas, Christmas tree growers across Canada including Pine Meadows Tree Farms in Chilliwack will be giving trees to the families of troops in Afghanistan.
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NATO nations make new offers of troops and equipment to Afghanistan
Article Link

BRUSSELS (AFP) — NATO nations on Friday made new offers of troops and equipment for Afghanistan, but the alliance is still seeking aircraft and at least 1,000 more military personnel, a spokesman said.

"A number of ministers mentioned the increased number of contributions that they would be making," spokesman James Appathurai said, after talks between NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

He said that Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski "set out what will be an increased Polish contribution, including attack and transport helicopters and a significant number of troops -- more than we had foreseen."

Appathurai said the Czech Republic would also be setting up a provincial reconstruction team -- a civilian-military team helping to foster rebuilding in areas outside the Afghan capital Kabul.

Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer noted that the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force had swelled to 43,000 troops from 39 contributing nations.

Nevertheless ISAF is still looking for troops and equipment as it battles a tenacious Taliban-led insurgency, particularly in the south of Afghanistan.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (8 Dec 2007)

A deadly Afghan battle like none other
Sunday Telegraph, Dec. 9
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/09/wafg209.xml&DCMP=EMC-new_09122007


> ...
> More British forces are being used in this action than in any other battle in Afghanistan: anything up to 3,000 of the total force of 7,000 in the country, although commanders refused to be specific.
> 
> The plan is for the most difficult house-to-house fighting to be left to the soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) which, with British training, has grown from a ragtag collection of volunteers to a professional force capable of holding its own in battle.
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (9 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 9, 2007*

A final farewell to Quebec soldiers
Returned home Killed in battle with insurgents
DAVID JOHNSTON, The Gazette 
Article Link

From Kandahar, Afghanistan, to Trenton, Ont., and then from Trenton to Toronto, before finally coming home to their final resting place in Quebec.

This is the last journey taken by all Quebec soldiers killed in Afghanistan - including Cpl. Nicolas Beauchamp and Pte. Michel Lévesque, whose separate funerals were held yesterday.

But there was a difference.
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Afghan army capture insurgents' weapons in W Afghanistan   
 www.chinaview.cn  2007-12-09 17:19:53      Print 
Article Link

    KABUL, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Afghan National Army (ANA) along with the U.S.-led Coalition forces captured insurgents' weapons in the western Afghan province of Herat on Dec. 6, said a Coalition statement released here on Sunday. 

    The ANA, acting on credible information, followed leads to insurgent weapons caches at two different sites in a narrow ravine in the mountains of Khusf in Herat, the statement said. 

    ANA soldiers climbed 200 meters up a sheer rock face, then down into the ravine to discover 19-107 mm rounds stacked inside, it said. 

    The troops also searched a large cave in the ravine where they located an additional 16-107 mm rounds, it further said. 

    "The ANA troops displayed great courage in their successful effort to deny the insurgents access to critical supplies," said a Coalition soldier. 
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Think Tank Offers Wise Advice fo Afghanistan Panel
 Saturday, December 08, 2007
Article Link

Senlis Council offers sound advice for Afghanistan panel

In testimony before the federal government's Afghanistan Panel, Senlis Council president Norine MacDonald offered what the Senlis council feels would be a rudimentary roadmap to success in Afghanistan.

The council recommends the following:

-Shifting responsibility for delivering aid to civilians in Khandahar from the Canadian International Development Agency to the Canadian Armed Forces in the short term.

-Planning CIDA's role in Afghanistan over the medium- to long-term in order to boost the Agency's effectiveness in the region.

-Calling a NATO meeting to discuss sharing of the Afghanistan mission with non-NATO countries, and increasing the troop presence in Afghanistan to 80,000.

-Adoping a "zero civilian casualties" policy to ensure that any and all civilian casualties are prevented.
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Wheat crisis: ‘Higher exports to Afghanistan lead to flour shortage’
By Ijaz Kakakhel
Article Link

ISLAMABAD: Export of wheat flour to Afghanistan in large quantities lead to a flour shortage in the country that forms the very genesis of the current wheat crisis, officials in the ministry of food, agriculture and livestock (MINFAL) told Daily Times here on Saturday. 

As usual 1,200 to 1,300 tonnes of flour was exported to Afghanistan per day and the government made proper preparation for it but recently about 2,000 tonnes of wheat were exported to Afghanistan, said Additional Secretary and Spokesman, MINFAL Raja Hussain Shahid. The demand for flour has jumped up in Afghanistan that was why the export to Afghanistan increases. 

In order to ensure smooth supply of flour in domestic market, the government has imposed 35 percent duty on export of the commodity to Afghanistan. However, the imposition of such duty has no impact on export of wheat flour to Afghanistan due to higher demand as well as higher prices there, he maintained. 

The government provides subsidy on wheat to flour mills for selling the commodity in local markets on lower prices. But the millers are exporting the commodity to Afghanistan to earn abnormal profits instead of selling it in the local markets. 
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Canada In Afghanistan – A Pointless Accident
Article Link

Canada has been, and remains, in Afghanistan as a way of not being in Iraq.   

All through the book, governments and especially the military worried incessantly about how the Americans would react to this or that decision.   Chief of the Defence Staff Rick Hillier drove the Kandahar mission. 

Canada cannot leave without inviting defeat; Canada cannot stay with any reasonable assurance of success.

Canada is fighting a counterinsurgency war – against almost all the rules of that kind of combat. 
- there are too few soldiers there, as there are too few NATO forces for the entire country.
- the Taliban has easy access to escape, money and to time.
- many in the Afghan government are corrupt
- we are trying to win the “hearts and minds” of a people we barely know
- we are aliens to their culture. - we have brought them some security, but not enough 
- we have delivered some assistance, but not enough 

The top civilian policy-maker in the Department of Defence, in 2003 said “We don't know anything about this country.”

The goal of commitment has never been clear, 
- in 2002, a short-term combat mission 
- in 2003-04, to a stabilization mission, 
- later a lead role in Kandahar
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To save mediaeval minarets, Afghans close road
Sat Dec 8, 2007 2:02am EST
Article Link

KABUL, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Afghanistan has closed a road that threatened the foundation of a group of mediaeval minarets which Kabul wants to see listed among the World's Cultural Heritage sites.

The minarets, standing at more than 100 feet (30 metres), are all that remain of what was once a brilliantly decorated complex for Islamic learning and devotion along the Silk Road on the outskirts of the western city of Herat.

Just over a century ago, more than a dozen minarets stood in Herat, part of a madrasa-mosque complex built in the 15th century.

Most of the camel-coloured, mud-brick towers, which were once sheathed in sparkling blue, green, white and black mosaic tiles, have toppled during decades of war and neglect.

Experts had hoped the end of Taliban rule in 2001 and the advent of a new government would save the remaining towers.

However, the city's new-found wealth in the post-Taliban era had served only to heighten concerns about the towers' stability.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (9 Dec 2007)

Canadian troops shut down bomb-making facility
CTV, Dec. 9
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071209/musa_qala_071209/20071209?hub=TopStories



> Canadian forces clashed with the Taliban in Panjwaii district Saturday during a raid to disrupt bomb-making in the area.
> 
> CTV's Murray Oliver told CTV Newsnet from Kandahar on Sunday that the one-day raid by Canadian and Afghan forces, as well as *troops from Nepal* [emphasis added],
> http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/GurkhaBattalionJoinsAnaAndIsafEffortInUpperGereshkValley.htm
> ...



Jonathan Kay on one of the best articles ever to be written about the war in Afghanistan
_National Post_ blog, Dec. 9
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2007/12/09/jonathan-kay-on-one-of-the-best-articles-ever-to-be-written-about-the-war-in-afghanistan.aspx



> The January, 2008 issue of _Vanity Fair_ has an extraordinary article about the war in Afghanistan by Sebastian Unger, who embedded earlier this year in the singularly violent Korengal Valley with a platoon from Battle Company, part of the Second Battaltion of America's 503rd Infantry Regiment (airborne).
> http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/01/afghanistan200801
> 
> To read this article is to appreciate that thousands of American troops in Afghanistan are facing conditions as bad, or worse, than our own Canadian fighters. The portrayal of day-to-day life at a front-line firebase in this area of eastern Afghanistan is truly terrifying.
> ...



Australia denies plan to keep troops in Afghanistan to 2010
AFP, Dec. 9
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071209/wl_afp/australiaafghanistannetherlandsmilitary_071209100529;_ylt=ArmjDvXuibr0AW8zqQDjV8qQOrgF



> The Australian government on Sunday denied reports that it has made a commitment to keep Australian troops in Afghanistan until 2010.
> 
> The denial came in response to newspaper reports that the Dutch government had told its parliament that Australia would join in an extension of troop deployments until that time.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (9 Dec 2007)

Airmen Help Deliver Helicopters to Afghan Military
_defense-aerospace.com_, Dec. 17
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?session=dae.31574760.1197230038.1yqn0H8AAAEAAEXQGNsAAAAM&modele=jdc_34



> (Source: US Air Force; issued Dec. 6, 2007)
> 
> KABUL, Afghanistan --- Airmen from Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan Combined Air Power Transition Force help deliver the first three of 12 refurbished Soviet helicopters Dec. 5 at Kabul, Afghanistan.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## The Bread Guy (10 Dec 2007)

*Canadian and Afghan troops capture IED factory in Panjwai-area*
Canadian Press, 9 Dec 07
Article link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A coalition force led by Canadian soldiers captured a Taliban explosives factory and cleared insurgents operating around a highway in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province.  The Canadian military says a Canadian unit, a company of Afghan army troops and a Nepalese company backed by artillery and air support took on insurgent elements that had been operating around Highway One.  The military says the explosives factory that was captured Saturday produced improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.  Kandahar Police Chief Sayed Aka Fakid claims that coalition forces killed 30 insurgents and wounded nine more ....

*Canadians open new front against Taliban*
Push into insurgents' territory part of a flurry of NATO activity in southern Afghanistan as winter starts to impede enemy's movement
GRAEME SMITH, Globe & Mail, 10 Dec 07
Article link - permalink

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- A Canadian-led offensive opened a new front against the Taliban in Kandahar this weekend, adding pressure on the insurgents as they also faced a major attack from NATO and Afghan forces in neighbouring Helmand.  Canadian soldiers and their allies advanced on foot into the fields around Zangabad, a village about 40 kilometres southwest of Kandahar city, at daybreak on Saturday. An Afghan military statement later said 10 insurgents were killed in the attack, but a Canadian commander said the number was higher, without giving details.  Under the name Operation Sure Thing, the offensive marked the first time Canada's battle group has fought alongside the famed Gurkhas, soldiers of Nepalese origins who have fought under British command since the 1800s. Afghan soldiers also joined the fight.  The Canadians made their push into Taliban territory at the same time as British and U.S. forces continue to lead an effort to recapture Musa Qala, a town in northern Helmand province that the insurgents had used as a model for their alternative system of government ....



*Afghan troops enter Taliban stronghold town*
Hamid Shalizi, Reuters, 10 Dec 07 11:27:37 GMT
Article link

Afghan army troops entered the town of Musa Qala on Monday, the fourth day of a large offensive to capture the only sizeable town controlled by Taliban insurgents, a spokesman for the NATO-led force said.  "The Afghan National Army has entered the district centre of Musa Qala," said International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman Major Charles Anthony.  He said the Afghan army was not yet in control of the town, which has been surrounded by mainly British and U.S. troops in an operation to retake it that began on Friday.  A British army spokesman said forces were pushing into the town, but it had not been captured.  As the only sizeable town in Taliban hands, Musa Qala, in Helmand province, is symbolic for both sides in the conflict and its capture would be a major military boost for the Afghan government and its Western backers ....


*Afghan troops enter Taleban town*
BBC Online, 10 Dec 07, 11:57 GMT
Article link

Afghan army troops have penetrated the heart of the Taleban-held town of Musa Qala, according to a spokesman for the Nato-led force in Afghanistan.  Isaf's Major Charles Anthony said Afghan National Army troops "are in the centre of the town", which is the only major Afghan centre in Taleban hands.  Afghan, US and UK troops have been fighting Taleban there since Friday.  The Taleban took over Musa Qala in February, despite a deal struck with tribal elders when UK troops withdrew.  It has since become the main centre of drugs trading in Afghanistan, the BBC's David Loyn in Kabul says ....


*Afghan Forces Take Taliban Town*
ASSOCIATED PRESS, 10 Dec 07
Article link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan and international forces have retaken a southern town held by Taliban militants since February, the Defense Ministry spokesman said Monday.  Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said that Afghan, British and U.S. forces had ''completely captured'' Musa Qala, a town in the poppy growing belt of northern Helmand province. He said fighting was continuing around the town ....


*Afghan troops enter Musa Qala: NATO-led force*
Agence France Presse, 10 Dec 07, 06:53ET
Article link

Afghan troops Monday entered the town of Musa Qala which had been captured by Taliban rebels 10 months ago and become a key insurgent base, the NATO-led force said.  "The ANA (Afghan National Army) have entered the district centre. They are in the centre of the town," a spokesman for the NATO-led force, Major Charles Anthony, told AFP.  The Afghan defence ministry issued a statement saying the Afghan and NATO troops had entered the Musa Qala district, of which the town is the centre, and had started cleaning up operations.  It could not immediately be reached to confirm the troops had entered the town of the same name.  But a British military spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Eaton, said he could not confirm the town had been recaptured by security forces.  "The operation to liberate Musa Qala from the Taliban is continuing," he told AFP. "I can't confirm that it has been completely captured although it will be soon." ....



*Helmand governor offers amnesty to Afghan Taliban*
bakhtarnews.com.af, 9 Dec 07
Article link - permalink

With a final push underway in a militant-held southern district of the insurgency-plagued Helmand province, a senior government official Saturday announced a general amnesty for Afghan militants in Musa Qala.  Many fighters are believed to have been eliminated in the operation that began a day earlier. The Coalition claimed killing a Taliban commander along with a number of supporters in attacks on their hideouts in the beleaguered area.  Also blown up were dumps of weapons belonging to the rebels, said the US-led forces without giving an exact number of the casualties inflicted on Taliban. The arms were destroyed in explosions, whose cause could not be ascertained immediately.  In an exclusive interviw , Governor Asadullah Wafa asserted considerable progress made by Afghan and international forces during the five-day crackdown aimed at flushing the militants out of the restive town. Thousands of people are said to have fled hostilities in the area ....



*Sergeant Lee Johnson of 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment killed in Afghanistan*
UK Ministry of Defence statement, 9 Dec 07
Article link

It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of Sergeant Lee Johnson of 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) yesterday, Saturday 8 December 2007, in southern Afghanistan.  Shortly before 1010 hours local time Sergeant Johnson was taking part in operations to recapture the town of Musa Qaleh in Helmand Province when an explosive device detonated - suspected to be a mine - resulting in the death of Sergeant Johnson and inflicting serious injuries to another soldier in the same vehicle ....  Lee Johnson was born on 7 June 1974 in Stockton-on-Tees and started his basic training on 30 July 1990.  Upon completion of this he joined the 1st Battalion The Green Howards.  He served in Canada, Germany, Belize and the United Kingdom, and deployed to the following theatres: Northern Ireland 5 times, the former Yugoslavia once and twice to Afghanistan.  Sergeant Johnson joined B Company as a new recruit and served virtually his whole career in that company.  It was fitting that when recently promoted to the rank of sergeant and appointed Platoon Sergeant, it was in B Company.  An accomplished sportsman, he represented the Battalion at boxing and the Army at Judo ....


----------



## GAP (10 Dec 2007)

*Articles found November 10, 2007*

Canadians open new front against Taliban
Push into insurgents' territory part of a flurry of NATO activity in southern Afghanistan as winter starts to impede enemy's movement
GRAEME SMITH December 10, 2007
Article Link

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- A Canadian-led offensive opened a new front against the Taliban in Kandahar this weekend, adding pressure on the insurgents as they also faced a major attack from NATO and Afghan forces in neighbouring Helmand.

Canadian soldiers and their allies advanced on foot into the fields around Zangabad, a village about 40 kilometres southwest of Kandahar city, at daybreak on Saturday. An Afghan military statement later said 10 insurgents were killed in the attack, but a Canadian commander said the number was higher, without giving details.

Under the name Operation Sure Thing, the offensive marked the first time Canada's battle group has fought alongside the famed Gurkhas, soldiers of Nepalese origins who have fought under British command since the 1800s. Afghan soldiers also joined the fight.

The Canadians made their push into Taliban territory at the same time as British and U.S. forces continue to lead an effort to recapture Musa Qala, a town in northern Helmand province that the insurgents had used as a model for their alternative system of government.
More on link

Canadian and Afghan troops capture IED factory in Panjwai-area
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A coalition force led by Canadian soldiers captured a Taliban explosives factory and cleared insurgents operating around a highway in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province.

The Canadian military says a Canadian unit, a company of Afghan army troops and a Nepalese company backed by artillery and air support took on insurgent elements that had been operating around Highway One.

The military says the explosives factory that was captured Saturday produced improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

Kandahar Police Chief Sayed Aka Fakid claims that coalition forces killed 30 insurgents and wounded nine more.

There were no Canadian casualties and only one Afghan soldier was wounded.

Panjwai district has been the scene of bitter fighting off and on for the past couple of years.
More on link

BROWN: Prime minister arrives in Afghanistan as battle rages
MICHAEL SETTLE, Chief UK Political Correspondent December 10 2007 
Article Link

Gordon Brown today arrived in Afghanistan as a key battle continued to take a Taliban-controlled town.

The Prime minister flew in as troops fought in Musa Qala just 70 miles away.

The Prime Minister praised the courage of troops injured in the assault and paid tribute to the two killed.
More on link

Guarding our troops
 Dec 10, 2007 04:30 AM 
Article Link
Members of the Canadian Forces already have enough on their plates without having to worry about things like health coverage and job security. So it is welcome news that all parties in the Ontario Legislature have set aside partisan differences to support a law that would ease the burden many military families face. 

The law, which was introduced and passed on Monday, would provide immediate access to provincial health coverage for military families posted to Ontario from other provinces or overseas, waiving the 90-day waiting period new residents normally must meet to qualify. The Ontario government estimates the measure will help some 8,500 members of military families every year. 

The legislation also will protect the jobs of military reservists who go on active duty within Canada or overseas. Part-time soldiers who have worked for their civilian employers for at least six months will be guaranteed their old positions, or comparable ones, when they return home from military missions. 

This measure rightly gives 12,000 reservists from Ontario, including several hundred who are on active duty at any one time, the assurance that serving their country will not mean sacrificing their livelihoods.

Members of Canada's military are selflessly promoting our national interests at home, as well as abroad in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Removing these hurdles is the least we can do in return.
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U.S-led air strike kills insurgents in Afghanistan
Mon Dec 10, 2007 1:34am
Article Link

KABUL, Dec 10 (Reuters) - U.S-led coalition forces killed several Taliban militants in an air strike in the southern Afghan province of Helmand where troops are trying to recapture a big rebel stronghold, the coalition said.

Sunday's raid was aimed at a Taliban weapons supplier in Musa Qala district where Afghan and foreign forces have been engaged in fighting insurgents and foreign fighters since Friday.

"Coalition forces conducted a precision strike targeting a Taliban weapons smuggler known to equip extremist forces with various types of weapons and explosives including anti-aircraft weaponry", the statement said.

"Reports also indicate the individual is linked with attacks on Coalition forces aircraft", the statement added.
More on link


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## GAP (11 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 11, 2007*

Our people in Sierra Leone  
Good on the Toronto Star for noticing CF members in one of their lesser-known foreign missions:
Monday, December 10, 2007
Article Link

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone–"Bo! Bo! Bo!" the soldiers shout. They sprint a few metres, drop into the tall grass and aim. Their enemy is an enormous baobab tree. Their bullets are their voices. "Bo! Bo! Bo!"

"They don't always have money for blanks," Warrant Officer Kevin Junor says, then turns to the Sierra Leonean soldiers who are scurrying for cover. "Don't bunch up! You're firing at the men right in front of you!"

Junor, who lives in Bolton, Ont., is one of 11 Canadians taking part in Operation Sculpture, Canada's contribution to the British-led international military training team in Sierra Leone. Their mission: to help the government rebuild its army following the country's brutal civil war in which government troops committed almost as many atrocities as the rebels.

"We've got lots of experience in a training role," says Lt.-Col. John Feller, commander of the Canadian Forces in Sierra Leone. "Maybe not so much in the jungles of Africa, but the tactics, the leadership skills required are the same around the world."

Not everyone would jump at the chance to live in a country deemed by the United Nations as the poorest on the planet. But for Junor, a reservist who grew up in Jamaica and Scarborough, it was a chance to connect with his family's history. In the 18th century, hundreds of runaway slaves known as Maroons were deported from Jamaica to Canada. Many of them later resettled in Sierra Leone.

"My wife is a descendant of the Maroons, so this is like home," says Junor, who is with the Toronto Scottish Regiment. But it didn't take long for Junor and the other Canadians – many of whom are in Africa for the first time – to realize that the nearest Timbit was thousands of kilometres away...

Most, including the Canadian commander, are reservists. Junor, for example, normally works as a change management consultant at Ontario's transportation ministry. Because of Canada's commitment of 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, other missions like Operation Sculpture are forced to call on reservists. Some soldiers say Canada's military is more overstretched now than it was during the war in Bosnia.

"It kicked the living crap out of us then, and now they're doing it again in Afghanistan," says reservist Tom France. "We're here because the regulars, the guys in the battalions, are all in Afghanistan. ... It's hard. It burns guys out."
More on link

Huge Pearl Harbor Day air assault on Afghanistan
Kicking out the Taliban
Posted: December 10, 2007 By Matt Sanchez - WND
Article Link

American soldiers from Task Force 1-508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, using Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters, just participated in one of the largest air assaults in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001.

It was Dec. 7, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, and these U.S. infantrymen were taking part in Operation Mar Karadad, their particular contribution to the fight being an air assault on the Taliban-dominated district of Musa Qala in the southern Afghan province of Helmand.

Although the Musa Qala area of operations belongs to British forces stationed nearby in the Bastian Forward Operating Base, Task Force 1-508th – nicknamed the Red Devils, and who fight under the motto “Fury from the Sky” – launched its attack from the Canadian-controlled Kandahar Air Field, or KAF, in the neighboring province of Kandahar.

The district of Musa Qala is a small commercial center peppered with traditional Afghan calats – living quarters of entire Afghan communities surrounded by an outer wall and forming a compound. Helmand Province is known for being the world leader for the cultivation of poppies, an opiate flower seasonally harvested by local farmers to produce heroin. Sales from heroin have bankrolled Taliban violence, as members of this Islamic terrorist movement have sought to usurp the federal government of President Hamid Karzai.
More on link

Soldiers’ care packages blocked
Rene Bruemmer, Montreal Gazette
Article Link

MONTREAL -- More than 1,700 care packages collected by Montreal-area residents and community groups destined for Canadian troops in Afghanistan have been grounded after the military said they could not be sent overseas. 

Citing security concerns and a lack of space on transport aircraft, the Canadian Forces informed the members of the Roxboro legion, who spearheaded the drive, that they cannot accept the packages. Parcels must be addressed to a specific soldier, the military said, and not “Any CF member.” 
More on link

Brandon student raises cash to support soldiers' families
Last Updated: Monday, December 10, 2007 | 1:51 PM CT  CBC News 
Article Link

A high-school student in Brandon, Man., is showing her support for Canada's troops in Afghanistan by selling merchandise in the foyer of the school this week.

Celsey Chartier is selling clothing, pins, magnets and coffee mugs with a "support the troops" message as part of a project for her student leadership class at Vincent Massey High School.

It's a message with a personal connection for Chartier, whose brother is headed to Afghanistan in February with about 800 soldiers from nearby Canadian Forces Base Shilo.

"We're talking about death here sometimes, when it come to Afghanistan, so it is very important for us," she said.

"We do have military families in this school, as well, so I just want to make it, you know, as comfortable as possible for them during that time."
More on link

Drug Profits help Taliban  
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Article Link

Call for more troops to bring Taliban to heel

Mark Dodd, Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan December 10, 2007

A SENIOR Australian army staff officer serving in Afghanistan has warned that efforts to rebuild the war-ravaged country are being impeded by narcotic-driven profits propping up the Taliban resistance.

Colonel Don Roach says despite this and the ongoing effects of corruption, the rebuilding of the 80,000-strong Afghan National Army is now more than 70per cent complete.

But he has also warned that the NATO-backed International Security Assistance Force and its Afghan army allies are stretched too thinly in Oruzgan province, home to the 370-strong Australian Reconstruction Task Force, which is facing a growing threat from resurgent Taliban militants.

"In the south a huge part of the border with Pakistan remains uncontrolled allowing for the unimpeded flow of illicit narcotics and armed insurgents," Colonel Roach said.
More on link

Capabilities and Money
Monday, December 10. 2007
Article Link

In several recent articles,1 especially A Look to the Future The Ruxted Group has discussed the sorts of capabilities that, in our view, Canada needs to protect and promote its vital interests around the world.

This is rather dull stuff and, sadly but understandably, the defence debate in Canada is usually confined to:

•   Are we George W Bush’s latest lapdog; and

•   Why was the latest big defence contract awarded to a US firm?

We understand some of the confusion about our role in the world. Why believe former Prime Minister Paul Martin’s own words when we can believe Maude Barlow’s ravings about her uniformed fear that “Canada has abandoned its traditional role as a peacekeeper, in favour of supporting U.S.-led military intervention.” That she, and her followers and fellow travellers, are demonstrably wrong means nothing. She is media savvy and, like others, committed to disarming Canada so that $20 Billion per years can be spent on her priorities.

We also understand that major defence procurement projects are expensive and Canadians should know that their hard earned money is being well spent. Once again anti-military ‘activists’ trot out easily discredited disinformation about defence spending and fantastic lies about the  militarization of Canada.

The defence spending issue is complex. Not everything related to Afghanistan, for example, was or should be funded from the defence budget, despite recent PCO direction.3 There are legitimate claims to be made on other government departments’ budgets for areas like diplomacy and development.
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Poll highlights unease over U.S. foreign policy
Respondents felt Canada's decision not to join the Iraq war was a greater achievement than participating in the Afghan mission
 MARCUS GEE December 11, 2007
Article Link

A new poll suggests when it comes to their country's role in the world, Canadians really are from Venus, not Mars.

A typical Canadian feels that the country's proudest moment was a decision not to go to war in Iraq, that its foreign policy is too heavily influenced by the United States, that we are fighting in Afghanistan mainly at the behest of Washington and that climate change and the rich-poor gap are a bigger threat to world security than terrorism or weapons of mass destruction.

The results put Canadian public opinion sharply at odds with the views of the United States, Canada's closest ally and economic partner. They may also be a blow to the more muscular foreign policy of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The poll was carried out Dec. 6-9 by the Strategic Counsel for The Globe and Mail and CTV, based on surveys of 1,000 Canadians from across the country. Conducted to mark the 50th anniversary of former prime minister Lester Pearson's Nobel Peace Prize, it suggests that Canadians are as attached as ever to the Pearsonian ideal of solving international problems through peaceful diplomacy, not force or war.
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Tories accused of trying to muzzle military
 TheStar.com - December 10, 2007 Murray Brewster THE CANADIAN PRESS
Article Link

OTTAWA – Important information and interview requests directed to the Canadian military must now be cleared by senior bureaucrats who are under the direction of the prime minister's office, say defence sources.

The Privy Council Office directive applies to all matters of ``national importance," but is primarily focused on shaping information related to the war in Afghanistan.

The order was issued within the last two weeks and caps a determined effort by the Conservatives to assert more civilian control over the military, which has been seen in government circles to have too much influence in the conduct of the war.

Clamping down on public comment follows restrictions imposed earlier this year by the military itself on the release of documents under access-to-information legislation.

Smothering the political fire of the Afghanistan debate has been a principal aim this fall for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who effectively shut down opposition criticism in the House of Commons by appointing a eminent persons panel to review Canada's role beyond 2009.

"They want to turn the noise down," said one defence source.

A second official added that the military side was in the ``information business" while the political side was "in the marketing business."
More on link

DynCorp awarded construction job in Afghanistan
Monday, December 10, 2007 - 12:21 PM EST
Article Link

DynCorp International Inc. has won a $49 million contract to build an army garrison in Afghanistan. 

The Falls Church-based government contractor will construct 50 buildings including dormitories, dining facilities, training rooms, offices and maintenance and security structures on 160 acres in Jalalabad, near the Pakistani border. 

The facilities, called the Afghan National Army Garrison, will accommodate up to 4,000 Afghan troops, according to DynCorp. The garrison will also have water, sewer, power and a telecommunication systems. 

Not including the garrison contract, DynCorp has about 2,500 employees in Afghanistan training police, attempting to eradicate opium poppy and carrying out other projects. 

DynCorp spokesman Gregory Lagana could not say how many employees would be working on the 300-day garrison contract. 
More on link

Brown: Afghanistan troops to stay
MICHAEL SETTLE, Chief UK Political Correspondent December 11 2007 
Article Link

Gordon Brown has pledged Britain to a long-term commitment in Afghanistan, promising more aid to rebuild the country's shattered economy and making it clear that British troop levels would remain at around 7800 "for the foreseeable future".

The Prime Minister's whistlestop visit to Kabul yesterday came as a four-day battle led by Afghan and British forces to take back the Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala, in the north of Helmand province, entered a decisive phase.

The Afghan defence ministry announced that the town had been "completely captured" but Isaf, the international security body, was more cautious, saying that its forces were "consolidating their positions". The Taliban simply said they had made a tactical withdrawal.

advertisementTomorrow, in a Commons statement, Mr Brown will update MPs and lay out precisely what extra help the UK will give the government of President Hamid Karzai. The Ministry of Defence has asked for almost £2bn this year to fund operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since 2001, the Treasury has set aside almost £9bn.

Mr Brown, on his first visit to Afghanistan as PM, promised to follow up the victory at Musa Qala with new reconstruction projects in the area to secure the loyalties of local people and ensure it did not fall back into the hands of the extremists
More on link


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## armyvern (11 Dec 2007)

GAP, I digress, but November 11th!!?? WTH?? Your Christmas is sooooooo going to suck!!


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## GAP (11 Dec 2007)

Evil she-mod who owns a whip said:
			
		

> GAP, I digress, but November 11th!!?? WTH?? Your Christmas is sooooooo going to suck!!



If I stay in November long enough, I can skip right into January without all the hooplala..... changed


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## GAP (11 Dec 2007)

Suicide bomber attacks envoy in Afghanistan, no Canadians injured
Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - 10:04 AM By: 680News staff and The Associated Press 
Article Link

Kandahar, Afghanistan - A suicide car bomber has attacked a Canadian convoy in the Panjwaii district of Afghanistan, Tuesday.

No Canadians were known to have been injured, although Afghan officials said an Afghan man and a child were killed.

A police chief said the bomber also died in the attack on what he described only as a NATO convoy.

However, CTV reported that a bomber in a grey-coloured vehicle parked on the side of the road detonated his explosives as a Canadian Nyla armoured vehicle pulled up along side. CTV said the Nyla appears not to have been damaged.
More on link


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## GAP (12 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 12, 2007*

Harper's Darfur Dilemma
Posted: December 11, 2007, 1:36 PM by Kelly McParland 
Article Link

The problem with sticking to your principles is that sometimes it has painful consequences.

That’s the dilemma facing the Conservatives as they are confronted by the intractable situation in Darfur.

As John Ivison pointed out in recent articles from Uganda, and the Senate outlined in a tough-minded examination this year, Canada has spent 40 years and more than $12 billion on aid to sub-Saharan Africa, with little if anything to show for it. Every problem that existed on the continent then, is still there today. War, famine, disease; tin-pot potentates like Robert Mugabe siphoning off wealth at the expense of their own people. It’s all there, only worse: while Africa has wallowed in its misery, other countries that were once equally as hard up have made huge advances. India, China, large parts of Asia and Latin America have increased mightily in terms of wealth, education, health and standards of living. They’re hardly perfect, but they’re far better off than they were.

So the Harper government, pragmatic to a fault, has been planning to downgrade Africa as a target of Canada’s overseas activities, and upgrade those countries where there’s a chance our limited capacity could do some good. The idea is to concentrate assistance on those countries that illustrate they’re putting it to good use, by developing their capacity to help themselves, and their willingness to adopt good governance and democratic values. That means helping countries that spend the money on progress, rather than stealing most of it to help build the president-for-life’s latest beach house.
So OK, pretty much everyone can agree with that. The problem is in the picture that presents.

When Paul Martin was prime minister, he made a real effort to effect some change in Darfur. The problem there is pretty well-known -- a brutal regime aiding and abetting the annihilation of tribal groups in a battle over resources and power, helping to slaughter the better part of an entire province while the world watches and frets.
More on link

Military unhappy with order to clam up around reporters
David ******** , Ottawa Citizen Published: Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Article Link

A crackdown by the Harper government on what members of the Canadian Forces can say in public will only hurt the military in the long-run, warn Defence Department officials.

The Conservatives have put in place a new policy that requires all media requests of "regional and national" importance to be cleared in advance by the "centre," according to Defence Department officials. The centre is a term generally used to describe the defence minister's office, the Privy Council Office and the Prime Minister's Office.

Defence officials say the crackdown involves most of the day-to-day interviews military officials give to the news media. The "centre" has already cancelled a media day at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa. Some officers have pulled out of previously scheduled media interviews at the last minute, citing the new policy.
More on link

Pentagon Critical Of NATO Allies
Gates Faults Efforts In Afghanistan
By Ann Scott Tyson Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, December 12, 2007; Page A01 
Article Link

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates sharply criticized NATO countries yesterday for not supplying urgently needed trainers, helicopters and infantry for Afghanistan as violence escalates there, vowing not to let the alliance "off the hook." 

Gates called for overhauling the alliance's Afghan strategy over the next three to five years, shifting NATO's focus from primarily one of rebuilding to one of waging "a classic counterinsurgency" against a resurgent Taliban and growing influx of al-Qaeda fighters. 

I am not ready to let NATO off the hook in Afghanistan at this point," Gates told the House Armed Services Committee. Ticking off a list of vital requirements -- about 3,500 more military trainers, 20 helicopters and three infantry battalions -- Gates voiced "frustration" at "our allies not being able to step up to the plate." 

The defense secretary's public scolding of NATO, together with equally forceful testimony yesterday by Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, put on display the growing transatlantic rift over the future of the mission in Afghanistan. The Bush administration over the last year has increasingly bristled at what it sees as NATO's overly passive response to the Taliban, but European leaders have repeatedly rebuffed entreaties by Gates and President Bush to do more. 
More on link

Give Afghan bigger say in rebuilding projects: Rights and Democracy
Article Link

MONTREAL - Aid workers in Afghanistan need to learn to take a hands-off approach in their efforts to rebuild the wartorn country, says Rights and Democracy's Afghan director.

Palwasha Hasan, who heads the government-funded NGO's efforts to improve women's rights in Afghanistan, claims that many aid groups do not allow local Afghans to take ownership of legal reforms seen as key to the country's stability.

She criticized international organizations that try to impose western solutions to Afghanistan's human rights problems.

"Their processes are not always informed by Afghan realities," she told The Canadian Press while in Canada for meetings with government officials.

"They bring in experts who stay for a short time and then leave," she added. "I don't think this is very productive to the project's long-term goals."

Montreal-based Rights and Democracy received $5 million last summer as part of the federal government's plan to help boost rule of law in Afghanistan.

The country's legal system is a mishmash of local customs, various strands of Islamic law, international conventions and basic statutory law.

But despite the country's new constitution, the government of Hamid Karzai has had only mixed success in streamlining the legal code.
More on link

Coalition forces notch two victories in Afghanistan
Allison Lampert , CanWest News Service Published: Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Article Link

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - A battle by coalition forces to rid the Zangabad region of insurgents this past weekend will improve security in the western part of the Panjwaii district of Kandahar province, the Canadian Forces said in a news release Tuesday.

The day-long operation involving the Canadian Battle Group, the Afghan National Army and Great Britain's renowned Royal Gurkha Regiment used artillery and aerial support to force Taliban insurgents out of the Zangabad region. During the operation, coalition forces uncovered a factory used to make improvised explosive devices.

The battle's outcome will bolster the influence of the fledgling Afghan National Police following weeks of insurgent activity in the region. Taliban were planting IEDs on the main supply route in the region in addition to co-ordinating daily attacks on a local police-substation, two high-ranking coalition officers told CanWest News Service.
More on link

10th Mountain Division asks for civilian volunteers to Iraq
3:26 PM EST, December 11, 2007
Article Link

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (AP) _ Fort Drum commanders are looking for volunteers to serve in Iraq and are asking the post's 1,000 civilians workers if any are interested. 

The civilians would assist soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division's 1,000-member Headquarters brigade, which will deploy to Iraq next spring to provide overhead and support for other combat troops already there, Lt. Col. Paul Swiergosz said Tuesday. 

In a memo issued last month, Maj. Gen. Michael Oates directed the post chief of staff and garrison commander to "query all" civilians for their interest. Forms were also distributed asking volunteers to list their specialized experience, such as force protection, information management and logistics, as well as what type of security clearance they had, Swiergosz said. 

"This is not a manpower crunch. We have enough soldiers to do the job," Swiergosz said. "Commander Oates simply wants to take advantage of the civilian expertise that we have developed here." 

Volunteers will be allowed to select the length of deployment, ranging from four months to 15 months, he said. Accepted volunteers will be paid their salaries plus an additional 70 percent _ half of that amount is mandatory danger pay given to all military personnel deployed to a combat zone, he said. 

Although civilians would receive danger pay, they would be mostly assigned to duties in safe zones, with a few exceptions, Swiergosz said. 

An application to go does not mean automatic approval, he said. The skills of applicants will be considered. 
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (12 Dec 2007)

Brown unveils new Afghanistan strategy
Daily Telegraph, Dec. 12
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/12/wafghan612.xml



> Gordon Brown has unveiled a new long-term strategy to "isolate and eradicate" the Taliban that will see British troops fighting in Afghanistan for years to come.
> 
> The Prime Minister told MPs that Britain will support efforts by the Afghan government to negotiate with tribal fighters now supporting the Taliban - but only if they renounce violence and accept democracy...
> 
> ...



Pentagon Critical Of NATO Allies
Gates Faults Efforts In Afghanistan
_Washington Post_, Dec. 12
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/11/AR2007121102428.html?hpid=topnews



> Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates sharply criticized NATO countries yesterday for not supplying urgently needed trainers, helicopters and infantry for Afghanistan as violence escalates there, vowing not to let the alliance "off the hook."
> 
> Gates called for overhauling the alliance's Afghan strategy over the next three to five years, shifting NATO's focus from primarily one of rebuilding to one of waging "a classic counterinsurgency" against a resurgent Taliban and growing influx of al-Qaeda fighters.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (12 Dec 2007)

Afghan reconstruction base plans stretch to 2015
CP, Dec. 12
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/War_Terror/2007/12/12/4721226-cp.html



> The Foreign Affairs Department has developed plans to keep a Canadian provincial reconstruction base in Kandahar until at least 2015, say federal officials...
> 
> Contingency plans for a long-term Canadian diplomatic and development presence in the war-torn city were initially drawn up in the spring of 2006, not long after the Conservatives came to power and at the same time an extension to the military mission was proposed, said diplomatic sources.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (13 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 13, 2007*

Hundreds of Afghan women raise voices against violence through prayer
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The women of Afghanistan are seldom seen, let alone heard. But for a brief moment Wednesday, hundreds across the country made history by joining in a unique display of female solidarity.

In six cities across the war-torn country, including ones in volatile Kandahar and Helmand province, the women came to pray for an end to the war and destruction that has claimed the lives of so many of their husbands, sons and brothers over the last 30 years.

About 250 women showed up at an outdoor shrine in Kandahar's Arghandab district where Canadian and coalition forces clashed with insurgents just months ago, leaving about 50 Taliban dead and as many wounded.

As with most organized events in Afghanistan, there was no advertising for security reasons, other than word of mouth.

Copies of the Qur'an were distributed to the women who knelt on prayer rugs below a hazy morning sun. By the end, they had between them recited the 30 chapters of the holy book four times.
More on link

Death of the Three-Ds in Afghan Mission  
Article Link

The term "three-D approach" is being replaced with "whole-of-government" to describe the mission in Afghanistan, but opposition MPs say the change hides a lack of diplomacy and development on the ground. 
By Lee Berthiaume
The government has abandoned the term "three-D" to describe its strategy for missions like Afghanistan in favour of the all-encompassing "whole-of-government" label, senior officials have acknowledged in recent weeks. 

But while they say the change is meant to signify the strategy's evolution, in that successful international interventions will require participation by all departments and agencies, opposition critics say the apparent "rebranding" has done little to address shortcomings in Afghanistan. 

The idea of using development, diplomacy and defence together in foreign interventions was introduced to the public when former prime minister Paul Martin unveiled the Liberals' International Policy Statement in April 2005. 

The idea, which originated with U.S. Marine Gen. Charles Krulak in the 1990s, was one that centred around an urban battle scene in which humanitarian assistance would be delivered on one city block, peacekeeping and diplomacy would be conducted on the second and full military operations would be delivered on the third. 

At a luncheon roundtable sponsored by the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre on Monday in Ottawa, the term "3D" was used several times to describe Canada's approach to Afghanistan, especially the activities of its Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar. 

But in testimony to the House foreign affairs committee on Nov. 27, Foreign Affairs deputy minister Len Edwards acknowledged that the term "three-D" has fallen out of usage. 

"Are three Ds dead? We don't use the terminology all that much, I have to say, because to us that sounds like three different pillars," Mr. Edwards told committee members. "What we believe in is that we all have to work together. 

"The government has a strategy in Afghanistan, and we have a task force that co-ordinates that strategy," he added. "Each of us plays our role and we work together. We don't have a three-D strategy; we have a one-D strategy–we're all working together." 

Chief Superintendent David Beer, director-general of the RCMP's international policing sector, acknowledged after Monday's lunch discussion that three-D is no longer a term used within government, and that whole-of-government has been the new terminology since the Conservatives took power last year. 
More on link

Ottawa Planning Long-Term Canadian Presence in Afghanistan
December 12, 2007
Article Link

Murray Brewster, 'Plans for Canada's Afghan reconstruction base stretch to 2015: insiders', Macleans, 12 December 2007.

"The Foreign Affairs Department has developed plans to keep a Canadian provincial reconstruction base in Kandahar until at least 2015, say federal officials. The department has also started recruiting diplomatic staff to fill posts at the base for one-year assignments that stretch beyond Parliament's self-imposed February 2009 deadline for an end to the military mission.

"The provincial reconstruction base, nestled in an old fruit canning factory in a Kandahar suburb, was set up in 2005. It functions as the headquarters for Canada's reconstruction efforts, giving development officials, the RCMP and correctional officers a secure location from which to help Afghans rebuild their shattered country. The base, while protected by the Canadian military, is entirely separate from the combat units, located at Kandahar Airfield, NATO's principal base in southern Afghanistan."
More on link

15 Guantanamo prisoners transferred to Afghanistan, Sudan
Article Link

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Fifteen detainees at the US "war on terror" camp in Guantanamo, Cuba, have been transferred to Afghanistan and Sudan, the Pentagon said in a statement Thursday.

The US Defense Department says there are about 290 detainees still at the facility on its naval base on Cuba's southeastern tip.

Thirteen detainees were sent to Afghanistan, and two others were sent to Sudan, the statement said.

"The transfer is a demonstration of the United States' desire not to hold detainees any longer than necessary," the department said adding that 70 others were eligible for transfer and release.

Since 2002, 485 Guantanamo detainees have been transferred to about 30 countries according to the Pentagon including Albania, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Egypt, France, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda and Yemen.

The base has been host since January 2002 to US terror suspects arrested in several countries on the heels of the September 11 terror strikes.
More on link

6 Afghans Killed in Mine Blast
By NOOR KHAN
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A civilian car hit a freshly planted land mine in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing six people and wounding six others, and Taliban militants beheaded a woman they accused of spying and her grandson, officials said.

The blast ripped through the car as it traveled on a road outside the town of Tirin Kot, in Uruzgan province, a ministry statement said.

"This mine was possibly planted by the enemy," it said. Afghan officials refer to the Taliban and other militants as "the enemy."

Militants usually plant mines and other roadside bombs to target foreign and Afghan troops, but most of the victims in such attacks have been civilians.

In Uruzgan's Dihrawud district, Taliban militants beheaded a 60-year-old woman and her grandson on Wednesday, said provincial police chief, Juma Gul Himat. The militants accused the woman of spying for government and NATO forces.

The incidents follow a roadside blast Wednesday on a NATO convoy in eastern Afghanistan that killed two soldiers and wounded three others, the alliance said in a statement.

NATO did not disclose the nationalities of the dead and wounded or the location of the attack. However, most of the NATO troops in the east are American.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (13 Dec 2007)

Dutch pound Taliban positions
The Australian, Dec. 11
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22903147-2703,00.html



> DUTCH heavy artillery has been used to pound suspected Taliban positions as round-the-clock military operations continue without to root out insurgents operating in mountains close to this strategic base in Oruzgan province jointly manned by an Australian task force.
> 
> A brief siren wail was the only warning Sunday afternoon that a huge 155 millimetre self-propelled gun was about to fire.
> 
> ...



Policing a whirlwind [long article]
_The Economist_, Dec. 13
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286219


> ...
> This shura, or tribal council, was the culmination of Operation Attal, designed to clear the Taliban from three districts in Paktika, a troubled province bordering Pakistan. Three months earlier Charbaran's district centre—a government office-cum-police station—had been torched by the Taliban and the area was said to be a training ground for the insurgents. Now it has been rebuilt with stout sandbagged fortifications and artillery for protection.
> 
> In a bloody year that has seen more Western soldiers killed than at any time since they toppled the Taliban in 2001, Operation Attal, which lasted three weeks, was uneventful. Hardly a shot was fired as the Taliban melted away before thousands of Afghan and American soldiers. But for the Americans success these days is measured less by the number of Taliban killed, and more by the number of Afghans who overcome their loyalty to the Taliban, or fear of them, to attend such a meeting. The Americans had been hoping for 200 guests; about 1,500 people came. It was billed as an Afghan reconciliation between local tribes and the central government. The choreography, however, was all American: American soldiers rebuilt the district centre, erected the tents, bulldozed new roads, brought the dignitaries by helicopter and even supplied a portrait of President Hamid Karzai...
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (14 Dec 2007)

ARTICLES FOUND DEC. 14


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## MarkOttawa (14 Dec 2007)

Exclusive: Eyewitness Account of Huge Taliban Defeat
ABC News Blog, December 13
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/12/exclusive-eyewi.html



> Afghanistan's government flag was raised Wednesday on what had been one of the biggest strongholds of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan and a leading world center of heroin production.
> 
> The town of about 45,000 people was secured at about 9:30 a.m. as Afghan troops, steered by British soldiers and U.S. Green Berets, drove out remnants of the Taliban resistance from Musa Qala in the opium poppy region of northern Helmand.
> 
> ...



Gates shifts tactics with NATO allies
AP, Dec. 14
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/gates_afghanistan_21



> EDINBURGH, Scotland - The Bush administration has decided to tone down its appeals to NATO allies for more troops and other aid in the fight against the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.
> ADVERTISEMENT
> 
> After two days of talks here with his counterparts from Britain, Canada and five other NATO countries whose troops are doing the bulk of the fighting in Afghanistan's violent south, Gates said he would continue making the case for greater allied military assistance.
> ...



NATO-led countries to boost Afghan reconstruction
Reuters, Dec. 14
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAL1490834320071214?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0



> Countries with troops deployed in southern Afghanistan agreed on Friday on the need to build on military gains by boosting reconstruction and improving the lives of Afghans.
> 
> Following an eight-nation meeting, hosted by Britain's Defence Secretary Des Browne, top U.S. officials were upbeat about recent successes, including the recapture of Musa Qala from the Taliban, but said progress had to be broadened...
> 
> ...



NATO chief says group will stay in Afghanistan
AP, Dec. 14
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/War_Terror/2007/12/14/pf-4723781.html



> TOKYO - There are signs of improvement in Afghanistan but NATO will not pull its troops out of the country anytime soon, the organization's leader said Friday.
> 
> However, he denied NATO is looking to become an international police group. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said while the situation remains complex in Afghanistan, improvements are being made. "I assure you that reconstruction and development is going on," de Hoop Scheffer said at a news conference.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (15 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 15, 2007*

Kandahar: Inside and out
 TheStar.com December 15, 2007 Mitch Potter TORONTO STAR
Article Link

One year after his last tour in this embattled land shared by wary Canadians and war-weary Afghans, the Star's Mitch Potter returns to find that things have become better . . . and worse

KANDAHAR – A Canadian soldier throws a dubious, better-you-than-me glance as he opens the fortified gate allowing passage into the tumultuous beyond that is Kandahar city. 

Out there, the prize of the entire Afghan mission still waits to be claimed. And if you are wondering whether it is better or worse than this time last year, the answer, most vexingly, is yes. Kandahar is better – and worse – than it was.

Westerners don't often exit the Canadian provincial reconstruction team headquarters, but when they do, the journey usually involves armoured convoys rather than simply walking out the door, as the Toronto Star is doing today.

On the other side, two hours late, our Afghan interpreter is waiting in a beat-up civilian vehicle, smiling sheepishly. He lost track of the time during midday prayers. It must have been God's will, he suggests with a wink.

In the no man's land between these two solitudes, we encounter a brazen young Afghan boy, cute as a button, who sings a mantra of his only English words: "Hi! Shocolate. Gum. Candy ... Canada!" And a much older Afghan man, a greybeard with a diseased eye, who is treading dangerous close to the armed Canadian gatekeepers in the desperate hope that someone – anyone – with financial means will assist his medical predicament.

On this day, there is no chocolate for the youngster, no doctor for the elder. Instead, the Canadian soldiers at the gate have been busy working hand-held metal detectors on the steady parade of Afghan contractors who comprise the majority of the traffic into the compound. They are here for money.

"We try to stay friendly with the locals – but within limits. Some days, we give the kids candy; some days, they bombard us with stones," says one of the soldiers, who asked that his name not be published.

"The worst is when they decide to pick on the local dogs. This place is a living hell for dogs. If you are an animal in Afghanistan and you don't have enough meat on your bones to be food, you are screwed. We've had a lot of dogs crawl through our gates just to die after they've been attacked with stones. It's twisted."

This is our second week wandering the city unembedded and our anxiety level has fallen accordingly. Kandahar today is not Saigon before the fall; it is not even Baghdad before the surge. The general mood of the city has lifted somewhat in recent months, if only because the scourge of suicide attacks lately has shifted to the capital Kabul, a day's drive away, giving Kandahar something of a respite. 
More on link

CIDA talks up Afghan progress; dismisses dire predictions and warnings.
Article Link

OTTAWA - Almost two years of virtual silence from the Canadian International Development Agency on what it has seen and done in Afghanistan ended Friday as three returning officials painted an optimistic picture of Kandahar's future.

Helene Kadi, Kevin Rex and Diana Youdell all served at either the provincial reconstruction base, Kandahar Airfield or the Canadian embassy in Kabul, helping direct millions of dollars in aid toward reconstruction projects and programs in the war-torn country.

The slow pace of Canada's aid effort has been fodder for critics both at home and abroad, including the European-based Senlis Council, which has called for the federal development agency to be replaced by a special envoy in Kandahar to get things moving.

The council's regular, often grim assessment is a source of irritation for Ottawa-based bureaucrats and the governing Conservatives, who insist that progress is being made toward improving the lives of Afghans.

"We fundamentally disagree with what's in the Senlis reports," said Rex, who spent time as a development officer to Canadian military commanders at Kandahar Airfield.
More on link

Rocket attack kills five in Afghanistan
Updated Sat. Dec. 15 2007 7:06 AM ET The Associated Press
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A rocket landed in a crowd near Kabul's police headquarters Saturday, and a truck full of rockets exploded nearby moments later, killing at least five people. Officials say at least five others were wounded. 

Defence Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said the truck contained five 107 mm rockets that had been rigged explode, but only two detonated. 

Moments earlier, a rocket that was fired - apparently by remote control - toward the police station, landed in a crowd of civilians. 

Najib Nekzad, a press officer for the Ministry of Interior said five civilians were killed and five wounded, including two police. 

He also said the attacker smuggled the rocket launcher and rockets into the city by hiding them under a pile of hay. 
More on link

Amputee spreading his can-do attitude
By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
Article Link

Ever since Master Cpl. Paul Franklin lost both his legs in Afghanistan, he's been looking for a physical activity he can do. 

He's got a bike. He's tried wheelchair rugby. And now, he'll try snowboarding. 

READY TO HIT THE SLOPES 

"I looked online and no one really snowboards like that. I don't know if that's because it's a bad idea or because no one's thought of it. I'm going to find out whether it was a bad idea or not," Franklin laughed following a press conference yesterday. 

In the hopes of helping other amputees get involved in physical activity or sports, Franklin has launched Freedom Through Sport, a partnership between his own Franklin Foundation, the Canadian Forces, the Glenrose Rehabilitation Centre amputee clinic and the University of Alberta's Steadward Centre. 

The partnership will help bring health care professionals together to help amputees. That type of integration is sorely lacking in Canada, says Donna Goodwin, executive director of the Steadward Centre. 

She explained that the integration means there can now be a smoother transition for people going straight from rehabilitation into the community. 
More on link

Afghanistan mission won't end soon: NATO
Updated Fri. Dec. 14 2007 8:10 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

NATO members with troops fighting in southern Afghanistan concluded a conference Friday with the announcement that more needs to be done if that country is ever to be made secure. 

Representatives from eight countries with troops fighting in Afghanistan wrapped up two-day talks in Scotland where they sought to strengthen NATO's role in stabilizing Afghanistan.

Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay said that NATO troops are protecting the Canadian values of democracy, the rule of law and protection of human rights. 

MacKay was joined at the conference by Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier and met with representatives from Britain, the United States, Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Romania and Estonia.

NATO's presence in Afghanistan is now into its sixth year and has proved more difficult than most countries expected.
More on link


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## geo (15 Dec 2007)

No troops? Help any way: MacKay
Afghanistan can use critically needed equipment, defence minister says

PETER O’NEIL CANWEST NEWS SERVICE

AGENCE FRANCE- PRESSE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT 

Countries too timid to send troops to Afghanistan’s most dangerous areas are being pressured to come up with alternative ways to help, such as providing critically needed equipment, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said yesterday.

But MacKay said Canada and other NATO allies active in the dangerous south, such as the Americans, the British and the Dutch, won’t give up efforts to convince countries like France and Germany to share more of the burden.

There’s a “realization that while we’re willing to accept that it may be prohibitive for some in the alliance to contribute troops, it doesn’t prohibit, in our view, other contributions,” MacKay said during a conference call with media after yesterday’s meeting in Scotland with ministers representing countries active in the dangerous south.

MacKay said countries could help with equipment maintenance, road construction or such hardware contributions as helicopters, transport aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles used for tracking Taliban activities.

MacKay said these contributions could help limit the most dangerous threat to Canadian soldiers – roadside improvised explosive devices.

Still, Canada and its partners will continue lobbying efforts to get troop commitments from countries fearful of a political backlash if they send their troops to areas where there is an increased likelihood of casualties, MacKay said.

“We haven’t ruled out future contributions from France, Germany or any countries for that matter,” he said.

MacKay and Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier attended the gathering, along with counterparts from the U.S., Britain, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Romania and Estonia.

Bernier said ministers at the meeting didn’t have a problem with the Canadian government’s decision to appoint an independent panel, headed by former Liberal foreign minister John Manley, and hold a parliamentary debate on the future of Canada’s mission after the current commitment lapses in February 2009. In Kabul today, a car bomb outside the headquarters of the Kabul police killed five civilians and wounded several more people, Afghanistan’s interior ministry said.

“Five civilians have been killed and two police have been wounded. Some civilians have been wounded too, but we don’t have a figure,” an interior ministry spokesperson said.

A witness told AFP that one of the dead was a man who had been pushing a cart in the area.

The extremist Taliban movement said it carried out the attack in a busy part of the centre of the Afghan capital.

http://digital.montrealgazette.com/epaper/viewer.aspx


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## GAP (16 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 16, 2007*

Kicking out the Taliban
Huge Pearl Harbor Day air assault on Afghanistan
Posted: December 10, 2007 11:29 a.m. Eastern Matt Sanchez 
Article Link

Editor's note: Reporter Matt Sanchez, currently embedding with military units throughout both Iraq and Afghanistan, has been providing WND readers with a glimpse into the war on terror most Americans have never seen. 

KANDAHAR AIRBASE, Afghanistan –American soldiers from Task Force 1-508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, using Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters, just participated in one of the largest air assaults in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001. 

It was Dec. 7, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, and these U.S. infantrymen were taking part in Operation Mar Karadad, their particular contribution to the fight being an air assault on the Taliban-dominated district of Musa Qala in the southern Afghan province of Helmand. 

Although the Musa Qala area of operations belongs to British forces stationed nearby in the Bastian Forward Operating Base, Task Force 1-508th – nicknamed the Red Devils, and who fight under the motto "Fury from the Sky" – launched its attack from the Canadian-controlled Kandahar Air Field, or KAF, in the neighboring province of Kandahar. 
More on link

Bomb Kills 2 Afghan Civilians
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A roadside bomb blast in eastern Afghanistan killed two Afghan civilians and wounded five others Sunday, while a clash in the south left four Taliban dead, officials said.

The explosion happened in Yaqoubi district in eastern Khost province, said Wazir Pacha, a spokesman for the provincial police chief.

Pacha accused the Taliban of carrying out the attack.

Militants often use roadside and suicide bomb attacks against Afghan and foreign troops in the country. Most victims of such attacks have been civilians
More on link

More soldiers choosing civilian life
By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
Article Link
  
Canada's mission in Afghanistan could be driving some soldiers out of the military, says a military analyst. 

The University of Calgary's Ron Huebert suspects one of the reasons for the increase is that combat tours in Afghanistan are making some troops rethink their military careers. 

"There's this ongoing issue in terms of the fact that the rotation rate of the land forces to meet the requirements in Afghanistan have been quite substantial," says the associate director of the university's Centre for Military and Strategic Studies. 

In October, Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie told reporters that in 2003, 8% of soldiers left the military, the attrition rate is now around 12%. That figure includes all discharges, including retirements and medical dispensations. More detailed information wasn't made available by the Canadian Forces. 

Constant tours of duty could be stressful for families, said Huebert, causing many soldiers to choose the civilian life. 

Some older soldiers may also not be willing to head into combat, he suggested. 
More on link

Canadians battle Afghan police corruption, shortages
  Allison Lampert CanWest News Service Saturday, December 15, 2007
Article Link

HOWZ-E-MADAD, Afghanistan -- Standing in full body armour outside his rural police outpost, Warrant Officer Guevens Guimont barked at his group of Afghan recruits.

"Quiet now," Guimont, 40, said through an interpreter, eager to get the morning patrol underway. 

"We're going to move in a V-formation," he said, pointing toward the dusty road the group must check for hidden improvised explosive devices.

Guimont's explanations were suddenly interrupted by cries of his nickname, "Gimmy!"  Grinning broadly, the station's youngest Afghan police officer, Hayat Ullah, ran over to the group, dust flying all over his black, open-heeled dress shoes. 

Hayat, 16, whom the Canadians at this police substation fondly call "T-boy,"  was barechested under his baggy green jacket. Without his usual dark-green police cap, Hayat's unkempt, henna-tinted black hair gleamed in the strong Kandahar sun. 
More on link

Canadian troops dish out goodwill to disabled Kandaharis in spirit of Eid
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Widowed 10 years ago after her civilian husband became an unsuspecting victim in the war between the Russians and mujahedeen, Sayed Bibi was left alone to raise her family of seven.

It's a fate not uncommon for many women in Afghanistan, given its 30-year history of war, but Bibi was dealt an added blow in the form of two sick sons - one crippled and left unable to speak from polio and another stricken with mental illness.

Most of her time is spent taking care of her children, which has made it difficult for her to work and she typically resorts to begging to find money for groceries.

The doting mother, who is constantly stroking and consoling her wheelchair-bound 25-year-old son Rohola, is grateful for whatever she can get.

On Saturday, that was a 50-kilogram bag of flour, two-kilogram bag of sugar and a three-litre container of oil.

For hundreds of poverty-stricken and disabled Kandahar residents like Bibi, Eid cam early this year.
More on link

S Korean troops end mission in Afghanistan   
 www.chinaview.cn  2007-12-14 22:50:06     
Article Link

    SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- South Korea completed the withdrawal of its military troops from Afghanistan on Friday, wrapping up the 70-month-long mission in the Asian country, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. 

    The Defense Ministry held a ceremony to welcome the Dasan and Dongui units returning from Afghanistan at Seoul Airbase in Seongnam, south of Seoul. About 800 family members and military officials, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park Heung-ryul, attended the ceremony. 

    The JCS announced later that the two units were formally disbanded later in the day. 

    South Korea has dispatched military troops to Afghanistan since 2002 at the request of the United States. The Dongui Medical Unit with about 60 medic provided humanitarian and medical aid to local residents, while 150 engineers from the Dasan Engineering Unit supported construction work in Afghanistan. 

    In August, the South Korean government promised to withdraw all its military troops by the end of this year in exchange for the release of 22 South Korean hostages held by the Taliban militants.      
More on link


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## GAP (17 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 17, 2007*

Pakistani insurgents join forces on Afghan border
Unity deal bodes ill for Canadian troops
SAEED SHAH Special to The Globe and Mail December 17, 2007
Article Link

ISLAMABAD -- Militant groups in Pakistan's wild northwest region have come together in a single organization for the first time, threatening to step up operations against the Pakistan army and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

The insurgents have named Baitullah Mehsud, a tribal chief from the Waziristan area, which borders Afghanistan, as their chief, or Emir. 

Mr. Mehsud, a charismatic figure in his early 30s with a fearsome reputation, took more than 200 Pakistani soldiers prisoner this year. They were only let go after authorities agreed to release some Taliban prisoners. He is also blamed for organizing a series of suicide-bomb attacks.

The Tehrik Taliban-i-Pakistan was launched after a meeting of 40 Taliban leaders in Waziristan. They came not only from the semi-autonomous tribal belt, known as the Federally Administered Tribal Area, which runs along the Afghan border, but from several "settled" areas of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province, including Swat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan.
More on link

Family, food carry soldier's heart home
 TheStar.com - December 17, 2007 Mitch Potter Toronto Star
Article Link 

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Christmas for Marie-Christine Alamy used to mean a massive family gathering in Laval, Que., a party so crowded the cousins sat shoulder to shoulder all the way to the top of the stairs.

This year it will probably mean another patrol through Panjwaii Bazaar, where Afghan women in burqas point and stare, amazed that behind all that body armour and fatigues is a female Canadian platoon leader shouting orders to the 40 men at her command.

Lieut. Alamy, 25, has been in the thick of such surreal cultural contact since she arrived in July with the Valcartier-based Royal 22nd Regiment. 

So far, the deployment has involved spending "97 per cent of my time at the Forward Operating Base and maybe 3 per cent at KAF (Kandahar Airfield).

"We just come back for a quick rest and a shower. A very, very long shower. And then we go back out there," she says.

There was one memorable vacation last month, when she and her fellow soldier-fiancé Francis Belanger, both 25, flew not home but to the Seychelles, to tie the knot. 

Now the newlyweds will pass Christmas in Kandahar as husband and wife – but not together. They are deployed at separate locations, with Taliban in between.

Her contact with Afghans has gone both ways, from warm dialogue to hot combat. There have been no deaths in her unit, but three of the combat injuries resulted in evacuation to Canada. Alamy is expecting reinforcements to finish the tour.

"I was the little girl who preferred martial arts to dancing. My father was in the militia, and they used to find me in the garage playing with his equipment," she says.
More on link

Canadian troops face bigger bombs and more sophisticated Taliban foe in 2008
The Canadian Press Published Monday December 17th, 2007 Appeared on page A6
Article Link

OTTAWA - The Taliban have become more sophisticated in the way they plant roadside bombs in Afghanistan, importing lethal tactics already tested and proven on bloodied U.S. forces in Iraq, says Canada's chief of defence staff.

But Gen. Rick Hillier insists that, although insurgents have become more cagey and adept, Canadian troops are staying a step ahead of the improvised explosives and booby traps that litter the countryside.

"The Taliban are not 10-foot-tall warriors, but at the same time they are not to be dismissed lightly," Hillier said in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press.

The bombs have grown steadily bigger since Canadian troops first deployed to the Kandahar area for their latest Afghan assignment nearly two years ago.

The army's hardy, troop-transporting light armoured vehicles were initially a source of frustration for lightly armed insurgents, whose machine-gun bullets and rocket-propelled grenades pinged off the reinforced steel skins of the LAV IIIs.
More on link

Dozens of insurgents killed in Afghan operation, officials say
Last Updated: Sunday, December 16, 2007 | 7:24 PM ET CBC News 
Article Link

Forty-one insurgents were killed in what Canadian forces are hailing as a successful military operation in the volatile Zhari district of southern Afghanistan.

Backed by NATO air power, Canadian, British and Afghan troops took part in Operation Tereh Toora, which means Operation Sharp Sword, military officials said.

The soldiers also uncovered a large weapons cache.

Few details were being provided but NATO officials said they did not believe any coalition forces suffered casualties.
More on link

Soldier to be charged over accidental Afghanistan shooting
Page 1 of 2 View as a single page 3:51PM Monday December 17, 2007 By Sophie Hazelhurst, of NZPA. 
Article Link

A New Zealand soldier, who shot himself and a colleague when his rifle accidentally discharged in Afghanistan in October, will face charges over the incident, the Defence Force has confirmed.

The soldier was shot in the leg, while a second soldier was hit in the arm and side when the gun went off inside the Humvee vehicle they were travelling in.

Both soldiers are in New Zealand, one back doing light duties and the other still recovering.

Major-General Rhys Jones, commander joint forces New Zealand, today confirmed the discharge had not been a mechanical failure and said the man would be charged over failing to meet safety procedures.

It was not yet decided exactly what charge or charges he would face, and the inquiry into the incident was continuing, he said.

If the soldier was found to be at fault, he would face a fine and disciplinary measures.

Major Gen Jones was speaking at a briefing on troops posted overseas today, outlining activities and operations they were involved in.
More on link


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## GAP (18 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 18, 2007*

Christmas packages flood Kandahar; boost morale among Canadian troops
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - With Christmas just a week away, Canadian Forces postal workers at Kandahar Airfield have their hands full.

In the last two weeks alone, they've received some 43,000 kilograms worth of letters and packages for the troops. That's nearly a third of the total volume of mail received since August when the current batch of soldiers first arrived in Afghanistan.

Shipments of mail usually come in every two days only because there's not enough flights to get it here sooner.

Master Cpl. Carlo Gagnon says quickly delivering the mail to the troops is important - and many of them are stationed at remote forward operating bases and police substations quite a ways away.
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Canadian Forces Video Montage
 Monday, December 17, 2007
Article Link

During 2006 Scott Kesterton emebed with Canadian troops in Afhganistan. Kesterton ended up spending a whole year embedded with mostly American troops and is soon to release a documentary called AtWar. Some of this footage of the Canadian Soldiers fighting the Taliban is included in the documentary.

During an interview in August 2006 Kesteron, a former American Soldier from Oregon, had this to say about his experience embedded with Canadian Soldiers:

"What has resulted is a bonding of U.S. and Canadian forces never before seen. They are not just our neighbour to the north; they have proven themselves to be fighters and soldiers worthy of the highest honours that the U.S. Army offers its own...

"On our first morning of being attacked, I found myself holding back tears as I filmed Canadians fighting a fight that began on American soil on Sept. 11, 2001. In interviews that followed, I discovered the depth of commitment that these soldiers held in their hearts, as they expressed their belief in purpose and shared their emotions, at times with tears. Two countries, each proud of their roots and history, unified across the border that distinguishes each of us ...

"From patrols to attacks, and an operational tempo that pushed us all to the point of exhaustion, and even the loss of one of my cameras following a fire fight, the Canadian soldiers and I became close friends, bridging into that place that only soldiers know... a band of brothers."
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A victory, but little to cheer
Dec 17th 2007 | KABUL From Economist.com
Article Link

Afghanistan's bleak north-south divide

AP
THE confrontation probably marked the end the current fighting season. As some 5,000 NATO and Afghan soldiers last week massed around Musa Qala, a town in southern Afghanistan’s troubled Helmand province, its Taliban defenders held on for four days before their resistance melted. The local fighters then slipped away into nearby hills, making the unconvincing claim that their retreat was out of concern for the safety of the civilian population.

The recapture of a town that was previously controlled by Western troops is welcome, but it represents a limited triumph for the outsiders as winter freezes much of the country quiet. The year has seen neither the Taliban nor outside troops gain telling advantage. NATO has won all the battles and has managed to preserve the support of most Afghans: if opinion polls can be believed Afghans still support an international military presence in their country (one published by the BBC this month suggested that 71% of Afghans want American forces to stay). Yet overall levels of Taliban violence continue to rise across southern and eastern Afghanistan. Worse, they have spread significantly into the border areas of Pakistan.
More on link

Afstan: How the Aussies talk about certain NATO members 
 Monday, December 17, 2007
Article Link
The Ottawa Citizen's David ********, in his new blog, is bluntly critical of how the government has been dealing with NATO allies:

HARPER GOVERNMENT’S ‘SHAME GAME’ ON NATO ALLIES BACKFIRES...

Mr. MacKay has told reporters the Canadian government accepts that it may be “prohibitive for some in the alliance to contribute troops” so Canada is going to ask for other types of contributions instead.

His comments signal an abrupt change of course. For more than a year Mr. MacKay and other government officials have been pushing NATO allies to cough up more combat troops to help ease the load in Kandahar province.

The real question, however, is why has Canada now changed that position?

Could it have anything to do with the fact that the ‘Shame Game’ Mr. MacKay and others in government have been playing with Canada’s NATO allies has backfired?

Here are the behind-the-scenes details as they were explained to me by NATO officers. This year and last year the Harper government went into overtime crapping on its NATO allies for not providing additional soldiers to the Afghan mission. Gordon O’Connor, Mr. MacKay and Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier were high profile in the media dumping on various countries for not pulling their weight.

It is true that some in the alliance were shunning combat, but publicly slamming your allies is not how diplomacy works.

You don’t label contributing nations to the Afghanistan mission as ‘cowards’ and then expect they’ll help you by sending their soldiers into your sector. Canada’s allies were, and are, still mighty pissed off. (It’s interesting to note that retired navy officer and Dalhousie University defence analyst Eric Lerhe warned about this very thing in December 2006 and faced a few barbs from other military analysts for raising the issue).
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Elinor Sloan . A better Afghanistan policy
Elinor Sloan, Citizen Special Published: Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Article Link

In an article that appeared last week in this newspaper, political scientist Michael Byers argued that the Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan is a sham. The panel, he alleged, is made up of people who are likely to recommend an extension of Canada's military mission there, and the outcome is predetermined because all of the panel's options have some sort of a military role. Mr. Byers seems to suggest that Canada is in Afghanistan mainly to follow America's bidding.

Mr. Byers' effort to delegitimize the Manley panel does not stand up to scrutiny. For example, part of his case against John Manley, the panel's chair, is that last fall Mr. Manley wrote an article in the journal Policy Options stating that we should not abandon Afghanistan. In fact, Mr. Manley wrote the article in his capacity as a director of CARE Canada. It is based on a May 2007 trip to Afghanistan, and it focuses almost entirely on Canada's humanitarian involvement there. It concludes with observations like the need to build roads and bridges, and to restore electricity.

To any fair-minded reader, the article shows only that Mr. Manley understands the complexities of creating a sustainable society in Afghanistan and, perhaps more importantly, that he cares about what happens there. (Full disclosure: In 2005 Mr. Manley wrote a statement praising my book Security and Defence in the Terrorist Era.)
More on link

Time short for Afghan answers
Dec 18, 2007 04:30 AM James Travers 
Article Link

OTTAWA-A sobering truth is surfacing along with the usual seasonal good cheer: After foolishly letting its focus drift to Iraq, the U.S. is again worrying about Afghanistan. More than a reflection of troubling events or fears George W. Bush's legacy will suffer even more foreign policy damage, that rediscovered concern helps measure the danger ahead for Canadian combat troops and for a federal government struggling to solidify public support for a polarizing mission.

Weeks before John Manley's panel reports on Canada's post-February 2009 role, word of three sweeping Afghanistan reviews is leaking from Washington. After creating a Middle East power vacuum and metastasizing Al Qaeda by toppling Saddam Hussein, Bush is turning attention back to Afghanistan's entrenched insurgency and poverty. 

There's no mystery in those failures. As speaker after expert detailed at a University of Ottawa conference here – and as the U.S. reviews will surely rehash – Afghanistan is both victim and perpetrator. Buffeted by foreign interests, it suffers from bad-neighbourhood geography as well as from a shamefully weak international reconstruction effort with no overarching strategy. Nor can a Kabul government that's corrupt to the core and unwilling to end its economic opium addiction escape its considerable responsibility for the country's misery.

Yes, some good things are happening. But grim provincial realities are masked by national statistics donor governments use to justify a blood and money investment with disappointing returns. At least as problematic for those who see Afghanistan more as a terrorism threat than a reconstruction project, a chameleon Taliban is doing well enough militarily to push into the future the stalemate necessary for a political solution.

However cynical, the Canadian caveat attached to all this is that Afghanistan has never been primarily about Afghanistan. In a fit of candour soon replaced by a wandering narrative, Stephen Harper's government described the mission as retribution for 9/11. That didn't sit well with Canadians who prefer to see it as a robust evolution of traditional peacekeeping and nation building. But it's closer to the underlying facts that Canada is largely there to demonstrate U.S. and NATO solidarity while the military is using the mission to rebuild and shed its do-gooder image.
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In Afghanistan, It's About Air Power, Too
Article Link

As The Post reports today, President Bush is facing pressure to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan. The military is undertaking a strategic review similar to the review that resulted in the "surge" in Iraq, and commanders in Afghanistan are calling for more resources to fight increased violence and Taliban resurgence.

While the public debate is fixated on boots on the ground -- how many, how active, rotations and tour lengths -- jets in the sky are just as important. Yet as I wrote last week, there is a lack of understanding and appreciation of air power's role in Afghanistan, even by its top (Army) commander.

The U.S. currently has some 28,000 troops in Afghanistan and NATO also has 28,000. This number is insufficient, and as violence has increased and the Kabul-based government has been challenged along the edges of the country, the pace of activity for those troops has increased. Missing in this ground-war-centric analysis is the role of air power.

According to a new study by Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, close-air support sorties by aircraft from Bagram air base have doubled to 12,775 in 2007 from 6,495 in 2004. The number of sorties where weapons have been dropped has increased 30 times, to 2,926 so far in 2007 from 86 in 2004. August 2007 was the busiest month since 2003 for air strikes where munitions were dropped, and the monthly activity through 2007 exceeded the totals for any month in 2004 or 2005.
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Herat police: German man abducted in western Afghanistan  
The Associated Press Monday, December 17, 2007 
Article Link

BERLIN: Police in western Afghanistan said Monday that a German citizen had been kidnapped.

Gen. Ali Khan Husseinzada, the chief of criminal investigations for western Afghanistan, said the man had been on his way to his home in Herat.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, Julia Gross, said the ministry was aware of the reported abduction and was checking it.

The head of Green Helmets, a German-based aid organization, received a report that one of its former workers, Harald Kleber, had been abducted.

Rupert Neudeck said Kleber helped build 26 schools in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005. He then decided to settle in Herat, converting to Islam and marrying an Afghan woman, with whom he had a child.

"We are very concerned and hope that the Foreign Ministry can do something to help him and bring him to Germany as swiftly as possible," Neudeck said.

Germany's Bild daily reported that Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the kidnapping and promised to clear up the case quickly. "We do not put up with criminal activities such as this," he was quoted as saying.
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German kidnapped in Afghanistan wanted for fraud: prosecutor
Article Link

BERLIN (AFP) — A German former aid worker who was abducted in Afghanistan on Sunday is wanted in Germany for fraud, a prosecutor said on Tuesday.

An arrest warrant has been issued for the man, identified by the German press as 42-year-old carpenter Harald Kleber, in connection with computer fraud, said Juergen Konrad, a prosecutor in the southern state of Bavaria. 

Konrad said an international arrest warrant has not been issued for Kleber but he would be detained if he set foot in Germany.

According to the Berliner Zeitung newspaper, the Gruenhelme (Green Helmets) humanitarian organisation for whom Kleber worked in Afghanistan has also accused him of embezzling funds.

Gruenhelme could not be reached for comment.

The organisation had earlier confirmed that Kleber worked for them between 2003 and 2004 in Herat in western Afghanistan and said he remained in the country afterwards to "pursue his private life."

According to Afghan police, he was kidnapped in Herat by four armed men on Sunday. It was not immediately clear whether the Taliban was behind the abduction, as is the case with many kidnappings of foreigners in Afghanistan.
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House Passes Omnibus Spending Measure
by Debbie Elliott
Article Link

Morning Edition, December 18, 2007 · Congress and the president were poised to resolve their months-long dispute over funding for the war in Iraq after the House passed a $516 billion omnibus spending measure to fund 14 Cabinet agencies and troops in Afghanistan. If the Senate can add $40 billion to the bill to fund troops in Iraq, the White House is likely to approve it. 

Senate leaders would like to wrap up debate Tuesday, though GOP conservatives may balk, unhappy with spending above Bush's budget and a secretive process that produced a 1,482-page bill that includes plenty of legislative pork. 

Nobody seemed thrilled with the catchall spending plan that House leaders rushed to a vote late Monday. 

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) sounded resigned that Democrats did not get all they had hoped for from the appropriations process. 

But he said the compromise was inescapable given the president's repeated veto threats of the Democrat's plan to spend $22 billion more than the White House domestic budget request. 
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New Zealand considers boosting troops in Afghanistan
Article Link

WELLINGTON, N.Z. - New Zealand is considering whether to increase its troops in Afghanistan and assume a combat role because of a rising threat from Taliban fighters, a military commander said Tuesday.

Joint forces chief Maj.-Gen. Rhys Jones said the 107-strong New Zealand team working on construction in Bamiyan province has had reports recently that Taliban fighters are moving into the region, northeast of the capital Kabul.

Direct threats had been made against the provincial governor and "that gives us concern there may be attacks in our area," Jones told New Zealand's National Radio network.

New Zealand military commanders are considering all options, including more troops and carrying out combat patrols in the province.

"When we have done our assessment, we will put those options to government should it require them to decide on extra numbers, extra equipment or extra tasks," he said.

Jones said Bamiyan, where New Zealand has placed military reconstruction teams since 2003, was relatively peaceful but is gradually becoming more dangerous. The government recently extended the team's stint through September 2009.

Defence Minister Phil Goff said there is no plan for "a major change in tactics."
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (19 Dec 2007)

ARTICLES FOUND DEC. 19

British 'friendly fire' kills two Danish troops
Daily Telegraph, Dec. 19
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=SQD53M0SDF3T1QFIQMGCFF4AVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2007/12/19/wfriendly119.xml



> Two Danish soldiers killed in Afghanistan while fighting Taliban insurgents were victims of "friendly fire" from British troops, Danish Army commanders have said.
> 
> The men were killed by shrapnel from missiles fired by British troops on Sept 26 in "a tragic mistake" during a battle near Gareshk, in Helmand Province, the Danes said.
> 
> ...



Le «pré-Noël» de Sarkozy en Afghanistan
Le Figaro, Dec. 18
http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2007/12/18/01003-20071218ARTFIG00434-le-pre-noel-de-sarkozy-en-afghanistan.php


> ...
> Sur ce dossier afghan où l’Alliance atlantique affirme jouer son avenir, il reste à savoir les gestes auxquels est disposé le président français. En déclarant à Washington début novembre qu’il réfléchissait «à la meilleure manière d’agir» pour aider un pays malmené par la guerre sans fin des talibans, Nicolas Sarkozy a créé des attentes outre-atlantique. «Nous avons fait déjà des gestes, mais il est clair que l’on va nous en demander encore plus» confie un proche du dossier. A la grande satisfaction des alliés, Paris déploie désormais des équipes d’instructeurs (OMLT) au sein d’unités afghanes opérationnelles, y compris dans les zones de combat. A l’été, l’Élysée a décidé l’envoi de trois équipes d’OMLT supplémentaires, et, il y a un mois, d’une autre encore dans la région du Sud dévolue aux forces néerlandaises.
> 
> Que faire de plus ? Quel geste envisager lors du sommet de l’Otan, prévu en avril à Bucarest ? A l’Élysée et la Défense, on planche sur deux options. *La première consisterait en l’envoi du bataillon français dans une région du Sud, peut-être en appui des Néerlandais* [emphasis added]. D’autant que le mandat français dans la région «Centre» expire à l’été 2008. La deuxième option, pas forcément exclusive, serait de renvoyer 200 hommes des Forces spéciales dans le Sud. Ils en avaient été retirés début 2007...



(Via _Norman's Spectator_)
http://www.members.shaw.ca/nspector4/MIND.htm

Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (20 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 20, 2007*

Top soldier speaks out on detainee transfers
Battle against Taliban would 'collapse' under ban, Brigadier-General André Deschamps says 
PAUL KORING From Wednesday's Globe and Mail December 19, 2007 at 4:39 AM EST
Article Link

A top military commander says in a sworn affidavit Canadian troops would have to quit fighting the Taliban if they could not hand prisoners over to Afghan authorities.

Listing a long series of possible embarrassments and defeats, Brigadier-General André Deschamps outlined what he says would be the dire consequences, including losing the war, should a Federal Court judge rule in favour of a request by human-rights groups to issue an injunction banning the transfer of detainees to Afghan prisons because of the risk of torture or abuse.

"It strikes me as being unduly alarmist," said Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada, which along with the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, is seeking a halt to detainee transfers. Mr. Neve said the government seems to have taken an "all or nothing" position by asserting that a ban on transfers "would be so onerous that it would lead to the collapse of the entire mission." 

Gen. Deschamps sketches a variety scenarios. Taliban fighters might surrender in droves, he warns, if they knew Canada would release them because it could not either hold them or transfer them. "The insurgents could attack us with impunity knowing that if they fail to win an engagement they would simply have to surrender and wait for release to resume operations," he said in a sworn affidavit.
More on link

Detainees list torture, abuse by Afghan officials, filing says
PAUL KORING From Thursday's Globe and Mail December 20, 2007 at 4:31 AM EST
Article Link

Roughly a quarter of the prisoners interviewed in Afghan jails as part of Canada's follow-up inspections of transferred detainees said they were tortured or abused, according to documents filed in Federal Court and the statements of senior Harper government officials.

The documents confirm "eight allegations of physical abuse at Afghan prison facilities were made by detainees transferred to Afghan authorities by the Canadian Forces." The government refuses to say how many detainees were transferred during that period.

The documents also reveal that one Afghan prison official has been "suspended from his position at the Kandahar NDS [National Directorate of Security] facility and is currently under detention," accused of abuse by a transferred prisoner.

That arrest, and the uncovering of the abuse allegations, shows the value of the follow-up inspections, according to Kerry Buck, director-general of the Afghanistan Task Force in the Foreign Affairs Department.
More on link

Remand staff helps vets
UPDATED: 2007-12-19 01:50:09 MST By SHAWN LOGAN
Article Link
  
Workers at the Calgary remand centre have stepped up to support Canadian troops, as one of their own will see a son leave for Afghanistan in the new year. 

In a ceremony yesterday, city correctional workers and probation officers gave about $1,500 to the Military Family Resource Centre and provided 15 boxes of donated food to the veterans' food bank, hoping to brighten Christmas for families of troops serving abroad. 

Barb Blanchette, a case worker at the northwest facility, said employees decided to help after learning one of their own, Ruth Rowlandson, would be watching her son, Cpl. Bryan Rowlandson, ship out next month. 

"For a lot of people here, it became real because one of our people's sons is going over there," she said. 

The remand centre's 150 staff pick a charity every Christmas and chose this year to rally behind the troops in a year that has seen high-profile battles at city hall over how to show support for the Canadian Forces. 
More on link

Added Armour Proves its Value
Scott Taylor, 'Afghans damage Leopard tank 'behond repair'', Chronicle-Herald, 17 December 2007
Article Link

EXCERPT: "Recent news reports have claimed that Afghan insurgents damaged one of Canada’s Leopard 2A6M main battle tanks 'beyond repair.' In the original incident report, the tank was described as "disabled," and senior officials deny that the vehicle was destroyed. Also not confirmed is whether a conventional landmine or an improvised explosive device generated the blast. 

"The tank was one of 20 Leopard 2A6Ms on loan to Canadian troops from the German army. Weighing in at close to 70 tonnes, these armoured behemoths are considered to be the best main battle tank in service today. Prior to the Canadians taking possession, these tanks were put through a thorough upgrade at the Krauss Maffei Wegmann plant in the outskirts of Munich. Originally destined for service with the German Panzer brigades, the upgrade included additional armour protection on the belly of the vehicle to improve the crew’s survivability in the case of an anti-tank mine. 

"Whatever the extent of the damage to the Canadian tank in Kandahar, the additional protection proved to be adequate in this instance. While the driver suffered a broken hip, the remaining crew members survived unscathed. One of the survivors was so grateful that he penned a letter to German defence officials, praising the protection offered by the Leopard 2A6M, noting that 'the tank worked as it should.'"
More on link

Hockey mom roughs it in war zone
 TheStar.com - December 19, 2007 Mitch Potter TORONTO STAR
Article Link

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – One moment you are a stay-at-home mom, most days and nights eaten up by endlessly schlepping your three boys to and from the hockey rink in small-town Ontario. 

One moment later, you find yourself living in a tent in Afghanistan, pondering life's sometimes extreme twists as fighter jets scream into the sky from the runway next to your pillow.

Even Lori Hare herself is rather surprised by her spirit of adventure. But then, the 34-year-old Petawawa, Ont., homemaker didn't really have time to think twice when the opportunity to post to Kandahar Airfield – not as a soldier in the field, but as a civilian worker – came out of the blue last June.

She was looking for work, a scarce commodity these days in Petawawa, when a friend showed her a notice for a clerical job with CANCAP, the private-contract consortium that supplies a wide range of support services to the Canadian troops in Kandahar.

Hare called the friend's bluff and applied – and much to her surprise received a call back from CANCAP the very next day, offering her rapid deployment on a six-month contract. Barely three weeks later – July 4 – she touched down in Kandahar, the result of a swift decision and an equally speedy training session in Ottawa.

"It just happened so fast. I made the decision with my husband, then we sat down with the boys and said, `This is what's happening.' Their first question was, `Do you get a gun?' There was barely time to explain it to them. And then I was gone," says Hare.

The boys weren't completely shocked, as theirs is a family with military roots. Their father Sean, a Newfoundlander, only got back from his own Afghanistan rotation last March – a tour that saw its share of hazards by dint of his job as a regular-army convoy driver.

And Hare herself, whose job involves pushing paper strictly in the exponentially more secure zone inside the wire at Kandahar Airfield, grew up in a military family. A self-declared army brat, she was born in Lahr, Germany, and grew up bouncing from base to base, including multiple postings to Gagetown, N.B., interspersed with stints in Petawawa and London, Ont.

"I grew up with everyone around me going off on long assignments. And when this opportunity came along I realized this was my chance. Short of joining the military, I would never be able to do this," she says.
More on link

Local soldiers will spend the holidays on the front lines in wartorn Afghanistan; Holidays are tough for soldiers and family
Posted By Kathleen Hay Updated 22 hours ago
Article Link

There'll be a tree, presents and even a turkey dinner, but it won't be the same this Christmas for these two fellows. 

Cpls. Justin Wheeler and Rob Latreille, both Canadian Forces military police officers, will be enjoying all the trimmings on Dec. 25 except for the most important one of all - their families. 

Alexandria native, Latreille, 36, has been in Kandahar since August, and Wheeler, 26, of Cornwall, arrived there in October. While both have missed Christmases away from home before, it never gets any easier, they agree. 

"Two years ago, in December 2005, I was in Kabul," said Wheeler, a St. Joseph's Secondary School graduate. "It doesn't get any easier, but it's much harder on the families than us. 

"Your loved ones at home, they miss you." 

Wheeler's parents, Janet and James, live in Cornwall, and he has two brothers, Jamie and Jordon. Married to his wife, Nancy Paquette, for four years, the couple are based at 3 Wing Bagotville, Que. 

"We have a large supper, and it's actually not bad," Wheeler admitted. "Usually the officers end up serving it to us, which is kind of nice, but it sure doesn't compare to dinner back home. 

"In the military, we're all in the same boat. We miss birthdays, we miss Christmas, but we've got each other. It's the ones back home who hurt." 

Latreille, who attended Glengarry District High School, then completed St. Lawrence College's law and security course, has missed a few Christmas' too. In fact, his military career, including deployment training for Afghanistan, has seen him spend only a couple of weeks at home since last May. 
More on link

The Logical Conclusion To The Surrender Of Kandahar  
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Article Link

I knew it would come to this. While we're fighting possibly one of the most important battles of the past fifty years, all we hear about is the treatment of detainees who, if given the chance, would likely run swords into the backs of our soldiers and drag them down the street for their amusement. I wrote an impassioned plea for common sense right here. But all I received in reply was rhetoric about "principle" and "morality". If Canada is complicit in torture, goes the argument, we shouldn't be there. Well, it seems a large percentage of people are going to be very happy if they get their way, according to statements made in the media by Canadian Brigadier-General André Deschamps, who said that if we undertake a ban of transferring detainees to Afghan custody, we are doomed to lose the war.

It's interesting, in a sick sort of way, isn't it? Imagine losing a war to a people because you refused to do what it took to win. Wow. If Team Canada had been coached by the Liberal Party in 1972 we probably would have lost the series 8-0. After all, it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. Right? I mean, breaking Valeri Kharlamov's leg would have been completely unnecessary, and besides, it was totally an immoral thing to do. Canadians should be ashamed of Bobby Clarke.

Interesting how we're not ashamed of Bobby Clarke. Or Team Canada. Because we won the war against the Soviet Union in 1972 by winning by necessary means. You may ask, is this a kind of pathetic metaphor for the approval of torture? No. I've repeated that enough to make myself hoarse. But what it means is that if a few Taliban prisoners are accidentally tortured by Afghan authorities in circumstances completely out of our control, I am 100% willing to accept that risk in order to stay and win the war in Afghanistan. Only a fool would be willing to lose because of some kind of ridiculous standard of morality to which, quite frankly, nobody else is holding themselves to.
More on link

Fear of torture unfounded
'Humanitarian' concern could derail Afghan mission 
By PETER WORTHINGTON, TORONTO SUN
Article Link
  
What gives with these so-called "humanitarian" groups that seek to prevent our military from doing their job in Afghanistan? 

Never mind that Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan are fighting a war against the Taliban (the Vandoos, at the moment, to be replaced this winter by the Princess Pats -- again), and at the same time are rebuilding schools, giving aid and medical treatment, and trying to restore order and security. 

For our home-grown "humanitarians," this apparently isn't enough. 

Right now, a federal court is being asked to rule on an injunction forbidding the transfer of "detainees" (i.e. Taliban prisoners) to Afghan prisons for fear they may be tortured. 

Not that prisoners are being tortured or abused, or will be tortured, but that they "may" be so abused. 

What a bunch of horsefeathers! 

In a sworn affidavit on behalf of the Harper government, Brig.-Gen. Andre Deschamps (chief of staff in Afghanistan, responsible for combat operations) says being forbidden to hand over prisoners could curtail the whole Canadian mission in Afghanistan. 

Canada is not (one hopes) going to establish a Canadian-run prison camp in Afghanistan -- and thereby violate Afghan sovereignty. 
More on link

France Convicts 5 Former Guantánamo Inmates 
Published: December 20, 2007
Article Link

PARIS (AP) — A court convicted five former inmates of the American detention center at Guantánamo Bay on Wednesday on terrorism-related charges, but did not send any of them back to prison in France. A sixth man was acquitted.

The ruling capped proceedings that seemed at times like a trial of the American prison camp itself, with the prosecutor lashing out at the “Guantánamo system” and saying the prison violated international law. 

Seven French citizens were captured by American forces in or near Afghanistan in late 2001. All were held for at least two years at Guantánamo and then handed over to the French authorities in 2004 and 2005. One was found to have no ties to terrorism and was freed immediately after his return to France.

The others spent up to 17 months in prison in France. But by the time the verdict was announced Wednesday, all of them were out of prison pending rulings in their cases.

Five men were convicted of “criminal association with a terrorist enterprise,” a charge frequently used in France.

All the men insisted during the trial that they were innocent.
More on link

Military sets sights on at least 15,000 MRAPs 
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
Article Link

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon remains committed to buying at least 15,000 new armored vehicles to withstand roadside bombs and may seek more based on requests from commanders in Afghanistan, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Wednesday.
The Pentagon currently plans to procure at least 15,374 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, Morrell said. It has ordered almost 12,000 MRAPs to date, including orders announced Tuesday for 3,100 with a total value of about $2.7 billion.

Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, said recently that, because of improving security conditions, forces there might need fewer MRAPs than earlier anticipated. Commanders have said since the inception of the MRAP program that they would revise needs based on battlefield conditions.

Last month, Marine Corps Commandant James Conway said the Marines would cut their projected needs from 3,700 MRAPs to 2,300.

Demand for more MRAPs could come from elsewhere, Morrell told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

"I can tell you just this week, for example, that the commanders in Afghanistan are of the mind that perhaps they would like more in Afghanistan than they have originally requested," he said.

Morrell estimated that the need in Afghanistan could increase from about 500 to 600 MRAPs.
More on link


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## GAP (20 Dec 2007)

Relatives of German kidnap victim arrested in Afghanistan: police
Article Link

HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — Police have arrested four relatives of the Afghan wife of a German national abducted at the weekend, and believe they know where he is being held, a spokesman said.

Carpenter Harald Kleber, 42, was kidnapped on Sunday in the western province of Herat.

"Four relatives of the wife of the German have been arrested in relation to the incident as suspects," a spokesman for the Herat provincial police, Nur Khan Nikzad, told AFP.

The Afghan trade minister, Amin Farhang, also told German media that four relatives of wife of the former aid worker were in custody.

Farhang ruled out the possibility his abduction could have been the work of Taliban insurgents, even though the militant group has been responsible for a wave of kidnappings of foreigners in the war-torn country.

Nikzad said authorities believed they knew where the German was being held. He declined to give further details.

Kleber worked for a humanitarian organisation in Herat between 2003 and 2004 and then stayed in the country.

A German prosecutor said Tuesday that an arrest warrant had been issued for him over allegations of computer fraud in his native country.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (20 Dec 2007)

Dutch pullout threatens Digger safety
_The Australian_, Dec. 20
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22951722-31477,00.html



> AUSTRALIA'S long-term military commitment in Afghanistan is under threat after a decision by the Dutch Government to withdraw all of its troops by 2010.
> 
> The decision follows a grim warning this week by new Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, who told a NATO conference in Scotland that the increasingly bloody war being waged against resurgent Taliban extremists would be lost unless NATO and its allies agreed to dramatically rethink their tactics.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (21 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 21, 2007*

For this war, pilot's wings are clipped
 TheStar.com - World - For this war, pilot's wings are clipped
 With no Canadian aircraft on duty, veteran airman was grounded and he found a new way to serve
December 21, 2007 Mitch Potter TORONTO STAR
Article Link

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD – It is one thing to spend Christmas in Afghanistan doing what you have trained for all your life. It is another being Capt. Charles Mangliar, for whom a distant Plan B is the job at hand.

Mangliar, 36, a native Montrealer, has wanted to fly since "I was a little kid with my nose pressed up against the glass at Dorval airport."

His own personal torment at Kandahar Airfield is that Mangliar is adept and fully trained on many of the military jets and helicopters that scream in and out of the base day and night. But since not one belongs to Canada, this airman is grounded.

Mangliar anticipated he would serve as a pilot on Canada's fleet of Griffin helicopters. But having spent most of his adult life in the air force, he knows his way around fixed-wing aircraft as well, having been an aviator in Edmonton, Moose Jaw and most recently Quebec City, where Mangliar is based with 430 Squadron.

"I'd fly anything here, be it a jet or a tactical helicopter," he says. "If you are trained as a pilot, you want to fly. But the decision was made not to bring the Griffins here. And in the end, I decided to deploy anyway when this position came open."

"This position," as Mangliar puts it, is substantially more vital than the work of any one pilot. He is a member of what the Canadian Forces call "Tac-Pea" – the Tactical Air Control Party – a six-person unit dedicated to minimizing civilian casualties and so-called "friendly fire" from fighter jets, bombers and attack helicopters.

That means sitting in an operations centre at Kandahar Airfield as many as 12 hours a day, collating and relaying the precise locations of Canadian troops and Afghan civilians, while talking to Canadian commanders in the field, helping them determine the risk of the various airstrike options "when the enemy is within striking distance."

The decision to integrate people like Mangliar into TACP service was recommended in the board of inquiry that followed the September 2006 accidental strafing of a Canadian platoon by an American A-10 Warthog fighter jet.

"At times we do see the enemy on video feeds from all kinds of different systems that are up in the air, in real-time," said Mangliar. 

"But you go through the checklist, matching the right weaponry to the right situation. The decision is made and then you see a little kid walk into the picture – and immediately you are on the radio, saying, `This is not going to work.'" 

Mangliar is married with three children, aged 10, 8 and 4. He rationalizes his first-ever absence during the holidays by remembering that Christmas came last month.
More on link

Harper sees Afghanistan in a very difficult situation
Thu Dec 20, 2007 5:11pm EST By David Ljunggren and Randall Palmer
Article Link

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Afghanistan is in a "very, very difficult situation," in part because the international community wasted years before trying to stamp out the Taliban across the country, says Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Canada has 2,500 troops in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on a mission that is due to end in early 2009. Harper strongly defended the troops but conceded the mission to stabilize the country was going more slowly than expected.

"When I say progress is slow and uneven and at times discouraging, it's not because our guys aren't doing a terrific job. They really are. It's a very, very difficult situation," he told Reuters in an interview this week.

Harper said that while the 2001-02 international mission to expel the Taliban from government succeeded, no attempt was made subsequently to pacify the entire country.

"That effort, unfortunately, did not begin until three to four years later so by the time our allies and ourselves went out into the countryside, the process of the Taliban rebuilding had begun," he said.
More on link

Afghan corruption charges shutter police station
Allison Lampert, CanWest News Service  Published: Thursday, December 20, 2007
Article Link

ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan -- A plan to run the first independent Afghan police station in Kandahar province was sacked this week, just days after the officers were allegedly caught robbing villagers, CanWest News Service has learned.

Canadian soldiers were transferred Wednesday to mentor Afghan officers at a recently constructed station near Howz-E-Madad, even though the initial plan was to allow the police force to run the station alone, two high-ranking Canadian officers said.

The Afghan National Police was supposed to be manning the station with support from Afghan National Army and Canadian soldiers located at a nearby outpost, the officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity said. But after less than a week, the police officers allegedly began robbing and harassing residents in the area, prompting the Canadian Forces to quietly transfer soldiers there to provide supervision, they said.

The incident highlights concerns over the corruption and lack of discipline that continues to plague the fledgling Afghan police force. Poorly paid and under-equipped, the police force has been marred by nepotism, the presence of underage officers as young as 13 and absenteeism by its Afghan leaders.

Improving the police force is essential because the Afghan officers, along with Afghan soldiers are to eventually take the place of the overstretched Canadian army in Kandahar province.
More on link

Polish defense minister visits troops in Afghanistan   
 www.chinaview.cn  2007-12-21 02:50:12      Print 
  Article Link

    WARSAW, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich arrived in Afghanistan Thursday to inspect Polish forces in the country, local media reported. 

    About 1,200 Polish troops are currently stationed in Afghanistan. Next year, the Polish Afghanistan force may be enlarged by 300-400 men, according to Polish news agency PAP. 

    Home criticism of the Afghanistan mission mounted recently after the media revealed that Polish soldiers were responsible for civilian deaths in the Afghan village Nanger Khel last August. Seven soldiers have been charged in connection with the event. 

    Klich told the PAP that he planned to meet with colonel Martin Schuitzer, commander of the 4th combat group, to discuss the August events. 

    The defense minister also met with ISAF commander, General Dan Mc Neil, the PAP reported.
More on link

Australia Puts Controls on Ex-Guantanamo Inmate Hicks (Update1)  
By Ed Johnson
Article Link

 Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- David Hicks, who spent more than five years in Guantanamo Bay after training at al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, must observe a curfew and report to police when he is released from jail next week, an Australian court ruled. 

A judge today granted a police request to impose a control order on Hicks, who was the first so-called enemy combatant to be convicted by a U.S. military commission, court spokeswoman Denise Healy said by telephone. 

Hicks, a former cattle herder who was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and accused of fighting with the Taliban, pleaded guilty in March to providing material support for terrorism under a plea bargain. He was transferred in May to Yatala Labour Prison in the southern city of Adelaide to serve the remainder of his nine-month sentence under an agreement between the governments of Australia and the U.S. 

He admitted training at al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and joining Taliban fighters at Kandahar airport and Kunduz as a U.S.-led military coalition battled to oust the Islamist regime. 
More on link


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## daftandbarmy (21 Dec 2007)

Saudis biggest group of al Qaeda Iraq fighters-study 

19 Dec 2007 23:08:30 GMT 
Source: Reuters


By Kristin Roberts 

WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Most al Qaeda fighters in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia and Libya and many are university-aged students, said a study released on Wednesday by researchers at the U.S. Army's West Point military academy. 

The study was based on 606 personnel records collected by al Qaeda in Iraq and captured by coalition troops in October. It includes data on fighters who entered Iraq, largely through Syria, between August 2006 and August 2007. 

The researchers at West Point's Combating Terrorism Center found that 41 percent of the fighters were Saudi nationals. 

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N19629188.htm


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## MarkOttawa (22 Dec 2007)

ARTICLES FOUND DEC. 22

French president visits Afghanistan
AFP, Dec. 22
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071222/ts_afp/afghanistanunrestfrance;_ylt=AvpcN_4akv0TglHvYV7gKRl34T0D



> The international community cannot afford to lose the "war against terrorism" in Afghanistan, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Saturday on a quick visit to the insurgency-hit country.
> 
> The various nations with troops here must be united and committed in their efforts to build Afghanistan so it can withstand insurgents linked with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, Sarkozy told reporters travelling with him.
> 
> ...



Australia vows Afghan commitment
BBC, Dec. 22
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7157505.stm



> Australian PM Kevin Rudd has told Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a visit to Kabul he is committed to the "long haul" in Afghanistan.
> 
> Mr Rudd also visited some of the 1,000 Australian troops in Uruzgan province.
> 
> ...



Earlier:

_Le «pré-Noël» de Sarkozy en Afghanistan_
_Le Figaro_, Dec. 18
http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2007/12/18/01003-20071218ARTFIG00434-le-pre-noel-de-sarkozy-en-afghanistan.php



> _...A l’Élysée et la Défense, on planche sur deux options. La *première consisterait en l’envoi du bataillon français dans une région du Sud, peut-être en appui des Néerlandais* [emphasis added]. D’autant que le mandat français dans la région «Centre» expire à l’été 2008. La deuxième option, pas forcément exclusive, serait de renvoyer 200 hommes des Forces spéciales dans le Sud. Ils en avaient été retirés début 2007..._



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (22 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December  22, 2007*

Prof. Byers' self-psychotherapy  
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Article Link

That's how Ezra Levant assesses the puerile professor's book, Intent for a Nation: What Is Canada For? (Note who the blurbs are from.)

...
Byers is not against all military missions, though. He is positively giddy about a Canadian invasion of Sudan to liberate Darfur. “Neither the Janjaweed [militia] nor the Sudanese military constitute a serious fighting force,” he claims. “One or two thousand highly trained infantry, a few CF-18 fighter aircraft and the Canadian Forces’ fleet of Griffin helicopters” should do the trick, writes Byers, enjoying the frisson of naughtiness that any peacenik would feel when daydreaming about being a military commander. Proposing a unilateral invasion, unsanctioned by the UN, must be twice as exciting.

Byers doesn’t get his hands dirty with any operational questions, of course, for this is fantasy. Sending “one or two thousand” troops (which is it?) would require several times that number of support personnel, from engineers to cooks. In Afghanistan, our troops are there at the invitation of the Afghan government, with NATO cooperation on everything from airlifts to communications to laying landmines for us; the Sudanese government specifically rejected Canadian troops offered by Paul Martin. How would General Byers even get the troops there? He scoffs at the primitive technology used to attack Darfur civilians, but he ignores Sudan’s increasingly modern army, replete with Russian MiG-29 fighter jets, Mi-24 attack helicopters and Chinese maintenance crews.

Darfur is like Afghanistan before September 11: a conflict with no Canadian national interest at stake, where leftists can talk about their fantasy wars. Canada taking on Darfur unilaterally is not only militarily unfeasible; it is also a complete contradiction of Byers’s angry reasons, outlined a few pages earlier, for opposing the Afghan mission. He rails against the Afghanistan war for being expensive, for taking away from other potential missions (he suggests an adventure in Lebanon, as well as Darfur), for straying from peacekeeping into real fighting, for potentially provoking terrorist attacks back in Canada, for violating “rules” of international law and, amazingly, for using rough language (he is upset that General Rick Hillier, Canada’s top soldier, called the Taliban “detestable murderers and scumbags”). Those are weak reasons for opposing any war; the Second World War violated each one, for example. But Byers’s Darfur fantasy fails his own checklist even more miserably than he claims Afghanistan does, because Canada is in Afghanistan at the request of the Afghanistan government.
More on link

Canadian patrol captures 2 men in southern Afghanistan
Last Updated: Saturday, December 22, 2007 | 4:19 PM ET CBC News 
Article Link

Canadian soldiers patrolling the volatile Panjwaii district of southern Afghanistan captured two Afghan men believed to have handled explosives.

The incident happened near Forward Operating Base Sperwan Ghar, said CBC News reporter James Cudmore, who accompanied the patrol.

A small group of soldiers of the Quebec-based 3rd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment had been conducting a foot patrol through a built-up area, Cudmore said.

The patrol, conducted this past week, was intended as a show of force, military officials said.
More on link

More armored vehicles on way to Afghanistan
Sat, 22/12/2007 - 15:52 — matt Source: Pajhwak Afghan News Agency 
Article Link

NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The US Defense Department said Wednesday that more MRAP (mine-resistant ambush-protected) vehicles are being sent to Afghanistan.

A large number of the 3,100 MRAPs to be procured by the Defense Department at an estimated cost of $2.7 billion are being sent to Afghanistan and Iraq, where its spokesperson Geoff Morrell, said have proven to be true lifesavers for its war fighters.

The additional number of MRAPs is being sent to Afghanistan at the request of the commanders on ground. The commanders in Afghanistan are of the mind that perhaps they would like more in Afghanistan than they have originally requested, but that's something that still needs to be evaluated a little further, he said. 

I can tell you that their inclination at this point is that we may want to up the number in Afghanistan. So that's a scenario in which the needs would increase, he said. When asked if the commanders in Afghanistan have made any request, he said: I suppose it's formal. I don't know if there's actual documentation that's associated with it, but it's been articulated to the powers that be.
More on link

‘Tanks’ A Lot Germans  
December 22nd, 2007 | By Patrick Pitt
Article Link

It is the holiday season here in the great city of Toronto. There is no boxing on TV, my hockey team sucks, and baseball’s scandalous Mitchell Report hardly has me salivating for the new season. So without further delay,

Nobody asked me but -

What’s the tab again for those tanks we got from the Germans to work in Afghanistan?

Earlier this week a Canadian Leopard 2A6M was destroyed by either a conventional land mine or an IED in S. Afghanistan. Injuries sustained by operators of the armored track were minimal - if you consider a broken hip minimal. Though I suppose that’s better than what happened to those poor guys in the Nyala back in the summer.

The tank itself was a mobility kill and rendered damaged beyond repair.

While tanks are being used in Afghanistan in a different fashion than the failed Soviets’ tactics decades earlier, their mobility for protection still reduces their overall versatility in the mountainous and semi-urban villages in S. Afghanistan.

So we, or I should say, our Dept. Of National Defence, didn’t exactly purchase 20 of the Leopards from the Germans. 

They were loaned to us - for nothing. 

No rent. No lease.

Just return them as we got them. 

In perfect condition.

After being in a war torn country for an indefinite time period.

That’s a better deal than Mazda offered me. 

Hell, that’s a better deal than a library! 
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Afghan death penalty raises concerns
December 22, 2007 By Henry Chu Los Angeles Times
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Some donor nations are troubled by the revival of executions, especially in a land whose justice system is seen as inept. 

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — On a cool October evening, at the foot of one of the mountains that ring this city, the crack of heavy gunfire ripped through the twilight. When the reverberations finally faded and all was still, 15 people lay dead in a jumble of bloody bodies. 

Thus did the Afghan government, after keeping its firing squad idle for 3 1/2 years, revive capital punishment in this war-ravaged land. Officials say more executions are to come. 

The resumption of the death penalty here has sparked concern among many of the nations that provide Afghanistan with military and financial aid. Beyond moral qualms, critics and human rights activists are worried about the ultimate punishment being meted out by a justice system widely regarded as corrupt and incompetent. 
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Army's Leslie could be next chief of the defence staff
Mike Blanchfield , CanWest News Service Published: Saturday, December 22, 2007
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OTTAWA -- Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie will have his hands full in the coming year, especially if he stays in his current job as head of Canada's army.

Leslie is no stranger to the public spotlight. As a former commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, he distinguished himself as a polished communicator who combined the main elements of the modern military leader - part warrior, part diplomat, part CEO.

Leslie also has been a staunch defender of the welfare his troops fighting the Taliban there. That has included his steadfast defence of the army's controversial decision to lease a small fleet of German Leopard tanks for the army in Afghanistan.

But these days, when the 50-year-old general's name is uttered around Ottawa, it is as one of two candidates who possibly might succeed Gen. Rick Hillier as chief of the defence staff. (The other is vice-chief of the defence staff, Lt.-Gen. Walt Natynczyk, who also brings the same combination of brains and brawn to the senior ranks of military leadership).

Retired colonel Alain Pellerin, executive director of the Conference of Defence Associations, says it is unlikely Hillier will step down in 2008. The whisper campaigns and trial balloons that suggested the popular Newfoundlander might be replaced backfired badly when they unleashed a torrent of popular support among rank and file troops.

But that doesn't mean Leslie's role will be any less important.

As chief of the land staff, it is Leslie's job to find soldiers for each six-month rotation of the approximately 2,500 troops bound for Afghanistan.

"It gets more difficult as time goes on, not to send the same people back," says Pellerin.

At most, the army has a pool of 9,000 to 10,000 full-time soldiers as well as several thousand part-time reserves to draw from to staff Afghanistan. The army is responsible for a minimum of 2,200 of the 2,500 that staff each rotation, says Pellerin.
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Ottawa native gives soldiers a 'little slice of home'
 TheStar.com -  December 22, 2007 Mitch Potter TORONTO STAR
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD – The Brits have a taste for Boston cream, the Dutch opt for hot chocolate, the Americans favour bottled iced tea and everyone, even the Afghan customers, go gaga for Timbits. 

All of which suits Erika Burbidge, who understands her role in the military equation in Afghanistan requires service with unbridled enthusiasm, regardless of her inner mood.

That goes double when serving front-line troops returning to Kandahar Airfield between missions. It goes double-double at Christmas.

"This is my first Christmas away from home," says the 21-year-old Ottawa native, who won her seven-month rotation at Tim Hortons Kandahar after filing a last-minute application last winter.

"It is a huge event in our family because my dad is English and my mom is French. So I grew up in a completely bilingual household, where we throw ourselves into the traditions of French and English Christmas. I'll be missing a lot this year."

The people who work at Tim Hortons in Kandahar don't actually work for Tim Hortons – instead, they fall under the command of the Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency, a government service branch that requires of its staff far more than the ability to pour coffee in both official languages.

"During the application process you get a lot of situational questions. They want to know how far you will go to assist someone if a soldier comes in angry or upset."

During training, Burbidge said she was "scared into thinking it would be so much worse" in Kandahar. Instead, since landing in 60C-plus heat in July, she has built a life around work with salsa lessons, ball hockey, weekend karaoke and whatever other enjoyment she can find on the alcohol-free base.
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Impressive Canadian causeway project about to open in southern Afghanistan
Contributed by: N Say By Tobi Cohen, The Canadian Press December 21 2007 @ 12:22 PM MST 
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PASHMUL, Afghanistan - A causeway bridging the river separating Kandahar province's Zhari and Panjwaii districts is expected to open any day now, completing what officials say is one of Canada's largest and most important infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. 

The timing couldn't be better as heavy grey storm clouds have begun moving across the southern Afghanistan horizon, ushering in the rainy season. 

Just a week ago it seemed hard to understand why a crew of 50 Afghan construction workers, under the direction of Canadian Forces, was beavering away so feverishly to complete the raised span of concrete culverts, dirt and gravel. 

At the time, what passed for the Arghandab River was little more than a depressed plain of dirt and gravel nestled in the shadows of a towering mountain range. What little water filled the vast wadi was well under a metre deep.
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Is Hillier the politician of the year?
Comment: General is no slouch when it comes to politics
Don Martin, National Post  Published: Friday, December 21, 2007
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OTTAWA -- He grabs a pen, borrows a scrap of paper and starts drawing up a military blueprint for Canada's future in Afghanistan. 

In three simple triangles, Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier gives a graphic outline of Canada's evolution from Kandahar combat mission to Afghan army training priority to national economic redevelopment effort.

As 2007 ends, Gen. Hillier says, Canadian soldiers are making the transition from a fighting fixation to replacing themselves on the battlefield with trained and upgraded Afghan forces. 

It's a comforting theory because Gen. Hillier can see an end to the carnage that claimed another 29 Canadian soldiers this year, while dangling hope of a noble outcome.

It's also a safe bet this will resemble the key recommendations of a panel chaired by former Liberal deputy prime minister John Manley, now exploring Canada's role in this violent backwater on the other side of the world. 

Gen. Hillier appeared before the Manley panel twice this year to lobby his vision of the mission continuing until he can assure the 73 families of dead soldiers their sacrifice was not in vain.

"Based on the discussions, I think they're going to come up with something realistic," Gen. Hillier predicts - which suggests the mission's continuation until at least 2011 is secure. 
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## GAP (24 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 24, 2007*

Soldiers accustomed to dangerous, tedious work
  Allison Lampert CanWest News Service Monday, December 24, 2007
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Until he heard the "boom," Capt. Vincent Gallant was convinced the road was clear.

The RG-31 vehicle which tripped the roadside bomb Saturday afternoon -- part of a convoy Gallant was taking to Kandahar's Arghandab district -- carried a sergeant from Quebec, a corporal from Newfoundland and a gunner, who was new in the RG that day.

I know all this, because I was supposed to be the fourth passenger in the vehicle. Luckily, the blast caused by the improvised explosive device only left the passengers with non-life-threatening injuries.

I'd spent Thursday and Friday with the sergeant and the corporal, whose names I'm not allowed to publish. It was the three of us, along with Pte. Mathieu Pilon, a baby-faced gunner from Trois Rivières, Que., who'd snack on sunflower seeds to pass the time.

They were showing me the tedious, yet crucial task carried out regularly by army engineering and infantry groups: clearing Kandahar's roads of IEDs.

Indeed, most of the 73 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan have died because of improvised explosive devices hidden under the dusty roads that traverse this country.

"It's a fact of life here," Lt.-Cmdr. Pierre Babinsky, a Canadian Forces spokesman in Afghanistan.

With the Taliban lacking the coalition forces' immense technological advantage -- including artillery and air support -- carefully hidden IEDs have become the insurgency's most dangerous weapon.

The task of clearing roads, using the Canadian Forces' new Husky metal-detection vehicles, is slow and laborious. The painstaking work of operating the new Buffalo vehicles, which use a mechanical claw to sift through the dust for IEDs, is even more dull -- usually.

During the two days I went out with the guys, I would frequently nod off, despite the RG's frequent jolts. Then the ever-smiling Pilon, 21, would tap me awake and remind me how the three of them were used to spending far more hours on the road.
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More Quebec Soldiers Seek Religion
Reflects War's Impact; Growing demand for religious items in Afghanistan
Allison Lampert,  CanWest News Service  Published: Monday, December 24, 2007
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ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan - Crosses and Bibles are being removed from public institutions across Quebec--but in Afghanistan, they are in short supply.

Military chaplain Charles Deogratias said there has been growing demand among the Quebec soldiers here from the Royal 22nd Regiment in Valcartier, Que., for religious items. In the run-up to Christmas, demand for the camouflage Bibles designed for the Canadian forces has exceeded supply.

"I have to order more because I keep running out of them," said Rev. Deogratias, a Presbyterian military chaplain. "And the crosses. Everyone is asking for the crosses. They put it on their dog tags. Ask them and they'll show them to you. They'll tell you it is for their protection." It is a curious shift for the soldiers, who come from a province that is increasingly rejecting the role of religion in public life. Their embrace of spirituality reflects the impact this war -- the deaths, the near-deaths and the life-transforming injuries -- has had on their lives.
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Rescued pups boost morale among Canadian troops at remote Afghan base
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FORWARD OPERATING BASE WILSON, Afghanistan - Abandoned in the village of Sangisar after a fierce firefight a month ago, two tiny puppies have found a safe haven with Canadian troops at this remote base in the volatile Zhari district.

Dubbed Mira - short for Miracle - after barely missing a landmine while riding with her rescuers in an armoured Nyala vehicle near the town of Howz-e-Madad, the spunky white she-pup is breathing new life into the Operational Mentoring Liaison Team's compound at Forward Operating Base Wilson.

"Everyone says I look after her but it's not just me. It's the whole team. Everyone gives her food and pets her. She sleeps with us. It's good for morale," Cpl. Marc-Andre Fournier said of the new addition to the team.

"It's super fun. It brings life... We don't think of the frustrations out there with the war. It's a bit like a release."

At the opposite end of the base where members of the Canadian battle group have set up shop, another tiny pup named Goulash has found a home with a group of infantrymen from Company B.
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Ottawa think-tank fears misuse of laser 'dazzlers'
David ******** , CanWest News Service Published: Sunday, December 23, 2007
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OTTAWA -- The Canadian military has submitted details to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva about how it will test new weapons such as laser 'dazzler' systems for use in Afghanistan.

But an Ottawa think-tank is pushing for greater scrutiny of such purchases and how new high-tech weapons are used in the field. The Rideau Institute argues that the policy is simply a draft document and shows that Canada hasn't moved forward in meeting its obligation under the Geneva Convention to put protocols in place governing the fielding of new arms.

The Defence Department has set aside a little more than $10 million for the purchase of laser dazzlers for use in Afghanistan. The Canadian Forces is looking at buying the devices, designed to temporarily blind individuals, as part of its efforts to reduce the number of innocent Afghans killed or wounded by troops for failing to heed warnings not to approach military convoys.
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Through the family's eyes: Aunt tells story of soldier in Afghanistan during the holidays  
CORY HURLEY The Western Star
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Peace on earth is a wish on many people’s Christmas list, perhaps none more meaningful than the ones on those close to Lisa Compton.

Lisa is a mother, wife, daughter, relative and friend. The native of Mount Pearl and her husband Danny have a three-year-old son Brighton and she has a step-daughter Jennesa. She has relatives throughout the province and the country.

It sounds like the small, typical family that everybody knows or sees down the street.

The appearance of a model life begins to change when you learn she lives in Oromocto, N.B. — the home of Canada’s Canadian Forces base Gagetown. It continues to evolve when you hear someone call out to “Capt. Compton” and the Armed Forces nurse stands to attention. It alters to a mixture of disbelief and admiration when people learn she is currently serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
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Afghan duty calls – again
 Christmas in Kandahar: Maj. Pierre Bergeron 
Maj. Pierre Bergeron, a Pentecostal minister, is spending his second Christmas in a row at Kandahar Airfield.  Email story 
 Dec 24, 2007 04:30 AM Mitch Potter TORONTO STAR
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD–On just about any other Christmas, Maj. Pierre Bergeron would be utterly content with the usual – a guaranteed winter wonderland at his Quebec City chapel where family and friends enjoy sleigh rides before tucking into a banquet table groaning with French Canadian tradition.

For the second year running, the Pentecostal minister will instead lead services as senior chaplain at Kandahar Airfield, where a sprinkling of dust and a cafeteria-style turkey dinner is unlikely to fool anyone craving the wintry comforts of home.
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Rick Hillier: master strategist
Top soldier fully at controls of Afghan mission
Don Martin,  National Post  Published: Monday, December 24, 2007
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Rod Macivor, CanWest News Service File Photo
OTTAWA -He grabs a pen, borrows a scrap of paper and starts drawing up a military blueprint for Canada's future in Afghanistan.

In three simple triangles, Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier gives a graphic outline of Canada's evolution from Kandahar combat mission to Afghan army training priority to national economic redevelopment effort.

As 2007 ends, Gen. Hillier says, Canadian soldiers are making the transition from a fighting fixation to replacing themselves on the battlefield with trained and upgraded Afghan forces.

It's a comforting theory because Gen. Hillier can see an end to the carnage that claimed another 29 Canadian soldiers this year, while dangling hope of a noble outcome.

It's also a safe bet this will resemble the key recommendations of a panel chaired by former Liberal deputy prime minister John Manley, now exploring Canada's role in this violent backwater on the other side of the world.
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Canadian causeway project to open in southern Afghanistan   
TOBI COHEN The Canadian Press
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A causeway bridging the river separating Kandahar province's Zhari and Panjwaii districts is expected to open any day now, completing what officials say is one of Canada's largest and most important infrastructure projects in Afghanistan.

The timing couldn't be better as heavy grey storm clouds have begun moving across the southern Afghanistan horizon, ushering in the rainy season.

Just a week ago it seemed hard to understand why a crew of 50 Afghan construction workers, under the direction of Canadian Forces, was beavering away so feverishly to complete the raised span of concrete culverts, dirt and gravel.

At the time, what passed for the Arghandab River was little more than a depressed plain of dirt and gravel nestled in the shadows of a towering mountain range. What little water filled the vast wadi was well under a metre deep.

But those in the know insist that when the heavy rains come, the fast-flowing river will stretch some 500 metres across and run up to 1 1/2 metres deep.
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Canadian military donates old C7 rifles to Afghan National Army
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The Canadian military has agreed to donate 2,500 surplus C7 rifles to the Afghan National Army along with ammunition and training.

The decision, made quietly last week, is expected to bring the fledgling Afghan force in line with other NATO countries.

Building capacity among the ANA is the key to Canada's exit strategy from Afghanistan.

Last month a senior Afghan commander told The Canadian Press that better weaponry was crucial to the buildup of the ANA.

Lt.-Col. Shirin Shah Kowbandi said the army's old Soviet-era AK-47s frequently misfire.

At the time he said Canadians had promised to provide the ANA with "good weapons" but that they had not yet delivered.
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Bombs kill four in Afghanistan: police
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) — Two bombs, one of them hidden under a dead body, exploded near the southern Afghan city of Kandahar and killed four people, police said.

Police blamed Taliban fighters for the blasts, which occurred Sunday.

The bomb under the body killed a policeman and a villager in the Panjwayi district west of Kandahar city, senior police officer Mohammad Omar said.

"When a police officer along with a civilian villager came to remove the body, it exploded and killed both," he said. "It was the work of the Taliban."

He could not say whose corpse was used to hide the bomb but villagers said it could have been that of a man killed by the Taliban in recent days for alleged spying.

The rebels have killed dozens of people, including children, on similar charges.

The other bomb blew up a civilian van north of Kandahar city and killed two civilian passengers, Omar said. Three other civilians were injured, he said.
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## GAP (26 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 26, 2007*

Canadians join Gurkhas in search-and-destroy mission
Allison Lampert, CanWest News Service  Published: Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Article Link

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Canadian soldiers joined the renowned Royal Gurkha Rifles Sunday in a battle to eliminate the source of rocket fire that targeted two Kandahar military outposts.

But when the coalition forces showed up, insurgents hiding out at a compound near the Pashmul district shied away from a fight. It's the third joint operation between the Gurkhas -- a highly-praised Nepalese infantry division of the British army -- Canadian soldiers and the Afghan National Army.

Around 6 a.m. on Sunday, coalition forces moved toward an insurgent compound, supported by booming rounds of artillery.

"We completely overwhelmed the position very quickly. My reading is that they [the insurgents] wanted to cut their losses," Major Will Kefford, officer commander of the Gurkhas, told CanWest News Service.

"I am pretty certain that we were being watched by the Taliban throughout the day [after the operation]."

Coalition forces spotted a number of Afghan males leaving the site, which contained a vast weapons cache: Chinese-made rockets, anti-tank mines and equipment to make improvised explosive devices. Several Canadian soldiers told CanWest the intent of the operation was to eliminate a flurry of rocket fire aimed at forward operating bases in the Zhari district.
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MacKay pushes need to stay course
COLIN FREEZE From Wednesday's Globe and Mail December 26, 2007 at 12:37 AM EST
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KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — Defence Minister Peter MacKay served up turkey and tourtière to Canadian troops in Afghanistan on Christmas Day, saying they will stay for "as long as [they] can make this contribution."

The complicated calculus of Canada's commitment to Afghanistan, which could end as early as February of 2009, looms large in Kabul, Kandahar, Ottawa and other international capitals this coming year.

Mr. MacKay said the length of the mission "will be decided by Parliament in a fair, democratic debate and vote" but made no secret of his minority government's desire to stay until 2011 — and possibly a lot longer.

"We do not want to leave work undone. We want to make sure Afghanistan is a fully functional, secure, self-sustaining country," he told reporters. "That's the mission. And we want to complete that mission."
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Tim's co-founder spends Christmas with troops in Afghanistan
Allison Lampert, CanWest News Service  Published: Tuesday, December 25, 2007
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KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- The former military man who co-founded the Tim Hortons coffee chain, visited the most popular eatery on this sprawling military base.

For the first time, Ron Joyce, 77, came to Afghanistan to visit the Canadian soldiers who regularly line up to buy Tim Hortons coffee and doughnuts. Of all the dignitaries serving Christmas dinner to troops, Joyce received one of the loudest round of applauds from soldiers.

The line-up at Tim Hortons was even longer than usual, with the eatery serving its entire menu free-of-charge.

"I believe in it," the former navy communications specialist said of Canada's mission in Afghanistan. "I sure as hell hope we do a lot better job of supporting the troops."

Raised in Nova Scotia, the longtime bachelor said he lives in Alberta, but owns residences across the country. He joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1951 but by the time he shipped out to Korea, the war was ending.

He spent 13 years in the navy, deciphering and sending out messages in Morse code
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Insurgents planting IEDs inside human corpses in Kandahar, says ISAF
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Coalition forces in Afghanistan are being warned to look out for a gruesome and unusual tactic being used by insurgents.

The International Security Assistance Force said bombmakers in Kandahar province, where Canadian troops have been stationed for the past two years, have twice in recent days used human corpses to hide IEDs.

The first such IED was planted on the body of a decapitated Afghan man found in a cemetery Dec. 21, ISAF spokesman Brig.-Gen. Carlos Branco said Monday from Kabul.

NATO Wing Cmdr. Antony McCord added the man was wearing an Afghan National Army uniform but it's not clear if he was in fact a soldier.

Two Afghans were killed and two others were injured when the bomb exploded.

Nobody was hurt after a second "booby-trapped" body was discovered Sunday, 18 kilometres from where the first incident occurred.

"We cannot establish a pattern. This is not the beginning of something," Branco insisted.

"So far this is sporadic."
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Christmas comes in quietly in Kandahar
  Allison Lampert CanWest News Service Monday, December 24, 2007
  Article Link

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Some soldiers sang Christmas carols Monday night on the main drag in this sprawling military base. Others hurried off to the Canadian Christmas party for their seasonal beer ration - two bottles.

Still others filed into the airfield chapel for Catholic and Protestant services led by the top military chaplains in the Canadian Forces. On Christmas Eve, the chaplains are here to console soldiers fighting a bloody insurgency, thousands of miles from home.

"Even in the context of war, where there is a lot of violence and death, God is still present," said Canadian Forces Bishop Donald Theriault.

The chaplains spoke of reconciling Christianity, a faith which preaches non-violence, with the soldiers' job of killing insurgents.

"It's important to distinguish between killing and murder," said Col. Karl McLean of the Anglican Church of Canada. "It's, at times, necessary to take life.

"I don't see them (the soldiers) as killers."

By fighting insurgents who would deprive girls of an education and women of the right to earn a livelihood, the soldiers are defending the rights of Afghans, the chaplains say.
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Canadian troops mark Christmas with military family
Updated Mon. Dec. 24 2007 11:16 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
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At Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan, Canadian troops are celebrating Christmas without snow on the ground and their families beside them. 

On Christmas Eve, a multi-national group of soldiers gathered to sing carols. Some enjoyed a turkey dinner along with a rare two-beer ration. Some danced and partied as fellow soldier "D.J. Fred" spun tunes. 

But despite Christmas trees and good cheer, there was something missing.

"We don't feel the magic of Christmas," said Cpl. Yanick Garneau, wearing a Santa hat. "But anyway, we try to look like we're in the magic of the Christmas time."

Others said just because it's Christmas doesn't mean that soldiering in a combat zone stops.

"You think of your family and you do your job, right?" said Capt. Yvon Voyer. "There's a job to be done 24 hours a day and it's got to be done by someone
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The sword or the pen?
Future of Canada's mission in Afghanistan will be hotly debated in coming months
By MURRAY BREWSTER, The Canadian Press
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As Canada’s combat mission in Afghanistan enters its third full year, there’s increasing pressure on Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government to do more talking than fighting. 

The opposition parties are adamant the mission end on schedule in January 2009 or even earlier. The Canadian public, meanwhile, has grown weary of — or resigned to — the steady procession of casualties since early 2006. 

Mounting calls for dialogue rather than war become harder to ignore when key allies, such as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, encourage President Hamid Karzai to give moderate elements of the Taliban places in Afghanistan’s new government. 

A former diplomat who knows the region intimately says the Conservatives have done little to encourage negotiation and it’s time they started. 

“I see very little diplomacy going on,” said Louis Delvoie, Canada’s former high commissioner to Pakistan in the early 1990s. 
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LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN AFGHANISTAN
The Canadian Press December 24, 2007
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Leaders of France, Australia and Italy travelled to Afghanistan over the weekend to meet with President Hamid Karzai and visit troops stationed in the conflict-ridden country.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi arrived in Kabul yesterday to meet with Mr. Karzai and to visit Italian troops based in western Afghanistan, an official at the presidential palace said. Italy has about 2,400 troops in NATO's International Security Assistance Force, mostly in the western province of Herat. Mr. Prodi pledged Italy's long-term support for Afghanistan. 
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Afghan forces kill 150 Taliban insurgents   
www.chinaview.cn  2007-12-26 14:08:44   
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   　KABUL, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Afghan forces with the support of international troops based in southern Afghanistan province of Uruzgan have killed over 150 Taliban insurgents, the Daily Outlook newspaper reported Wednesday. 

    "In the operation backed by the U.S.-led Coalition troops and launched against militants in Charchinu district in Uruzgan province early this week so far 150 rebels have been killed," the newspaper quoted a press release of the U.S. military as saying. 

    Based on the press release the newspaper added the areas of Doaab and Dosang in Charchinu district had been cleared of insurgents while clash is going on in adjoining areas. 

    However, Taliban militants have not made any comment so far. 
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UK hold secret talks with Taliban: report   
 December 26 2007 at 10:48AM  
  Article Link

London - British secret services held talks with members of the Islamist extremist Taliban in Afghanistan, the British daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday.

The news comes as two foreign diplomats were ordered expelled from Afghanistan for alleged talks with the Taliban.

According to the Telegraph, agents from Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) held "jirgas" (formal discussions) with Taliban insurgents during the summer in the presence of Afghan officials.

About two weeks ago, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated his government would not negotiate with "terrorists."

Meanwhile, it was reported that two Western diplomats - from the European Union and the United Nations - are facing expulsion from Afghanistan for alleged talks with Taliban insurgents without the knowledge of the government in Kabul.
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Quiet Xmas for Kiwi in Afghanistan
Dec 25, 2007 7:38 AM 
Article Link

It will be a quiet Christmas for a New Zealand Red Cross aid worker in Afghanistan.

Chris Hughes is working as a volunteer midwife for six months, which means spending Christmas away from her son and daughter.

She says it can be tough not being with family at this time of year.

Hughes says the group of missionaries she is working with have decorated the house they are living in, and they will be celebrating with a Christmas pudding.
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Afghan Agents Detain Woman With Bomb
By AMIR SHAH –
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan intelligence agents detained a 50-year-old foreign woman carrying a suicide vest in eastern Afghanistan, while a roadside explosion killed one policeman and wounded three others, officials said Monday.

It appeared the woman was transporting the vest for militants and had not intended to detonate it herself, officials said. Militants have detonated a record number of suicide attacks this year — more than 140 — but no suicide bombings have been carried out by a woman in Afghanistan.

The burqa-clad woman was detained Sunday at a bus station in the town of Jalalabad, in Nangarhar province, said Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi, governor of the neighboring Kunar province.

Authorities were questioning her, he said.

Militants often use crudely made suicide vests in their attacks against Afghan and foreign troops. Wahidi said the woman was a foreigner, though he would not say which country she comes from. The border with Pakistan is close to the region the woman was traveling through.

In Kunar province, meanwhile, a roadside blast hit a police vehicle, killing one officer and wounding three others on Sunday, said the provincial police chief, Abdul Jalal Jalal.

The explosion happened in the Wata Pur district of Kunar province on Sunday
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## MarkOttawa (27 Dec 2007)

ARTICLES FOUND DEC. 27

Comment: senior commanders have no reason to do deals
_The Times_, Dec. 27, by Michael Evans, Defence Editor
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article3097381.ece



> It is common practice in the business of counter-insurgency to fight the enemy and at the same time to put out feelers to see whether deals or compromises might be possible to bring the violence to an end.
> 
> In Northern Ireland, 3,000 people died in the Troubles but the conflict ended not through military defeat of the IRA but after years of often covert negotiations with its leadership, initially through a senior officer of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (28 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 28, 2007*

Christmas In Afghanistan
[Jonah Goldberg]
Article Link

This came from a longtime reader in Afghanistan. I waited for permission to publish:

Well, yesterday I celebrated my first Christmas away from the states.  I'm at a little outpost in Afghanistan training Afghan soldiers where I have the distinction currently of being the lone American (everyone else is either recently reassigned or on leave).  Aside from the Afghans the place is mostly French Canadian, with a bomb-sniffing K-9 guy hailing from Tanzania.  The French Canadians celebrate Christmas very differently (i.e. wrong) than we do.  They stay up late to count down until midnight and then celebrate.  I didn't have the heart to tell them that they'd gotten it confused with New Year's.  I imagine in a few days we'll celebrate New Year's Morning.  One of the unit's few long-suffering Anglophones told me that it was a first for him too.

Anyway, I wasn't having any of this nonsense, and chose to go to bed at a civilized hour.  I'm soon roused by someone pounding on my door and trying to get in (I'd jammed it shut.  The French Canadians have a bizarre habit of wandering into our clearly labelled room in the middle of the night, running off when we wake up and ask them who the hell they are and what the hell they want.  This has happened at least 5 times.  It had been a while since the last time, but since I've been here alone I've figured better safe than sorry).  I get up and open the door to see what he wants.  The guys says that some Canadian general just helicoptered in, and he brought the US ambassador to Canada with him.  He said the Ambassador wants to meet all of the Americans on the post.  I say, "Well, that's me," and go to see the Ambassador.  He's a good dude, just a little suprised to have come all the way here and found just one American.  So I end up staying up have the night for the celebration, which consisted of Hot Pockets and nonalcoholic beer.  All in all, one of my stranger Christmases. 
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'Canada needs to stay involved'
Laurie Hawn reacts to Bhutto's assassination and the involvement of the Canadian troops
By DARINE MOUKHAIBER, Sun Media
Article Link 
  
Fresh from a trip to Afghanistan, Laurie Hawn said Thursday the assassination of Benazir Bhutto only reinforces the need for Canadian troops to stay in the troubled region. 
Hawn, MP for Edmonton Centre, said that the death of the former Pakistani prime minister goes to show the presence of the Canadian forces is necessary for bringing stability to the area. 

“There are elements out there that just flat-out do not want stability to come to that part of the world, which again is all the more reason why Canada needs to stay involved,” said Hawn adding that what happens in Pakistan is bound to affect neighbouring Afghanistan. 

Hawn arrived at the Edmonton International Airport Thursday afternoon after spending Christmas in Afghanistan, visiting the troops and assessing the country’s progress. 

“We’re giving them their lives back,” he said. 

Whether it’s building schools, training teachers or enabling business opportunities Hawn said things are as normal as they can be. 
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Brits appreciate Canadians in Afstan  
David ******** of the Ottawa Citizen draws attention at his blog to a recent British book:
Article Link

BRITS’ 3 PARA IN AFGHANISTAN: APPRECIATION FOR CANADIAN LAVs AND TROOPS

A book on my Christmas reading list is “3 Para: Afghanistan, Summer 2006” by Patrick Bishop. As the title describes, the book is about the British 3 Para Battle Group operating in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan in 2006. The troops, like their Canadian counterparts, saw almost near continuous combat for the six months they were there. The battle group, which worked closely with Canadian troops at times, had 14 soldiers and one interpreter killed and 46 others wounded during their tour.

“3 Para” is rich in details about combat and mentions soldiers from the Canadian Forces on a number of occasions. It becomes clear in the book that the Paras really appreciated the Canadian LAVs and the firepower they provided...
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Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan encouraged to face mortality issue
Article Link

GUNDY GHAR, Afghanistan - Soldiers from Valcartier, Que., took a course before they're deployed to Afghanistan - it's called "The Warrior and Death."

It's mandatory. Like it or not, they have to confront the question of mortality. Talking about death may be tabooed but it's a fact that Canadians are being killed in Afghanistan.

At the forward operating base in Gundy Ghar, about 40 kilometres west of Kandahar Airfield, death could be around every corner.

Rocket attacks and ambushes from the Taliban are commonplace.

The biggest threat of all comes from improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, that can engulf an armoured vehicle in a huge ball of flame within seconds because, as one military official put it: "You can always build a bigger bomb."

It's the mournful skirl of the bagpipes that Canadian soldiers dread the most. It marks the end of the road for a friend and comrade, an unmistakable sign that the battles against the Taliban have claimed another life.
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Harper calls for Pakistan election to proceed as Canada gauges Bhutto fallout
Article Link

OTTAWA - The shockwaves of Benazir Bhutto's assassination rippled into Canada as the government, the military, and the Pakistani community cast a wary eye toward tumultuous south Asia.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged Pakistan to proceed with its scheduled election in two weeks - this despite the country's main opposition party announcing a boycott after Bhutto's murder.

"This cannot be allowed to permit any delay in the return of Pakistan to full democracy," Harper said in Calgary.

"(Democracy is) something the people of Pakistan have been waiting for, for far too long."

Bhutto, the leading lady of Asian politics, was shot in the neck and chest while leaving a rally as she campaigned for her third stint as Pakistan's prime minister. Her attacker then blew himself up, also killing at least 20 others.
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Gird for long haul, Kabul tells Canadians
JANE TABER From Thursday's Globe and Mail December 27, 2007 at 12:05 AM EST
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Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada wants Canadians to take a world view of the problems in his country, saying Western leaders understand there is no “quick fix.”

Omar Samad said yesterday that weekend visits to Afghan President Hamid Karzai by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and new Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd are “a political signal … that they consider Afghanistan a very important world issue.

“I hope that the message that this sends to Canadians at this point is that they should look at it as a very critical and strategic world issue that requires long-term commitment,” Mr. Samad said. 

“Every one of these leaders made it very clear during their visit that Afghanistan matters, that Afghanistan is a long-term engagement and that no one should expect a quick fix.”
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Canadian-designed causeway bridges river separating Afghani provinces  
Dec. 28, 2007
Article Link

Project hailed as one of Canada’s most important infrastructure projects in Afghanistan 

PASHMUL, Afghanistan 

A causeway bridging the river separating Kandahar province’s Zhari and Panjwaii districts is expected to open any day now, completing what officials say is one of Canada’s largest and most important infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. 

The timing couldn’t be better, as heavy grey storm clouds have begun moving across the southern Afghanistan horizon, ushering in the rainy season. 

Just a week ago, it seemed hard to understand why a crew of 50 Afghan construction workers, under the direction of Canadian Forces, was beavering away so feverishly to complete the raised span of concrete culverts, dirt and gravel. 

At the time, what passed for the Arghandab River was little more than a depressed plain of dirt and gravel nestled in the shadows of a towering mountain range. 

What little water filled the vast wadi was well under a metre deep. 

But those in the know insist that when the heavy rains come, the fast-flowing river will stretch some 500 metres across and run up to 1.5 metres deep. 

“Within a few weeks you would not be able to cross without this [causeway] for sure,’’ said Warrant Officer Simon Germain, the Canadian site commander. 

A bridge once spanned the river here, but it was blown up by locals who felt it interfered with their access to the water. 
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More than 4500 Taliban members defect
IAN BRUCE, Defence Correspondent December 27 2007 
Article Link

More than 4500 Taliban insurgents have defected since 2005 and up to 4000 others have been killed in action against British and Canadian forces in southern Afghanistan, according to military intelligence sources.

Many are believed to have deserted the militant side as a result of a combination of persuasion by British and Afghan government agents and the realisation that they could never counter Nato airpower, the single biggest cause of their losses in battle.

The latest intelligence briefing available to alliance military commanders says that the Taliban can field up to 10,000 fighters at any given time in the south and east of the country, but that only 2000 to 3000 of these are highly motivated, full-time jihadis.
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## MarkOttawa (29 Dec 2007)

ARTICLES FOUND DEC. 29

Poland to send additional 400 troops to Afghanistan
AP, Dec. 28
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/28/europe/EU-GEN-Poland-Afghanistan.php



> Poland's government is expected to send 400 additional troops to its mission in Afghanistan, a move of increased importance amid destabilization in neighboring Pakistan, the nation's defense minister said Friday.
> 
> Some 1,200 Polish troops already serve as part of the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. Earlier this month the country pledged to strengthen that force with more troops and eight helicopters.
> 
> ...



U.S. Fears Greater Turmoil In Region
Pakistan's Crisis Could Affect War In Afghanistan
_Washington Post_, Dec. 29
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/28/AR2007122802622.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2007122801300



> President Bush held an emergency meeting of his top foreign policy aides yesterday to discuss the deepening crisis in Pakistan, as administration officials and others explored whether Thursday's assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto marks the beginning of a new Islamic extremist offensive that could spread beyond Pakistan and undermine the U.S. war effort in neighboring Afghanistan.
> 
> U.S. officials fear that a renewed campaign by Islamic militants aimed at the Pakistani government, and based along the border with Afghanistan, would complicate U.S. policy in the region by effectively merging the six-year-old war in Afghanistan with Pakistan's growing turbulence.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (30 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 30, 2007*

*Canadian soldier killed on patrol in Afghanistan*
Updated Sun. Dec. 30 2007 11:05 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

An explosion has killed a Canadian soldier out on routine patrol in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

Four others were wounded in the blast, which occurred about 9:10 a.m. local time on Sunday.

The dead soldier has been identified as Gunner Jonathan Dion of the 5th Regiment d'Artillerie legere du Canada, which is based in Valcartier, Que.

"The soldiers were carrying out a routine vehicle mounted patrol when the vehicle they were travelling in was hit by an explosion," said an ISAF news release issued Sunday.

"They were immediately evacuated for medical care, sadly, one died of wounds inflicted by the explosion."

"Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the soldier who was killed and those who were injured," Wing Commander Antony McCord, Regional Command South spokesperson, said in the news release.
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Taliban sacks key commander   
 www.chinaview.cn  2007-12-30 16:29:06    
Article Link

    KABUL, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar has dismissed its key commander Mullah Mansoor Dadullah for disobeying orders, a statement of militants released in southern Afghanistan said Sunday. 

    "Mullah Mansoor Dadullah has been sacked because of insubordination and disobeying the orders of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," said the statement received by Xinhua. 

    Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is the official name of the Taliban regime which was toppled by the U.S.-led military invasion in late 2001. 

    Mansoor, who replaced his brother Mullah Dadullah following the latter's death on May 12 in the southern Helmand province, was among key commanders of the outfit in the southern region of the war-torn Afghanistan. 

    "From now on Mullah Mansoor has no authority and no responsibility within the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," Omar noted in the statement. 
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U.N. envoy calls for early release of staffer in Afghanistan   
 www.chinaview.cn  2007-12-30 16:18:23      Print 
Article Link

    KABUL, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan Tom Koenigs on Sunday ruled out the involvement of the staffer of U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in illegal activities and called for his early release. 

    "We are certainly concerned that one consultant to work for us is still in jail and we will do everything to get him out," Koenigs told newsmen here. 

    Rejecting allegations against the held staff as "misunderstanding", he said that the governor of Helmand province Assadullah Wafa in talks with local media denied the involvement of UNAMA in any malpractice. 

    "Governor Wafa the principle actor in this drama has said that UNAMA is not involved and so our consultant should be released," the outgoing U.N. envoy to Afghanistan noted. 

    However, he did not identify the man being held in custody. 

    Afghan President Hamid Karzai's chief spokesman Hamayon Hamidzada told newsmen on Dec. 25 that the authorities had arrested two foreign high-rank officials as their activities were against their mandate but did not give more details. 
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Navy bomb defusers adapt to Afghanistan roads
Updated Sat. Dec. 29 2007 9:59 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

Canadian navy divers are putting their underwater expertise to use along the sand roads of Afghanistan. 

Experts trained to defuse bombs underwater have been stationed in Afghanistan since early 2006, adapting their skills to combat the deadly roadside bombs commonly used by insurgents. 

The military asked bomb-clearing personnel to join the mission in Kandahar province to help counter the increasing threat of roadside bombs. 

Petty Officer Luc Champagne was among the first group of divers to serve in Kandahar. He said it was a bit of a surprise, at first, to be called to the landlocked country. 

"I was like, 'OK, what am I going to do over there,'" Champagne told CTV News. "There is not that much difference between under water and surface." 

Most commonly, navy bomb handlers use their demolition expertise to defuse unexploded ordinances left over from the Second World War. 

It's a dangerous job offered only to elite divers. Most often, navy divers are noted for their role responding to civilian tragedies. 
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Army officers in Afghanistan plan wedding  
Last Updated: 2:06am GMT 30/12/2007
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Two Army officers are planning their wedding while serving in different parts of Afghanistan and using Army radios to thrash out final details like the gift list.

As Stu Deakin and Kirstie Main are unable to speak to each other by telephone, the only direct contact they have is by radio, with others able to listen in.

Rather than whispering sweet-nothings, the couple have to settle for chats punctuated in less-than-romantic style with "over".

The couple, who got engaged earlier this year, are to marry at the Sandhurst Military Academy in July but will both be in separate areas of Helmand province until April.

While many of the arrangements for the big day were made before they were deployed, much has had to be organised from the war zone.

Capt Deakin, 35, is a fire support team commander responsible for providing cover for Scots Guards troops. His 29-year-old fiancée is a troop commander responsible for the welfare of 30 soldiers.
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Wilkins encourages Canada to stay in Afghanistan beyond 2009
Article Link

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The U.S. ambassador to Canada says he's unsure how the death of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto will affect Canada's upcoming parliamentary vote on troops in Afghanistan.

Ambassador David Wilkins says: "It remains to be seen" if the crisis in Pakistan will affect how Canadian legislators vote.

As ambassador, he is encouraging Canadian officials to extend the country's military operations in Afghanistan beyond its current commitment that ends in February 2009.

But, he says, "It's up to Canadian elected officials to make that decision."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said the mission would not be extended without the approval of Parliament. No date has been set for the vote but Wilkins says he expects it to happen early in 2008.
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It’s good to talk … even to the Taliban
By Trevor Royle, Diplomatic Editor Comment
Article Link

TALK TO the Taliban? Why ever not? In any counter-insurgency war there comes a time when contact with the enemy, however distasteful, makes sense. In Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein's Martin McGuiness became an integral part of the peace process but it's not so long ago that he was the commander of the Provisional IRA's brigade in "Free Derry". And those of us with longer memories will recall the demonisation of Archbishop Makarios only for him to turn into a respected world leader. From terrorist to statesman: the experience can be as easy as fitting Cinderella's slipper.

That's why the Afghan government's decision to expel the two Western diplomats from the country makes no sense at all. It's not as if either of them are innocents abroad. Michael Semple, the Irish-born acting head of the EU mission, and Mervyn Patterson, a UN adviser, both know Afghanistan like the backs of their hands. They've been in the country for 10 years, are fluent linguists and, most importantly of all, they seem to have been trusted by the tribal elders who represent the ever-changing kaleidoscope of alliances in the areas where Kabul's writ is largely disregarded.

Even Bill Woods, the US ambassador in Kabul, came down on their side when he described their expulsion as a "misunderstanding". Now that's really something given that neither the EU nor the UN figure highly on the state department's Christmas card list. And let's not forget that Woods represents a government which is not at all happy about making contact with a group that gave direct support to al Qaeda ahead of the 2001 attacks on the US homeland.
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Civilian 'not scared' about her stint in Afghanistan
Restricted to the base, she will organize travel for soldiers who head off on leave to be with their families
  Trish Audette The Edmonton Journal Saturday, December 29, 2007
Article Link

EDMONTON - When Michelle Joljart says she supports Canada's troops, she isn't talking about donning a yellow ribbon or wearing a poppy on Remembrance Day. And she isn't talking politics.

She is going to Afghanistan.

On Jan. 3, the 38-year-old civilian is expected to begin a six-month deployment at Kandahar Air Field -- an adventure she calls a birthday present to herself.

"A lot of my friends are military," says the Edmonton woman. "I believe in what they do. It's something I can do for Canada."

Joljart, who is working on contract with the Edmonton Police Service until the end of December, has been angling for a position with the Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency for three years, since she saw an ad in the Edmonton Journal. She applied for a position overseas six times before being accepted earlier this year.
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Guantanamo Terror Convict Freed
By ROHAN SULLIVAN –
Article Link

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — David Hicks, the only person convicted of terrorism charges at a U.S. military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, walked free Saturday and said he did not want to do "anything that might result in my return" to the prison in Cuba.

The 32-year-old was released from prison in his home town of Adelaide in southern Australia after completing a nine-month sentence struck under a plea deal that followed more than five years' detention without a trial at Guantanamo.

Hicks smiled briefly as he was led by guards toward the gate of the Yatala Labor Prison, but did not speak to reporters.

In a statement released by his lawyer he thanked supporters including rights activists and anti-torture groups who helped get him out of Guantanamo Bay.

"First and foremost I would like to recognize the huge debt of gratitude that I owe the Australian public for getting me home," Hicks said in the statement. "I will not forget, or let you down."

Last week, a federal magistrate ruled that Hicks was a security risk because of the training he acknowledged receiving in terrorist camps in Afghanistan. The court was told he met al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden at least 20 times, describing him as a "lovely brother" in letters home.
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Portugal to boost military presence in Afghanistan   
 www.chinaview.cn  2007-12-29 18:38:57   
Article Link

    KABUL, Dec. 29 (Xinhua)-- The visiting Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Severiano Teixeira said Saturday that Portugual will boost military strength in the post-Taliban Afghanistan. 

    "We know that training of Afghanistan National Army is very important and that is why Portugal will send at the beginning of 2008 a team for training of Afghan Army," he told newsmen at a joint press conference with his Afghan counterpart Abdul Rahim Wardak. 

    The new team is composed of 15 elements to train the personnel of Afghanistan National Army, he said. 

    He also linked the security of Europe to the security of Afghanistan and added Portugal is committed to support peace and stability in Afghanistan. 
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It’s part of the job’; Corner Brook man heading to Afghanistan 
CORY HURLEY The Western Star
Article Link

CORNER BROOK — A native Corner Brooker is about to serve his country in Afghanistan.

Justin Hughes, 28, has been preparing for this day since he signed up with the Second Battalion of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment 12 years ago. When the call for soldiers came in to Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, he was the only one to volunteer for the overseas mission.

“It’s part of the job,” Hughes told The Western Star on Friday at his childhood home in Corner Brook. “It’s what we do and I wanted to do it.”

The Regina High School graduate is a close friend of another local soldier, Jamie MacWhirter, who served in Afghanistan last year. They were in the reserves together and were trained as mobile support equipment operators together. 
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Soldier paralysed in Afghanistan back on duty
By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent Last Updated: 2:05am GMT 30/12/2007
Article Link

Have Your Say: Pay your own tribute to Sgt Caldwell
Sgt David "Paddy" Caldwell was directing mortar fire from a rooftop in Sangin in August last year when a Taliban bullet passed through his neck.

Another soldier, Cpl Karl Jackson, was awarded the Military Cross for pulling him back while under enemy fire, allowing his platoon sergeant to have surgery within the crucial "golden hour".

He received further treatment at Birmingham's Selly Oak hospital but was paralysed from the neck down and told his chances of recovery were slim. The AK47 bullet severely damaged his spine, sending it into shock and causing an injury called C4 Incomplete.
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Blatchford captures combat chaos
By JOSEPH HOWSE Sun. Dec 30 - 7:50 AM
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For most Canadians, the highways and villages of southern Afghanistan are (in Neville Chamberlain’s infamous phrase) "faraway places of which we know little." We are not alone in our ignorance. Even sources such as the United Nations and the World Bank publish sketchy census and economic data on Afghanistan, unless one counts the meticulous opium price index of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

For some Canadians, however, these places far away from home are where they have struggled to do good and stay alive.

Fifteen Days, by journalist Christie Blatchford, reconstructs some of the hardest scenes from Canadian Forces’ operations in Kandahar Province during March to November 2006. Most of the "fifteen days" featured in the book are dates of Canadian soldiers’ deaths. For insight into the surrounding events, Blatchford has interviewed dozens of soldiers and kept in contact with them over long periods of time. Her research also includes first-hand observation on two tours in Afghanistan, and conversations with soldiers’ families back home.
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Taliban Kill 8 in Afghan Convoy Attack
By JASON STRAZIUSO – 7 hours ago 
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban militants fired rocket-propelled grenades from their vehicles at a convoy of private security guards on Afghanistan's main highway, killing six guards and two police officers, a police chief said Sunday.

The attack in a dangerous section of Wardak province occurred Saturday afternoon as the security contractors were guarding equipment being driven from Ghazni city to the capital Kabul, said Wardak police chief Gen. Zafaruddin, who goes by one name.

Taliban militants opened fire on the convoy near Maydon Shahr, about 20 miles southwest of Kabul, and six guards and two policemen were killed, he said.

This year has been Afghanistan's most violent since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion drove the Taliban from power. More than 6,300 people, mostly militants, have been killed in insurgency-related violence, according to an Associated Press count.

Meanwhile, the U.N.'s top representative here, Tom Koenigs, said he was "particularly concerned" that an Afghan consultant who worked for the U.N. remains jailed after he accompanied officials from the U.N. and European Union, allegedly to a meeting with Taliban commanders in Helmand province.

The government asked the two officials to leave the country last week, and detained the Afghan consultant for attending the alleged meeting.
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## The Bread Guy (30 Dec 2007)

*Quebec gunner killed by improvised explosive device in Afghanistan*
Canadian Press, 30 Dec 07
Article link

MA'SUM GHAR, Afghanistan - A Canadian soldier is dead and four others are recovering from injuries suffered when their light armoured vehicle struck a roadside bomb early Sunday in southern Afghanistan.  The soldier has been identified as Jonathan Dion, 27, a gunner with the 5th Regiment d'Artillerie legere du Canada from Val-d'Or, Que.  The explosion happened shortly after 9 a.m. about 20 km west of Kandahar city, during a routine patrol.  Five people were evacuated by helicopter to hospital at Kandahar Airfield where Dion later succumbed to his injuries.  Military officials say the other soldiers suffered non-life threatening injuries.....


*Blast in Afghanistan kills 1 Canadian soldier, injures 4*
CBC.ca, 30 Dec 07
Article link

One Canadian soldier was killed and four others were wounded when their armoured vehicle struck a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, military officials said.  The soldier who died has been identified as Gunner Jonathan Dion, 27, from the 5th Régiment d’artillerie légère du Canada, based in Valcartier, Que.  The incident occurred shortly after 9 a.m. local time as troops were on a routine patrol in Zhari district, about 20 kilometres west of Kandahar City.  After the explosion, all five soldiers were flown by helicopter to the Canadian-run hospital at Kandahar Air Field where Dion succumbed to his wounds, Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche told reporters .....


*Canadian soldier killed on patrol in Afghanistan*
CTV.ca, 30 Dec 07
Article link

An explosion has killed a Canadian soldier out on routine patrol in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province.  The dead soldier has been identified as Gunner Jonathan Dion, 27, of the 5th Regiment d'Artillerie legere du Canada, which is based in Valcartier, Que.  Four others were wounded in the blast, which occurred about 9:10 a.m. local time on Sunday.  The four injured soldiers were taken to the hospital on the Kandahar base and are in good condition.  CTV's Murray Oliver told CTV Newsnet from Kandahar that one soldier has already been released from hospital and the others are expected to make a full recovery.  The blast occurred about 20 kilometres west of Kandahar City. The soldiers were part of a convoy returning there.  "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the soldier who was killed and those who were injured," Wing Commander Antony McCord, Regional Command South spokesperson, said in a news release from NATO's International Security Assistance Force ....


*Canadian killed in Afghanistan*
Allison Lampert , CanWest News Service, 30 Dec 07
Article link

One Canadian soldier was killed and four others were injured after the armoured vehicle they were travelling in hit a roadside bomb Sunday in Kandahar province.  Gunner Jonathan Dion, 27, from Val d'Or, Quebec died while carrying out a routine patrol in Zhari district, about 20 kilometres west of Kandahar City. The four other soldiers were treated for their injuries at Kandahar Air Field.  Dion was part of the 5th Light Artillery Regiment of Canada, based in Valcartier.  The soldiers were riding in a T-LAV, a vehicle that has similar armour to the LAV III. It's the first time a T-LAV has exploded because of an improvised explosive device ....


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## GAP (31 Dec 2007)

*Articles found December 31, 2007*

Gunner Dion bid tearful farewell at ramp ceremony  
Updated Mon. Dec. 31 2007 7:46 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

The body of Gunner Jonathan Dion is on its way home from Afghanistan after friends and colleagues bid farewell at an early morning ramp ceremony. 

Pall bearers, several overcome with grief, carried the casket containing the 27-year-old from Val-d'Or, Que., onto a plane at Kandahar Airfield this morning. 

Dion was killed and four other soldiers were injured Sunday morning when their armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device 20 kilometres west of Kandahar City. 

Two of the injured were wheeled off ambulances in wheelchairs to the side of the plane to attend the ramp ceremony. Nurses helped them to their feet and they stood at attention as Dion was carried past. 

At the time of the blast, the soldiers were returning to Kandahar Airfield to attend New Years Eve celebrations. 

"That sadness was not lost on anyone today during this tragic ramp ceremony," CTV's Murray Oliver told Canada AM from Afghanistan. 

"There's a real sorrow across the base today, a sorrow that shouldn't have been there. This is supposed to be a time of celebration." 

Dion was a member of the 5th Regiment d'Artillerie legere du Canada, which is based in Valcartier, Que. 

Unit members said Dion was a warm and friendly soldier who was respected for his dedication and hard work. 

Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche, Canada's top military commander in Afghanistan, said the troops were saddened by the loss of their brother. 
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A year of living dangerously
JULIAN SHER Globe and Mail Update December 30, 2007 at 7:42 PM EST
Article Link

I started the year in January ducking mortar attacks from Sunni insurgents in Baghdad. I ended it in December, awakening to the explosion of Taliban rockets in Kabul.

Partly by chance, partly by choice, I had a front-row seat in the two main theatres of the so-called war on terror, as I filmed documentaries for the CBC. Through the dispassionate eye of the camera and the critical eye of the journalist, I came away shaken and saddened.

It's the small things that strike you in war zones – the tiny triggers that hint all is not going according to the rosy plans and the positive media spin back home.

Embedded with American troops in a troubled neighbourhood in southeast Baghdad, I notice that, despite the gruelling sun, some of the Iraqi soldiers working alongside the U.S. forces wear ski masks. They fear being identified too closely with their erstwhile American allies and thereby becoming easy terror targets.
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Taliban kill 16 Afghan policemen at police checkpoint - Update  
Mon, 31 Dec 2007 09:14:01 GMT
Article Link

Kabul - Sixteen Afghan policemen were killed during an attack on their checkpoint by Taliban insurgents in Southern Afghanistan, the Interior Ministry said Monday. The attack occurred in the Maiwand district of Southern Kandahar province on Saturday, Interior Ministry spokesman, Zemarai Bashary, said, adding that a search has been launched to recover the bodies of the slain policemen. 

The Taliban took responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on their website. 

The group has carried out several attacks in the past on the checkpoint, which is situated on the main National Highway 1. 

In a separate incidents, seven Afghan troops and one Canadian soldier were killed in three roadside bombings and one traffic accident in southern and eastern Afghanistan, officials said Monday. 
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Canada to focus on mentoring Afghan forces in 2008
Updated Sun. Dec. 30 2007 1:00 PM ET Philip Stavrou, CTV.ca News
Article Link

As Canada prepares for its sixth year in Afghanistan, there is growing consensus that the mission needs to focus on empowering the Afghan army and government with the tools to achieve independence.

An example of this is a small but growing number of Canadian troops heading to Kandahar next year that will find themselves in a mentoring role instead of on the front lines of combat.

Roughly 200 soldiers, under the umbrella of NATO's Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT), will arrive this February with the goal of helping to develop the Afghan National Army (ANA). 

Col. Francois Riffou, the incoming commander of the Canadian forces mentoring program, has been preparing the new batch of soldiers since April 2007.

In an interview with CTV.ca, Riffou said many of the returning soldiers will have an adjustment to make since they are used to working in a combat role.
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Canadians fighting international terrorism: Hiller
Updated Sun. Dec. 30 2007 6:20 PM ET The Canadian Press
Article Link

OTTAWA -- The conflict in Afghanistan is about more than simply rehabilitating a small, war-battered country in southwest Asia, says Canada's top general. 

Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of the defence staff, says Afghanistan is a beachhead in a larger fight against the kind of international terrorism personified by al Qaeda. 

The Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan fighting NATO soldiers, including Canadians, are supported by outside groups who provide money, manpower and expertise, he said. 

Hillier said the Taliban, when it ruled Afghanistan, supported international terror by offering a haven for militants far from international scrutiny. 

"The Taliban provided that sort of fertile garden in which al Qaeda could do a whole bunch of things that it would not have otherwise been able to do or would have had more difficulty doing,'' he said in a recent interview. 

Without that help, the group might not have been able to pull off the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington. 

"The Taliban gave al Qaeda the training camps and the ability to plan and recruit and finance and get people ready,'' he said. 

"You want to remove that petri dish so you can't grow that kind of violence and the capabilities to project that violence around the world.'' 

He said NATO is in Afghanistan "helping remove that protected base where terrorist groups like al Qaeda and others could hide and reside and prepare and project violence.'' 
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