# The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread AUGUST 2010



## George Wallace (1 Aug 2010)

*The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread AUGUST 2010 *               

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


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## MarkOttawa (1 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 1

Burden of war in Afghanistan shifts even more to the U.S.
U.S. troops now account for about two-thirds of the NATO force in Afghanistan, and Americans make up more than two-thirds of July's Western military fatalities.
_LA Times_, Aug. 1
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-war-deaths-20100801,0,583006.story



> ...
> Although most of the arriving U.S. troops are being deployed in the south, the spiritual home of the Taliban  and the scene of near-constant fighting between NATO forces and insurgents, American forces are also pushing into parts of the country where they have never been present in large numbers.
> 
> That includes a wide swath of Afghanistan's north, where until just a few months ago German troops made up the bulk of foreign forces.
> ...



Targeted Killing Is New U.S. Focus in Afghanistan
_NY Times_, July 31
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/world/asia/01afghan.html?hp



> WASHINGTON — When President Obama  announced his new war plan for Afghanistan last year, the centerpiece of the strategy — and a big part of the rationale for sending 30,000 additional troops — was to safeguard the Afghan people, provide them with a competent government and win their allegiance.
> 
> Eight months later, that counterinsurgency strategy has shown little success, as demonstrated by the flagging military and civilian operations in Marja and Kandahar and the spread of Taliban influence in other areas of the country.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (2 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 2

Gates, Pelosi split on Afghan pullout pace
_Politico_, Aug. 1
http://www.politico.com/blogs/politicolive/0810/Gates_Pelosi_spliton_Afghan_pullout_pace.html?showall



> In a pair of interviews airing Sunday on ABC's "This Week," Defense Secretary Robert Gates and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took decidedly different tacks about the speed with which U.S. troops should pull out of Afghanistan when the scheduled withdrawal gets underway next summer.
> 
> "Well, first of all, I think that - my personal opinion is that - that drawdowns early on will be of fairly limited numbers. And as we are successful, we'll probably accelerate. But, again, it's - it will depend on the conditions on the ground," Gates said.
> 
> ...



Petraeus Resets Afghan Airstrike Rules
Amid Review of U.S. Strategy, Military Eases Restrictions on Attacks Against Insurgents Hiding in Abandoned Buildings 
_WS Journal_, Aug. 1
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703314904575399770077260834.html



> WASHINGTON—U.S. commanders in Afghanistan have eased a rule covering the use of force that has been a source of discontent among American troops, according to military officials.
> 
> As a result of findings during a review commissioned by Gen. David Petraeus, it has been made clear that troops are allowed to request airstrikes and artillary strikes against insurgents hiding in dilapidated buildings or other abandoned structures. Commanders conducting the review said they found some junior commanders had misinterpreted the rules to mean they weren't allowed to fire on such places...
> 
> Gen. Petraeus, who has spoken often about how civilian deaths undermine a counterinsurgency effort, is expected to largely keep in place limits on the use of airstrikes. Two senior military officials said Gen. Petraeus would largely keep intact Gen. McChrystal's previous guidance on the use of force—and will emphasize his support for Gen. McChrystal's efforts to limit civilian casualties...



British troops continue Afghanistan push
British troops moved into buildings halfway down the main road to the Taliban-controlled town of Saidabad as they continued toward the rebel haven with the biggest British operation of the summer so far.
_Daily Telegraph_, Aug. 1
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7921219/British-troops-continue-Afghanistan-push.html



> ...
> Commanders said progress in Operation Tor Shezada, or Black Prince, was “relatively good”, three days after beginning with a helicopter assault into insurgent-held territory on Friday morning.
> 
> Saidabad is considered the last Taliban-controlled town within Nad-I-Ali after Febraury’s Operation Moshtarak to clear the district and harbours up to 180 insurgent fighters.
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (2 Aug 2010)

*Articles found August 2, 2010*

 Irrigation project aims to help Kandahar thrive again
Perilous security hasn't stopped the Canadian effort in southern Afghanistan, 'the kind of thing that can really make a difference,' a project analyst says.
Article Link
 By David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times August 2, 2010

When the Canadian government's international assistance agency looked into rebuilding a massive irrigation dam here in early 2007, the initial prospects weren't encouraging. The site appraisal team couldn't even get to the dam, 20 miles north of Kandahar in the Arghandab River Valley.

A report by the Canadian International Development Agency called security "very fragile" and warned that the "environment will pose a significant challenge."

It is even more treacherous now to tread in Arghandab district, the site of major Taliban infiltration routes into Kandahar and the most deadly area of Afghanistan  for roadside bombs. But Canada has pushed ahead with a rehabilitation project to reestablish the valley and other areas surrounding Kandahar city as Afghanistan's breadbasket.

Silt and debris have been dredged from the main canal and small feeder canals, bringing life-giving irrigation to some small farmers and contributing to a bumper pomegranate harvest predicted for this fall. More than 2,000 local Afghans have been hired as workers since the project began in 2009, with a goal of 10,000 workers as the 10-year project expands.

Not even the assassination of the Arghandab district governor, Abdul Jabar, in June or Taliban threats against Afghans who cooperate with Westerners has stopped the steady, if fitful, pace of the project.

"This is the kind of thing that can really make a difference — and the Afghans know it,'' said Lisa Vandehei, a former Canadian army sergeant and senior analyst for the project. "It's something the local people have been begging for for years and years."

If completed, the irrigation project could produce the kind of social and economic transformation the U.S. military and its allies are struggling to achieve as they try to establish security and governance in Kandahar, the Taliban's spiritual home.
More on link

 Afghani flees to Canada on fake passport
Article Link
By Mathieu Turbide, QMI Agency Last Updated: August 1, 2010 

Threatened with death by the Taliban for identifying drug dealers, a young Afghan successfully made it into Canada with with the help of an escort and a fake passport, without being questioned by Canadian authorities.

Mohammad (not his real name) found himself with only $50 in his pocket on a Montreal street on Friday after travelling halfway around the world.

Guided by an escort to whom the boy's father paid several thousand dollars, Mohammad crossed the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan before flying to Dubai and then Toronto. Along the way, two other Afghans joined the group.

Mohammad didn't know what the plan was upon entering Canada.

"We're not really sure where we're going," he said. "I knew we were going to the West but I didn't know exactly where."

He was not asked any questions during his travels, not even when he arrived at Canadian customs in Toronto.

"It was very easy to enter," he said, explaining that it was his escort who spoke English to the customs agents on behalf of the group and showed their fake passports. "It went well."

The young man said he never saw the fake passport that was provided for him.

After getting through customs, Mohammad was driven by his escort to Montreal.

"He left me on the side of the street with $50 and told me to go to the police station and that they would take care of me if I asked for refugee status," he explained.

However, Montreal police could not do much for him because Mohammad is not listed in the judicial system as an illegal immigrant.
More on link

 Pak army chief wants Indian missions in Afghanistan closed
  Article Link

The Pakistan army under General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is sponsoring a large-scale guerrilla war through Afghan proxies to keep India out of Afghanistan, according to a Canadian diplomat and former deputy head of the UN mission in Kabul.

Chris Alexander, who was Canada's ambassador in Kabul from 2003 to 2005 and later deputy of the UN mission until 2009, said Gen. Kayani is calling the shots on Afghanistan and prepared to support suicide attacks in Afghanistan's cities.

The Pakistani general has even told President Hamid Karzai that he can broker a peace deal with the Taliban - only if Indian consulates in Afghanistan are closed.

Writing in the Globe and Mail under the title 'The huge scale of Pakistan's complicity,' Alexander said, "The Pakistan army under Gen. Kayani is sponsoring a large-scale, covert guerrilla war through Afghan proxies - whose strongholds in Balochistan and Waziristan are flourishing. Their mission in Afghanistan is to keep Pashtun nationalism down, India out and Mr. Karzai weak.

"The principal drivers of violence are no longer, if they ever were, inside Afghanistan... ISI is the main driver of the conflict... Gen. Kayani and others will deny complicity. But as the WikiLeaks material demonstrates, their heavy-handed involvement is now obvious at all levels,'' the Canadian diplomat said.
More on link

 6 Afghans killed when minibus hits roadside bomb
Article Link
By MIRWAIS KHAN and RAHIM FAIEZ (AP) – 1 day ago

KABUL, Afghanistan — A minibus full of civilians struck a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan early Sunday, and Afghan officials said six of those on board were killed.

Also Sunday, the last troops from the 1,600-member Dutch military contingent were leaving the country, marking an end to the Netherlands' four-year mission in the central province of Uruzgan. They will be replaced by American, Australian, Slovak and Singaporean forces.

German Army Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz, a NATO spokesman, told reporters Sunday in Kabul that the Dutch pullout did not show a weakening of the international coalition.

"The overall force posture of (NATO) and of the Afghan security forces is increasing," Blotz said. However, the increase in NATO troops comes primarily from a surge of U.S. forces — who have recently taken over control of key areas in Helmand and Kandahar from British and Canadian forces.

Sunday's blast in Kandahar hit a bus in the Maiwand district outside Kandahar city, according to provincial spokesman Zalmai Ayubi.

A NATO patrol arrived soon after the explosion and treated the wounded at the scene, the coalition command said.

U.S. and NATO forces are stepping up operations against the Taliban in Kandahar and nearby Helmand province. July was the deadliest month for U.S. forces in the nearly 9-year war, with 66 troops killed. Overall NATO deaths were highest in June, with 103 troops killed.

A NATO service member died Sunday after an insurgent attack in south, the coalition said in a statement. It did not provide further details.
More on link


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## George Wallace (2 Aug 2010)

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.


Bomb detector denied visa to visit Canadian wife

CBC News
02/08/2010 5:09:44 PM

LINK

*Amanda Pichardo had hoped to introduce her newlywed husband from the Dominican Republic to her family and friends with a Caribbean-style theme party, complete with Dominican food and Spanish music.
*
"I wanted to have a little something so my family and friends could celebrate with us because they weren't there for the wedding," said Pichardo, whose maiden name is Chan.

But all plans to celebrate at the CFB Petawawa mess hall near her hometown of Petawawa were thwarted by Canadian officials in the Dominican, who refused the couple's requests for a visitor's visa.

The refusal is particularly frustrating for Pichardo, because her husband, Johann Pichardo, worked as a subcontractor on the frontlines for Canadian Forces in Afghanistan as a handler of bomb-sniffing dogs checking vehicles entering forward operating bases.

"He was working for the Canadians. He was putting his life on the line for us everyday."

Pichardo says the visa denial sends the message, "Thanks for saving us, but screw you."

'Trying to do this the right way'

Amanda began working in Afghanistan, where she met Johann, about 2½ years ago as part of the Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency, but later became a subcontractor in an administrative post at NATO.

The two met at a party in late 2008 and quickly began to spend much of their time together. Less than a year later, Johann proposed and several months later, the two were tying the knot in his home country.

Amanda, 31, and Johann, 24, were married on Jan. 30 on a military base in the Dominican, with about 40 people attending, including Amanda's mother and best friend.

Before Johann's time in Afghanistan working for Canadians, he was employed as a subcontractor for the Americans in Iraq, for a combined time overseas of five years.

Johann has also held an American visa for the past 13 years, a privilege Amanda says he's never abused. He was previously wed to an American woman, with whom he has a two-year-old son living in New York City.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has refused to comment on the specifics of Pichardo's case, citing privacy laws.

"We understand that people are disappointed when their visa applications are refused," Immigration Department spokeswoman Tracie LeBlanc said. "Our responsibility, however, is to make sure that all visitors meet the requirements to come to Canada, as set out in Canada's immigration law."

The couple made two attempts back in May, at $140 US per application, to obtain the visitor's visa allowing Johann to travel to Canada. Amanda says officials stated both times they didn't think Johann would leave the country once he arrived.

Likely denied due to wedding: lawyer

Documents submitted to officials included a letter from Johann's employer, information about his Dominican-based family, details about his current U.S. visa.

"I'm sure that if he wasn't married to a Canadian, then he would've got the visa, because there's a presumption that if he has a wife, he wouldn't leave," said Michael Schelew, an Ottawa immigration lawyer.

While Schelew notes there is some basis for the concern, each case should be examined individually.

In this case, he says, "I think they're being unreasonable." 

"They knew he had a posting in Afghanistan .? The guy's got a job, the guy's responsible. He's conformed to U.S. visa laws."

Amanda says the couple didn't initially seek out permanent residency status for Johann, because they had yet to determine where they would live, and both expected to be working overseas for the foreseeable future.

The visa refusals have derailed those plans. Upset at the inability to gain entry to Canada for Johann, Johann has quit his contract with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, staying in Dominican instead to work at his father's canine company, while Amanda has quit her job to travel to the Dominican where she hopes to stay with him for an undetermined amount of time.

The couple is in the process of filing for permanent residency status for Johann, in hopes he can someday come to Canada.


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## MarkOttawa (3 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 3

Sweden ready to extend mission in Afghanistan
Xinhua, Aug. 2
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90853/7090243.html



> Sweden’s four-party coalition government said on Monday that it would like to extend the mandate of the Swedish troops in Afghanistan.
> 
> The coalition government would make this decision if it wins the parliamentary election next month, four politicians from all four government parties including Defence Minister Sten Tolgfors, said in an article published in a leading Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (4 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 4

British troops could be moved to Kandahar to fill gap left by other coalition forces
_Daily Mai_l, Aug. 4
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1300278/British-troops-moved-Kandahar-gap-left-coalition-forces.html



> British troops in Afghanistan could still be moved to Kandahar province 'in the longer term', according to a briefing document for MPs.
> 
> Defence Secretary Liam Fox said in June it was 'highly unlikely' that the UK's 8,000 forces in Helmand province would be redeployed to neighbouring Kandahar.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (4 Aug 2010)

Afghanistan: An unwinnable war?
Conference of Defence Associations' media round-up, Aug. 4
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1280941953/0#0

Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (5 Aug 2010)

*Articles found August 5, 2010*

Anti-IED gear saves Canadian, Afghan lives
Article Link
Fri Jul 30, 1:17 PM By Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Maj. Jim Smith can't begin to guess how many Canadian soldiers have been saved in the last three years by the specialized roadside detection vehicles that sniff out improvised explosive devices on the dusty highways and byways of southern Afghanistan.

Roadside bombs have taken a terrible toll on Canadian soldiers over the course of the mission in Afghanistan, so it was with pride and high hopes in 2007 that the military unveiled the Husky, a South African-built behemoth that resembles a road grader on steroids.

The high-tech Husky serves as an IED bird dog, leading an explosives-removal convoy and using a combination of X-ray and metal-detection technology to examine the roadway, dropping a telltale puddle of ink on any spots that seem suspicious.

The Husky's huge wheels, high clearance and towering one-man cockpit, which sits well back on the chassis, provide maximum protection for the driver. A heavy trailer in the back replicates the weight of a normal vehicle to detonate any stragglers, while Buffalo route-clearance vehicles follow behind to detect mines in the road.

The vehicles are known in the military by their acronym EROC, or the Expedient Route Opening Capability system.
More on link

 A conspicuous target on the outskirts of Kandahar City
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Article Link

It sits on the edge of Kandahar City in the Taliban heartland. But the warden of Sarposa prison says his facility is a bold statement of security in the face of Afghanistan's thriving insurgency

"The enemy is always trying to make a new plan to attack the prison," says Afghan Gen. Dastgier Mayar. But "I'm quite confident my staff can defend their prison."

Two years ago that wasn't the case.

In a daring assault, a Taliban suicide bomber drove a truck to the front gate and detonated a bomb that was so intense, the shockwave blasted through the entire prison, blowing out the front gates and knocking bricks out of the aging walls.

In the confusion that followed, two guards were killed and over 1,000 inmates fled into the obscurity of nearby Kandahar City. At least 600 were believed to be connected to the Taliban.

The jailbreak was a huge embarrassment, not only for the Afghan government but also for the Canadian government, which had been working for a year to secure the prison and update its facilities.

Now, two years and $5.5 million dollars later, Canada's prison officials are still hard at work at Sarposa, trying to bring it up to at least a basic level of security.
More on link

 Making nice with Taliban not an option
Article Link
By THEO CALDWELL, QMI Agency Last Updated: August 5, 2010

After nine years of conflict, I have been wondering whether the war in Afghanistan is still a worthwhile enterprise. As American and Canadian governments contemplate withdrawal in 2011, commentators far wiser than I — George Will comes to mind — have opined that it is time for allied forces to pull out. Indeed, I had begun to congratulate myself on my reasonableness and good intellectual company.

Then, I saw the cover of Time magazine. The photo and story are of a young Afghan woman named Aisha, who was apprehended and sentenced to mutilation by Taliban authorities for running away from her husband’s house. As writer Aryn Baker puts it: “Aisha’s brother-in-law held her down while her husband pulled out a knife. First he sliced off her ears. Then he started on her nose.” Baker adds, “This didn’t happen 10 years ago, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. It happened last year.”

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and some U.S. policymakers have floated the idea of reconciliation with the Taliban, in hopes of achieving stability and peace. Personally, I prefer freedom and human dignity.

But even if a reconciliation were possible, would we want it?

Have we fought and sacrificed for nine years only to leave Aisha and millions like her to their fate? Afghanistan presents a challenge, in which we are already engaged, and in which the delineation between barbarity and civilization is plain to see. If we cannot see this through, in what way will western nations, blessed beyond the comprehension of most of the world, stand against evil in our time? By recycling? Driving hybrid cars? Gimme a break.

But let us say we depart, giving a finger-wag to the grinning maniacs left in charge, admonishing, “Now, no terrorist acts! And keep the amputations and honour killings to a minimum. OK? We’re really, really cereal!”

Would that achieve our humane and practical goals?

Either way, the strategic and humanitarian missions are not mutually exclusive. And to accomplish both, we must win this war.

Unwinnable?

Often, when the concept of total victory is put forward, people suddenly become military historians. “Ah,” they say, “even the Soviet Union couldn’t win in Afghanistan.” For those who missed the 20th century, there were any number of things the Soviets could not do, including, but not limited to, basic economics and intentional comedy. You’ll excuse me if I don’t use the regime that brought us the collective farm as the benchmark for what can and cannot be done.

Along these lines, accommodation with the Taliban should be akin to Ronald Reagan’s prescription for rapprochement with the U.S.S.R.: “We win, they lose.”
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (7 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 7

2nd SCR troops start mission in Uruzgan province
_Stars and Stripes_, Aug. 7
http://www.stripes.com/news/2nd-scr-troops-start-mission-in-uruzgan-province-1.113745



> GRAFENWÖHR, Germany – Soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment have taken over a counterinsurgency mission in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province after the Netherlands ended its combat mission there.
> 
> On Aug. 1, a force of nearly 1,900 Dutch soldiers ended a four-year International Security Assistance Force mission, which was deeply unpopular at home.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (7 Aug 2010)

*Articles found August 7, 2010*

 Canadians on supply convoys in Afghanistan must be ready for anything
Article Link
August 05, 2010 - 12:38 Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

SANJERAY, Afghanistan - As the Canadian supply convoy was about to leave Kandahar Airfield, Cpl. Andy Lewis made a simple remark: "No IEDs and no bullets flying overhead."

It's not a statement of fact but an expression of hope _ that the trip to the Arghandab district north of Kandahar city would go off without a hitch.

Continued Below

"There's a lot of activity in Afghanistan and you pretty much hope every time that you're going to do your convoy and come back safe, right?" said Lewis, the radio operator on a light armoured vehicle.

He only had to look at what happened in the last few days to come up with several close calls.

"Four days ago we rolled over an IED that didn't go off," he said, "and unfortunately a civilian taxi cab driver went over the same area and it ended up going off on his vehicle and he was killed."

"Two days ago we got fired on as we were driving down the road, and there was another civilian company that was protecting a tanker convoy that was going by and they ended up getting ambushed," said Lewis, a self-proclaimed "army brat" who calls Fredericton, N.B., his preferred home.

In a country where everything is in short supply, the cargo carried by Canadian convoys is worth its weight in gold.

The soldiers, truckers and force-protection personnel from the National Support Element, or NSE, are every bit as much in the line of fire as troops assigned to battle the Taliban.

With most Canadian combat troops now being flown to the frontline with Chinook helicopters, the biggest travellers on the highways and dusty roads of southern Afghanistan are the supply convoys that move daily through the more remote areas.

This particular trip to Sanjeray was to retrieve some equipment and a vehicle from the former Canadian base that is now in U.S. hands.
More on link

 CFB Gagetown troops 'performing magnificently'
Published Friday August 6th, 2010 
Article Link

Soldiers from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown are more than holding their own in Afghanistan, the commander of Canada's troops in the wartorn region said Thursday.

Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance said he's more than pleased with India Company of The Second Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (2RCR).

"They are performing magnificently," Vance said in an interview from Kandahar. "I have to tell you they're doing brilliant work."

There are roughly 200 soldiers from India Company on duty in Afghanistan, part of the First Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (1RCR) Battle Group out of Canadian Forces Base Petawawa in Ontario.

In general, India Company soldiers are tasked with providing security for the Kandahar provincial reconstruction team. This includes duties such as mobility support to civilians at the KPRT and defence of Camp Nathan Smith, the compound that houses the team in Kandahar city. They also serve as a quick reaction force.

Vance, who commanded 2RCR from 2001-03, said he has spent a fair amount of time with India Company.

"They do other things in terms of operations for me, or based on my orders, as required," Vance said. "We've used them in some operations. I am very proud of what they are doing. These are operations that are sort of not typical of what the company has been doing in the past."

Vance said the entire battle group has performed well.
More on link

 Hoax IEDs planted for cash in Afghanistan 
Article Link

Fri Aug 6, 11:36 AM

By Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press
ADVERTISEMENT

PANJWAII, Afghanistan - Despite decades of turmoil and hardship, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive in Afghanistan and the war has created an underground economy for unscrupulous people.

In the troubled Panjwaii district, a cash-for-tips program to help NATO forces find hidden bombs has produced an unexpected side-effect.

Some people are planting phoney improvised explosive devices and phoning them in to get the reward money.

"It gets bad because now we're getting hoax IEDs," said Sgt. Kenric Stewart, a Canadian infantry section leader at a forward operating base in north Panjwaii.

Stewart remarked on the sheer audacity of people who are basically trying to turn clunkers into cash. He said it is creating a backlog for the military.

"It's stuff like that which is hard to deal with," he said, adding the explosive ordinance disposal team is already busy enough dealing with real threats.

"They're running all the time ... We find jugs and it looks like it has wires. They stay really busy," Stewart said.
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 Prioria Robotics, Inc. Awarded Canadian Defense Contract
Article Link
  	
NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Gainesville, FL, United States, 08/06/2010 - Prioria Robotics, creator of Maveric unmanned aircraft systems, won a contract to provide the Canadian government with five UAS to aid in Canada's efforts in Afghanistan.Prioria has been awarded a $2.8 million contract by Public Works and Government.
  	 
  	

Prioria has been awarded a $2.8 million contract by Public Works and Government Services Canada for the ISTAR MUAV (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance miniature unmanned aerial vehicle) program. Under the contract, Prioria will supply the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Forces with the Maveric® unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to fulfill MUAV requirements in Afghanistan and Canada.

Maveric is a small UAS with impressive features such as bendable wings, onboard processing, image stabilization and target tracking. Maveric is considered a next-generation UAS because of its unparalleled abilities, rugged composition and modular payload structure.

"We are pleased with the Canadian government's choice," said Bryan da Frota, Prioria CEO. "I am certain that Maveric will provide the Canadian warfighter with a user-friendly MUAV that will help keep them out of harm's way."
Prioria will supply DND with five Maveric systems for ground support to aid Canada's Operation Athena in Afghanistan.

Prioria has selected ING Engineering of Ottawa, Canada, to provide DND with logistical support.

"ING is proud to provide logistic services to the Canadian Army for the Maveric UAS," said Ian Glenn, president of ING Engineering. "We believe Maveric will help DND's mission in Afghanistan succeed."
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Canadian-made canine body armour to protect U.S. navy dogs
  Article Link
 By Randy Boswell, Postmedia News August 6, 2010

When the U.S. military lets loose its dogs of war in Afghanistan or Iraq later this year, they'll be protected from enemy insurgents by Canadian-made canine body armour.

According to documents filed this week at the American government's online clearinghouse for federal contracts, the U.S. navy's special warfare group has purchased a set of "canine tactical vests" — bulletproof gear for enlisted dogs — from a Manitoba company.

The $86,500 sole-source contract with Winnipeg-based K9 Storm Inc., finalized July 30 by the San Diego-based naval unit, calls for the delivery of four waterproof "assault" jackets — coloured in "desert camouflage" or "coyote tan" — to be equipped with "intruder communications systems" so the animals can serve as the eyes and ears of their human handlers while scouting suspected enemy positions.

Specifications for the "integrated canine assault vests" include video cameras and recorders, night-vision devices and signal-transmission strengths capable of penetrating "multiple concrete walls."

The contract with the Canadian firm, issued last week through the U.S. government's Federal Business Opportunities website, indicates that no other companies were invited to bid on the contract because K9 Storm — which also supplied protective vests for security dogs at the Vancouver Olympics — is considered "the only known source for the subject requirement."

K9 Storm Inc. owner Jim Slater — a former Winnipeg police officer who served with the force's canine unit until starting his business in 1998 — told Postmedia News the "covert" and "security-sensitive" nature of the U.S. navy's plans for the dog vests prevents him from discussing the project in great detail.
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Afghanistan's bloody hell: Where any field can be a killing field
Article Link
Louie Palu Special to the Star

I sit strapped in on another express ride to hell. I am flying on a medevac bird. The crews who fly these helicopter air ambulances of the US 101st combat aviation brigade medevac company are the most insane heroes I have ever seen. They fly into the worst places not to fight, but to selflessly pick up the wounded; soldiers, civilians and, yes, insurgents. This Blackhawk carries no weapon system. We are racing over Kandahar’s grape fields in Panjwaii to one of Canada’s last battlefields in Kandahar.

The bird dips, drops and drowns in a swirling cloud of dirt, and then hits the landing zone. The medic leaps out and a desperate group of people rush forward carrying the wounded. Then it arrives, the blood and body parts that look like they’ve been through a grinder.
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 Custodians of the captive
   Article Link
Debate over detainees reaches into a controversial facility in Kandahar where those captured by Canadian troops are held
 By MATTHEW FISHER, Postmedia News August 7, 2010

Tucked behind a maze of blast walls and fences in a nondescript corner of the sprawling Kandahar Airfield is one of the Canadian Forces' most secretive and controversial compounds, the Detainee Transfer Facility, where military police hold suspected Taliban and Al-Qa'ida fighters.

Strict rules were imposed for the first visit by a journalist to the DTF, where those captured by Canadian troops are held until the higher command of Task Force Kandahar decides whether there is sufficient evidence to hand them over to Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security. If not deemed a threat, they are released.

No Afghan-related issue has been the subject of more intense debate in Canada than the treatment of prisoners, and how well those prisoners are monitored after being handed over to Afghan authorities.

The detainee issue is so politically charged that it took this reporter 10 months to get permission to visit the DTF. During the 90-minute tour, given by four military policemen who work there, the two most senior public affairs officials with Task Force Kandahar tagged along -one from the Canadian Forces, one from the Foreign Affairs Department.

"Absolutely, we're aware" of the political debate at home, said Major Gordon Wight, the MP responsible for Canada's only foreign prison. "It is a strategic issue, but I don't think it necessarily changes what we do here. We approach it in a professional way.

"We're proud of what we do here to support operations. We are sensitive to any mistakes here because it would obviously have strategic impact."

Although detainees were present in the facility, the visit included only vacant rooms where detainees take showers and undergo medicals, and where at the end of their stay they are either transferred to Afghan custody or released. Access was also given to a deserted recreational area and, below the end of a catwalk patrolled by guards, an empty cell furnished exactly like those which hold prisoners. No photographs were allowed except of a room with locked cabinets where detainee files are kept. The overriding rule, in order to protect privacy rights, the military said, was that there be no interaction with prisoners.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (10 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 10

Assignment Kandahar
Blog by Brian Hutchinson, Postmedia News
http://news.nationalpost.com/tag/assignment-kandahar/

As Afghan Allies Reposition, U.S. Role Evolves
NPR, Aug. 9
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129087966



> Amid the continuing violence in Afghanistan, the shape of the NATO alliance is changing.
> 
> At the beginning of August, Dutch troops left the restive province of Uruzgan, and Canadian soldiers appear set to depart next year. At the same time, the U.S. forces surging into Afghanistan are finding new ways to work with their NATO counterparts.
> 
> ...



India's Tripartite Plan for Afghanistan
Delhi is drawing closer to Iran and Russia in anticipation of a U.S. troop drawdown.
_WSJ_, Aug. 9
http://www.google.ca/search?q=%22While%20the%20United%20States%20seeks%20to%20revamp%20its%20Afghanistan%20strategy%2C%20India%2C%20too%22&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GBfficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbs=nws:1&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wn



> While the United States seeks to revamp its Afghanistan strategy, India, too, is reassessing its approach to the war-torn country. Its vision, a kind of regional "concert of powers" with Russia and Iran, would not only protect India's interests in Afghanistan in the short term but could help stabilize the country in the long term after U.S. troops leave.
> 
> New Delhi is concerned about the ramifications of that possible U.S. troop drawdown, announced by President Barack Obama last year. That decision accelerated the Afghan government's efforts to reconcile with the Taliban and America's hurry to hand over responsibility for running the country to the Hamid Karzai administration. India worries that Washington is moving too fast and leaving the door open for Pakistan to increase its influence in the country.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## George Wallace (10 Aug 2010)

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

*
Tighter Afghan checkpoints leads to increased soldier safety
*
By Brian Hutchinson, Postmedia NewsAugust 
August 9, 2010


LINK 

KANDAHAR CITY, Afghanistan — "Stop," yelled the young Afghan police officer, pointing at the driver of another white Toyota Corolla, ubiquitous here. "Get out of the car. Keep your hands up."

Another officer approached the driver, who made no mistakes as he climbed slowly from his vehicle. The driver was frisked. So were his two passengers. Then the car was inspected for weapons and explosives, for smuggled goods, for the Taliban. For anything and anyone capable of causing harm.

This is what Afghans travelling into and out of Kandahar City can now expect. Not just a laconic wave or weary glance from a bored Afghan National Police officer, as in days past, but a robust security check.

Intent on stemming the flow of Taliban insurgents, criminals, and weapons moving in and out of the provincial capital, Afghanistan's second largest city, ISAF forces and their Afghan counterparts have established a network of old-fashioned yet technologically-advanced checkpoints along the city's loosely-defined boundaries.

Eleven checkpoints appeared last month, in various strategic locations, on major roads and highways. There are even checkpoints on rough back roads that ISAF forces had avoided for years, thanks to the threat of IED attack.

On one of those back routes, Mir Bazaar Road, insurgents ran roughshod and planted IEDs almost every day, says Lt. Col. Bob O'Brien, deputy commander of an American infantry brigade that has helped establish the new "security ring" around Kandahar City.

The road was so dangerous that Canadian Brig.-Gen. Jon Vance, in command of Task Force Kandahar, reportedly told troops to avoid it altogether. "It was designated a 'black road,'" says Lt. Col. O'Brien. "Gen. Vance said he didn't want anyone on it."

There was little if any ISAF presence in the area anyway. This was a problem, because Mir Bazaar Road runs west from the city towards insurgent-heavy Zhari and Panjwaii districts. It was for years a Taliban pipeline.

ISAF and Afghan forces cleared the road last month and a checkpoint was established nearby. The result? No more IEDs, says Lt. Col. O'Brien.

In January, ISAF and Afghan National Army officers along with city and provincial stakeholders conceived of the new checkpoint network and the Security Ring Protection Force that patrols it. The checkpoints were installed last month and have been in operation for just a couple of weeks. They're all staffed by U.S. army soldiers who in turn mentor members of the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP), a force that's considered a step up from the regular, oft-maligned Afghan National Police (ANP).

The ANCOP is better trained and more disciplined than their lower police brethren, and it shows.

Across town, on Kandahar City's eastern fringes, sits Checkpoint 5-1. It's one of the busiest links in the new security chain since it's one on Highway One, where traffic is heavy. Vehicles come down from Kabul, Afghanistan's capital.

At this checkpoint, little contraband has been found. Apparently, word of the intensive car searches has already spread. But, like the other checkpoints, 5-1 serves more than one purpose.

Another white Toyota car is directed into its warren of blast-safe concrete and metal-reinforced walls. This Corolla has just one occupant, the driver. After his hand search, he is escorted into a plywood hut for some high-tech biometric scanning.

The man fits a couple of criteria for an iris scan and digital finger printing. He is travelling alone, and he looks to be between 15 and 35 years of age. Fighting age. ANCOP officers are also trained to look for anyone with visible tattoos — possible ex-prisoners — and anyone of Pakistani origin. It's the sort of profiling that people in the West wouldn't condone. But priorities here are different.

The man's eyes are scanned, and his fingerprints are digitally recorded. The information will soon be fed into central databank that can be accessed by security forces around the country.

When an IED is discovered, even if it has detonated, fingerprints are usually left behind; fingerprint records can therefore help identify and apprehend a bomb-planting insurgent, in the event he is ever pulled over in a vehicle. And nobody can fake an iris scan. It's the most accurate method of identification available.

Hand-held equipment used at the checkpoints make the data collection a breeze. "The goal is to scan 50 people a day at each checkpoint," says U.S. army First Lt. John Stanford, platoon leader at Check Point 5-1.

"There are 700 to 900 vehicles passing by here every day. We're stopping only a fraction of the total traffic, but we're not at capacity yet."

Airport style, walk-through metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs are some other new resources being considered for the checkpoints. A well-equipped and manned security ring around Kandahar City would seem an obvious measure to limit and track insurgent movement, and a long overdue one at that. Along with ISAF soldiers who are obvious insurgent targets, Afghan government workers and police officers are under constant threat here. There's been a spate of assassinations lately, with insurgents and hired thugs gunning down officials in broad daylight, right inside the city.

Keeping a close eye on who comes into town and with what in their car trunk just makes sense in this environment. But building such an elaborate security web wasn't feasible prior to the recent American troop surge. ISAF resources were stretched too thin. To their credit, Canadian soldiers operating in the city did the best they could with what they had, but they weren't out on the streets checking vehicles.

Trained by Canadian counterparts, local police weren't doing much of that either.

Year by year, the security situation in Kandahar City has become worse. Stanford hears that himself, from local officials whom he meets. "I can't leave my compound," Kandahar City's customs boss, Sayed Muzamel Shah told Stanford during a meeting held in his office on Saturday.

"If I walk outside, I will be killed. Security is very bad. Suicide attacks, assassinations, kidnappings. We can't go outside to see our families."

Shah welcomes the new security checkpoints and is trying to place his own customs officers at some of them, so that taxes can be collected for goods that are now being spirited into Afghanistan from counties such as Pakistan.

With members of Stanford's platoon looking on, ANCOP officers at Checkpoint 5-1 work at a brisk, co-ordinated clip. A bus filled with male passengers rolls to a stop. Everyone disembarks and receives a quick frisk. They line up outside, under a hot midday sun, but no one complains.

Men who are directed into the plywood booth for biometric screening seem almost amused by the process. They chuckle at a ribald joke told to them in broken Pashto by two U.S. army specialists wielding pricey biometric scanners. At the end of the process, the men all shake hands.

But privately, some local Afghans say the new checkpoints are a big inconvenience, and they doubt they'll bring much benefit.

"Will the Taliban come straight into these check posts with explosives?" asks Raz Muhammad, 42, a farmer from Zhari district. "They aren't stupid. There are many other ways and routes for bringing in ammunition and explosives for the Taliban."

Hikmatullah, 30, a student at Kandahar University, fears the security checkpoints will actually attract insurgents. "I worry that they will be targeted soon, and that will cause the death of innocent people," he says.

Both men raise important points. The Taliban are certainly not pleased with the checkpoints. Three weeks ago, they attacked an ANCOP command centre near one checkpoint, killing three policemen, three U.S. soldiers, and five translators.

None of the checkpoints themselves have been attacked. The Taliban are avoiding them, for now, it seems.

"We know the bad guys will go around them," says Capt. Jacob White, officer in command of Alpha Co. Forcing insurgents to take alternative routes is part of the strategy, he suggests. With more resources at the ready, ISAF and Afghan troops can start putting eyes on this city's veiled lane ways and footpaths, too.

© Copyright (c) Postmedia News


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## George Wallace (10 Aug 2010)

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

Arrest in Pakistan
*
Conflict in Berlin over Handling of a German Jihadist
*

06/29/2010
SPIEGEL ONLINE

LINK 

*Germany's Foreign and Interior Ministries are at odds over how to handle German jihadists who wish to return home. Last week's arrest of a German-born extremist by Pakistani police has left some wondering whether Germany has passed up a golden opportunity to gather intelligence from a suspected homegrown Islamist. By SPIEGEL Staff   *

The Islamist who called the German Embassy in Islamabad almost two weeks ago sounded nervous, but determined. He introduced himself as Rami M. and said he wanted to return to Germany, but he needed travel documents. He claimed that both his passport and his driver's license had been stolen. Maintaining that a trip to the embassy would be too dangerous, he asked if officials there could send him new papers.

The embassy turned him down; the caller would have to appear personally to pick up his documents. But they offered to send him a provisional right-of-passage document. In the e-mail they subsequently sent Rami M., embassy officials requested that "the authorities concerned ... render whatever assistance might be needed" and confirmed the caller's appointment: Monday, June 21 at 9:30 a.m. in Islamabad.

Rami M. then sent a message to his family telling them that he was on his way. That was the last they would hear from him.

The 25-year-old has since turned up, but he never made it to the German Embassy in Islamabad. He is now in captivity in Peshawar locked in a cell belonging to the Pakistani intelligence service ISI, infamous for their interrogation methods. Last Monday, Pakistani police arrested him at a checkpoint as he was descending out of the mountains of Waziristan. The arrest triggered a debate which has been raging ever since in faraway Berlin: Was his arrest a successful anti-terrorism operation or the result of a denunciation? Might the Germans even have tipped off the Pakistanis to avoid having to do the dirty work themselves?

*Dropped Off the Radar* 

The arrest has fanned the flames of a debate regarding how officials should deal with terror suspects who show a willingness to return to Germany and what message they want to send in such cases. Whereas the German Foreign Ministry was in favor of a discussion with Rami M. in the embassy, the Interior Ministry in Berlin insisted that the suspect be picked up by the Pakistani police. 

Their reasons stem from the fact that Rami M., born in Frankfurt, is one of the best known figures in the German Islamist scene. In Hamburg, he had assembled a group of radical Muslims who often went to Friday prayers together. In March 2009, Rami M. left Germany and dropped off the radar. He and a group of eight young men and women made their way to the tribal areas of northwestern Pakistan. Since then, German investigators have seen him as a danger; public prosecutors have issued an international arrest warrant on suspicion that he has joined the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. 

German officials are convinced that Rami M. spent time in terrorist training camps. In a telephone conversation with his father last December, he complained about forced marches through the mountains with a bazooka on his back. He wrote his wife in January of this year that he wanted to die in battle as a martyr. In another conversation he spoke of scorpions and snakes. He told his brother that he worked for a charity and that he had nothing to do with terrorism, but Pakistani security officials accuse him of having received training on how to build suicide vests. They say he has also participated in the fight against NATO troops in Afghanistan.

For security officials, he is one of the most important catches for years and could have turned out to be a valuable entry into a scene in Pakistan to which dozens of Germans are thought to belong. 

*Betrayal * 

Embassy officials in Islamabad were thus suitably alarmed when Rami M. placed his call earlier this month. A discussion in the embassy was followed by an emergency conference in Berlin attended by officers from the Foreign Ministry, the Justice Ministry and the Interior Ministry. Those from the Interior Ministry were particularly adamant in their opposition to allowing Rami M. to visit the embassy. The alleged explosives expert, they said, should not be granted any opportunity to carry out an attack. Instead, they said, the Pakistanis should arrest him before he got there. 

Foreign Ministry officials, however, were unhappy with the proposal, meaning that the two ministries ultimately pursued two contradictory strategies. While the embassy sent Rami M. the June 18 e-mail offering their support, Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office informed their Pakistani counterparts on June 19 of Rami M.'s ensuing appointment at the embassy. The secret service had a "tip off that a high-ranking activist would be in the region around the city of Bannu," a Pakistani police officer told SPIEGEL. "So we and the army established the checkpoint." M.'s left leg is reportedly injured and he is in poor condition.

Rami M.'s family now wants to know if Germany is responsible for his arrest. They say he was afraid of falling into the hands of the ISI and would rather have confronted accusations of involvement in terror in Germany. His wife has even accused the embassy of betrayal.

German officials have likely passed up a golden opportunity. The arrest not only calls the credibility of the new exit program for Islamists -- launched just last week -- into question. But Rami M. cannot, for the time being, be questioned by German officials. So far, Pakistan has declined to cooperate in the investigation. Indeed, they have yet to even confirm the identity of the man they arrested.

By Susanne Koelbl, Yassin Musharbash, Marcel Rosenbach and Holger Stark


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## MarkOttawa (11 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 11

UN: Civilian Casualties Rising Sharply in Afghanistan
VOA, Aug. 10
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/UN-Civilian-Casualties-Rising-Sharply-in-Afghanistan-100331269.html?refresh=1



> The United Nations said on Tuesday the number of civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan has risen sharply, up by 31 percent during the first half of this year. In a new report, it laid most of the blame for the surge in violence on members of the Taliban and other insurgents, saying they are responsible for 76 percent of civilians killed or wounded in the increasingly bloody conflict.
> 
> In the first six month of this year, the U.N. said war-related incidents have killed nearly 1,300 Afghans and wounded 2,000 others. Speaking at a news conference in Kabul, U.N. representative for Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, called the 31 percent rise in civilian casualties unfortunate.
> 
> ...



Afghan troops reach 240,000 goal early
_USA Today_, Aug. 11
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/afghanistan/2010-08-11-1Abenchmark11_ST_N.htm



> NATO has reached its goal of expanding the size of Afghanistan's army and police to 240,000 three months ahead of schedule, achieving a key measurement that will be used to gauge progress in the war.
> 
> The size and quality of Afghan security forces will be a central part of a review that the White House will be conducting in December to measure the effectiveness of its strategy of emphasizing protecting civilians in Afghanistan.
> 
> ...



German Offensive Aims to Repair Security, Reputation
_WS Journal_, Aug. 10
http://www.google.ca/search?q=%22The%20German%20military%2C%20long%20criticized%20by%20its%20allies%20as%20too%20passive%20in%20the%20face%20of%20a%20growing%20insurgency%2C%20plans%20to%20go%20on%20the%20offensive%20in%20Taliban%20strongholds%22&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GBfficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbs=nws:1&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wn



> The German military, long criticized by its allies as too passive in the face of a growing insurgency, plans to go on the offensive in Taliban strongholds in northern Afghanistan—despite the risk of a political backlash back home.
> 
> Acting on instructions from Berlin, senior officers have ordered two 600-man German battalions to team up with Afghan soldiers in the coming months and clear Taliban fighters from districts the insurgents now dominate...
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (11 Aug 2010)

*Articles found August 11, 2010*

 DND Kandahar plan tells Foreign Affairs: Clear a path, we're going home
By: Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press Posted: 10/08/2010 
Article Link

The Canadian military has delivered a critical planning document to the federal government that sets the stage for next year's withdrawal from Kandahar, The Canadian Press has learned.

The draft operations order, penned at Canadian Forces Expeditionary Forces command, was circulated to the Privy Council Office and the Foreign Affairs Department early last week, defence sources said.

The proposal sets the complicated machinery of the federal government in motion to extricate the army after over four years of combat operations in southern Afghanistan.

The draft order is the culmination of almost a year of planning as the army wrestles with the colossal logistics of pulling out nearly 3,000 troops, hundreds of vehicles, including main battle tanks, and thousands of metal supply canisters.

The plan notably asked the Foreign Affairs to diplomatically "clear a path" with unidentified countries in the region for the transit of military equipment and vehicles out of landlocked southwest Asia.

The plan also advises other military commands, principally the headquarters responsible for operations within Canada, to be prepared to receive and sort the gear at bases across the country.

It's the latest sign of the winding down of Canada's war effort, something expected to continue over the next 16 months. Parliament mandated that the army end combat operations in Kandahar by July 1, 2011, and to finish an orderly withdrawal from the war-wasted province by the end of next year.

Late last week, with virtually no fanfare, Canada handed over responsibility for Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar to the Americans.

The base has been home to the Canadian-led provincial reconstruction team since 2005 and was — until Friday — run by the Canadian military. It has been the pride and joy of a federal government eager to showcase development and diplomacy amid the rain of Taliban bullets and rockets.

Canadian aid workers, diplomats and soldiers still operate there, but it is now a U.S. installation.
More on link

 Members of 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron back home in Edmonton

  Article Link
By Mariam Ibrahim, edmontonjournal.com August 11, 2010

All 39 members of the Edmonton-based 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron set to return to Canada made it home safely late Monday after a nine-month tour in Afghanistan.

All of the returning troops either operated or were part of the service crews for the Griffon helicopter, which are primarily used to escort Chinook helicopters and transport cargo. They are also used for armed reconnaissance and surveillance.

"My primary job throughout the whole mission was to provide security for the Chinook, and after that security for the ground troops," said Maj. John King. "It meant that we had to be overt and present in the face of the enemy. And sometimes that means we got into engagements with the enemy as well."

Being faced with hostile action can be a hard reality to face for some of the troops.

"Nothing prepares you for the fact that it's the real thing," said Capt. Steve Lawson, who returned from his first tour of duty in Afghanistan. "There's actually people shooting at you."

The 408 Squadron was first deployed to Afghanistan in December 2008, and this was its second tour of duty in the country.
end

 Afghan farmers buying into anti-poppy campaign, top U.S. official says 
  Article Link
Bill Curry Ottawa — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Published on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010 

Trading poppies for pomegranates is a tough sell in Afghanistan, but a top U.S. official says there are signs of progress in the campaign to convert the world’s opium capital into a land of fruit, nuts and other legal crops.

Many have written off the anti-poppy campaign by allied forces in Afghanistan, but in his first visit to Ottawa Tuesday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack insisted these projects are working.

“We know that there is – in some areas of the country – there’s a reduction in poppy production and there’s a greater interest in pomegranates and saffron and table grapes, things of that nature, which could potentially create a much brighter future for Afghan farmers,” he said in an interview with Canadian reporters.

Farming is far and away the main source of income for Afghans, with an estimated 80 per cent of the population working in agriculture. Afghanistan produces almost all of the world’s opium, which is used to make heroin, morphine and other drugs.

United Nations statistics show opium cultivation dropped dramatically in 2001 when the Taliban regime imposed a ban in its last year of power before it was overthrown. By 2007, however, production had significantly increased. 
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (12 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 12

US military sees heavier fighting in fall
AP, Aug. 11
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iqyaFh_efr-brDq0rMLF1hkop0tgD9HHHT3O0



> WASHINGTON — The United States expects heavy fighting around the key Afghan city of Kandahar through this fall, one Pentagon official said Wednesday, dimming hopes for big gains in the war ahead of U.S. elections and a White House review of its war strategy.
> 
> Several NATO nations are also taking stock of their military commitments in Afghanistan, and the course of the war will be a major topic for leaders of the alliance at a summit in October.
> 
> ...



U.S. Military Seeks Slower Pace to Wrap Up Afghan Role
_NY Times_, Aug. 11
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/world/asia/12policy.html?_r=1&ref=global-home



> WASHINGTON — American military officials are building a case to minimize the planned withdrawal of some troops from Afghanistan starting next summer, in an effort to counter growing pressure on President Obama from inside his own party to begin winding the war down quickly.
> 
> With the administration unable yet to point to much tangible evidence of progress, Gen. David H. Petraeus, who assumed command in Afghanistan last month from Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, is taking several steps to emphasize hopeful signs on the ground that, he will argue, would make a rapid withdrawal unwise. Meanwhile, a rising generation of young officers, who have become experts over the past nine years in the art of counterinsurgency, have begun quietly telling administration officials that they need time to get their work done.
> 
> ...



Unrest Is Undermining Hopes for Afghan Vote
_NY Times_, Aug. 11
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/world/asia/12karzai.html?ref=world



> KABUL, Afghanistan — Worsening insurgent violence in many parts of the country is raising concern about Afghanistan’s ability to hold a fair parliamentary election in little more than a month, a crucial test of President Hamid Karzai’s ability to deliver security and a legitimate government.
> 
> After last year’s troubled presidential election, both the government and its foreign supporters are under intense pressure to hold a credible vote for Parliament, scheduled for Sept. 18. Last time, insecurity, inadequate monitoring and rampant fraud led to a drawn-out dispute that soured relations between Mr. Karzai and his Western backers so badly that they have yet to recover the trust lost on both sides.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (12 Aug 2010)

The ‘Graveyard of Empires’?
Conference of Defence Associations' media round-up, Aug. 12
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1281629961/0#0

Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (13 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 13

Danes hope to exit Afghanistan by 2015
Denmark PM previously avoided setting a pull out date for 700 troops, ‘I even hope we could withdraw troops before that’
Reuters, Aug. 12
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/europe/Somnia/article1670384/



> Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Thursday he hoped Denmark could withdraw many of its 700 troops from Afghanistan by 2015, or even sooner. Denmark joins a growing band of NATO nations setting target dates for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, reflecting domestic unease over the rising death toll in the war against Taliban insurgents.
> 
> Mr. Rasmussen has previously avoided setting an exit date.
> 
> ...




NATO Slack Forces U.S. To Send Afghanistan Trainers
NPR, Aug. 13
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129163785&ft=1&f=1003



> American soldiers — and even private contractors — are spearheading the effort to build an Afghan army and police force, so American and NATO troops can one day leave. But Pentagon officials and military officers say NATO nations still aren't doing enough.
> 
> A few weeks ago, hundreds of artillery troops and air defense artillery soldiers from Fort Sill in Oklahoma and Fort Campbell in Kentucky started heading over to Afghanistan. They weren't part of the so-called surge in combat troops. Instead, Defense Secretary Robert Gates signed orders for them to work as trainers because European nations were too slow in helping out.
> 
> ...



Showcase Afghan Army Mission Turns Into Debacle
_NY Times_, Aug 12
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/world/asia/13afghan.html?ref=todayspaper



> KABUL, Afghanistan — An ambitious military operation that Afghan officials had expected to be a sign of their growing military capacity instead turned into an embarrassment, with Taliban fighters battering an Afghan battalion in a remote eastern area until NATO sent in French and American rescue teams.
> 
> The fighting has continued so intensely for the past week that the Red Cross has been unable to reach the battlefield to remove the dead and wounded.
> 
> ...



Pakistan Fight Stalls for U.S. 
_WSJ_, Aug. 13
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703723504575425641972800902.html



> WASHINGTON—The U.S. military has stopped lobbying Pakistan to help root out one of the biggest militant threats to coalition forces in Afghanistan, U.S. officials say, acknowledging that the failure to win better help from Islamabad threatens to damage a linchpin of their Afghan strategy.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Pakistan floods: an emergency for the West
Unless we act decisively, large parts of flood-stricken Pakistan will be taken over by the Taliban, writes Ahmed Rashid.
_Daily Telegraph_, Aug. 12
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/7941820/Pakistan-floods-an-emergency-for-the-West.html



> Pakistan's floods have not just devastated the lives of millions of people, they now present an unparalleled national security challenge for the country, the region and the international community. Lest anyone under-estimate the scale of the disaster, all four of Pakistan's wars with India combined did not cause such damage.
> 
> It has become clear this week that, unless major aid is forthcoming immediately and international diplomatic effort is applied to improving Pakistan's relations with India, social and ethnic tensions will rise and there will be food riots. Large parts of the country that are now cut off will be taken over by the Pakistani Taliban and affiliated extremist groups, and governance will collapse. The risk is that Pakistan will become what many have long predicted – a failed state with nuclear weapons, although we are a long way off from that yet...
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (15 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 15

Taliban takes hold in once-peaceful northern Afghanistan
_Washington Post_, Aug. 15
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/14/AR2010081402317.html?sid=ST2010081402323



> QAYSAR, AFGHANISTAN -- In squads of roaring dirt bikes and armed to the teeth, Taliban fighters are spreading like a brush fire into remote and defenseless villages across northern Afghanistan.
> 
> The fighters swarm into town, assemble the villagers and announce Taliban control, often at night and without any resistance.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (16 Aug 2010)

*Articles found August 16, 2010*

 Gravely wounded soldier beats odds to dance at his wedding
  Article Link 
By Dustin Walker, Postmedia News; Nanaimo Daily News August 15, 2010

Exchanging vows at the altar with her longtime fiance was once too much for Debbie Greene to even imagine.

Trevor Greene was fighting for his life in hospital after suffering massive brain damage in March 2006, when while serving with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan he was struck in the head by a youth swinging an axe.

Doctors said he would spend his life confined to a bed. They were wrong. On July 24, Trevor was even able to stand up -- supported by a set of parallel bars -- to marry his sweetheart in front of about 120 friends and relatives in Nanaimo. He even stood on his feet for their first dance; the song was "You Sexy Thing" by Hot Chocolate.

Debbie has dedicated herself to Trevor's rehabilitation since he returned to Canada. Now the newlyweds are writing a book to inspire others who are facing challenges in their lives that seem insurmountable.

They met in Vancouver in 2001 and were together for five years before Trevor was called to Afghanistan. Their daughter Grace was one year old at the time.
More on link

 Afghan villagers slow to trust Canadian troops
Article Link

The Canadian Press

Date: Sunday Aug. 8, 2010 1:32 PM ET

SPERWAN GHAR, Afghanistan — It's not just heavily armed insurgents and improvised explosive devices that Canadian troops are battling here - it's also the Taliban propaganda machine in a fight to win the trust of local Afghans.

Progress often moves at a snail's pace. People live as their fathers and their father's fathers did before them and attitudes seldom change. It takes a long time for the people of this barren land, with centuries of warfare behind them, to accept -- and especially trust -- outsiders.

"With all the weapons we have in our arsenal the one thing we don't have is the local influence, the local knowledge. Intimate knowledge of the village pretty much is limited to what we can see on the outside," said Sgt. Tyson Martin of Ottawa, a leader of the Psy Ops (psychological operations) tactical team in the Panjwaii district.

While the Taliban have made intimidation and propaganda almost an art form, it's the job of Psy Ops to visit village leaders to try to undo the damage. 
More on link

  Guns for hire will benefit from massacre of aid workers
August 14, 2010
Article Link

The news of the 10 medical workers killed in Afghanistan last week left me shaken. A number of people on the mission to Nuristan were added to the list of friends I have lost in Afghanistan.

But what made it even more personal was that I had planned to join the trip and dropped out only a week before they left. I was very close to being with them when they were all shot.

I thought their approach to security was sound and now I need to re-evaluate how to operate in Afghanistan.

In June, when Dr Karen Woo asked me to go to Nuristan to film a documentary about their medical mission, I jumped at the opportunity. I had never been to Nuristan, one of the most remote and beautiful, but also wildest, parts of Afghanistan.

Suddenly I had the chance to visit in a way that I thought would be safe.
More on link

Taliban stone young couple to death for adultery in northern Afghanistan, officials say
By: Amir Shah, The Associated Press Posted: 16/08/2010
Article Link

Taliban militants stoned a young couple to death for adultery after they ran away from their families in northern Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

The Taliban-ordered killing comes at a time when international rights groups have raised worries that attempts to negotiate with the Taliban to bring peace to Afghanistan could mean a step backward for human rights in the country. When the Islamist extremists ruled Afghanistan, women were not allowed to leave their houses without a male guardian, and public killings for violations of their harsh interpretation of the Qur’an were common.

This weekend's stoning appeared to arise from an affair between a married man and a single woman in Kunduz province's Dasht-e-Archi district.

The woman, Sadiqa, was 20 years old and engaged to another man, said the Kunduz provincial police chief, Gen. Abdul Raza Yaqoubi. Her lover, 28-year-old Qayum, left his wife to run away with her, and the two had holed up in a friend's house five days ago, said district government head, Mohammad Ayub Aqyar.

They were discovered by Taliban operatives on Sunday and stoned to death in front a crowd of about 150 men, Aqyar said.
More on link

 Afghanistan discovers new oil deposit
Article Link
Agence France-Presse First Posted 19:33:00 08/15/2010

Filed Under: Oil & Gas - Upstream activities

KABUL – Afghanistan's mining ministry announced Sunday that a new oil deposit with an estimated 1.8 billion barrels of crude
had been discovered in the relatively peaceful north of the war-torn country.

"It's a totally new oil deposit, which extends in a triangle between Balkh, Hairatan and Shuburghan", ministry spokesman Jawad Omar told AFP.

"The reserves of the new deposit are estimated at 1.8 billion barrels of crude," he added.

Geologists are not expected to complete further assessments on the ground until January and then the deposit will be opened to tender, Omar said.

It is the sixth oil deposit discovery in Afghanistan. The largest are found in the Amu Daria river basin marking the border between Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tadjikistan.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (19 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 19

USA welcomes Russia’s cooperation with Afghanistan, Pakistan
ITAR TASS Aug. 19
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15416420&PageNum=0



> WASHINGTON, August 19 (Itar-Tass) -- The United States welcomes Russia’ s cooperation with Afghanistan and Pakistan, Philip J. Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State, said, commenting on a meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Wednesday, August 18.
> 
> “Afghanistan and Pakistan are both countries with profound needs,” Crowley said at a press briefing. “And the United States cannot meet these needs by itself.”
> 
> ...



Romania shows its support for the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan
At Romanian Navy Day celebrations, the message is clear: In the fight against 'the terrorists' in Afghanistan, Romania is with the United States until the end.
_LA Times_, Aug. 19
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghanistan-romania-20100819,0,7828730.story



> ...
> As other countries reduce their troop levels in the American-led war, the government in Bucharest  has adopted the opposite strategy. When the U.S. issued a plea late last year for more international troops, Romanian officials didn't hesitate. They agreed to boost their Afghanistan contingent from 962 to more than 1,500 — even as Romania's economy is suffering and defense spending is being cut.
> 
> To the Romanians, participation in the Afghan mission is a good way to demonstrate their bona fides as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and as an ally of the United States, two relationships they believe will deter any aggressive moves by their old East Bloc overlord, Russia...
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (20 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 20

New Afghan Intelligence Chief Aims to Build Trust
_NY Times_, Aug. 19
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/world/asia/20intel.html?partner=rss&emc=rss



> Afghanistan’s new intelligence chief said this week that the Taliban  appeared to have the upper hand in the insurgency but could still be defeated with better cooperation between Afghan and coalition forces and a stronger government effort to build trust in the rural communities.
> 
> In his first interview since assuming the post of director general of the National Security Directorate mid-July, Rahmatullah Nabil, 42, a relatively unknown figure in Kabul, said his priority would be to demonstrate that Afghans were capable of taking charge of their own security and, above all, to show the insurgents that the government was determined to defeat them.
> 
> ...


  

Mark
Ottawa


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## MGB (20 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 20


NATO soldiers, over a dozen Afghans killed in attacks
By Nasrat Shoaib (AFP)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jkmKtP_8CJyk8Pa42rAszNN6eQyQ



> KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Three NATO soldiers, at least a dozen Afghan security guards and several civilians were killed in a wave of violence across Afghanistan, authorities said Friday.
> 
> Two of the soldiers were killed in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan on Friday and a third -- an American -- died in a similar attack on Thursday, the military announced.
> 
> ...


----------



## GAP (22 Aug 2010)

*Articles found August 22, 2010*

 U.S. troop surge hitting the ground in former Canadian strongpoint
Article Link
By: Dene Moore, The Canadian Press Posted: 22/08/2010

HOWZ-E-MADAD, Afghanistan - The smell of fresh-cut wood permeates the air at this former Canadian strongpoint on the western edge of the troublesome Zhari district of Kandahar province.

A year ago, the base near Howz-e-Madad was home to a handful of Canadian infantry and a few dozen Afghan National Army soldiers.

Today, it is a bustling military base bursting at the seams with U.S. and Afghan soldiers, and a prime example of the sea change in the coalition war effort since the U.S. refocused its war effort on Afghanistan last year.

The last American combat brigade left Iraq last week, and by the fall the U.S. will have 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.

That change is evident in the rapidly expanding base on the edge of Zhari, an area referred to by western troops as the Frontier, and for good reason. A few kilometres to the south of the base is the village of Sangasar, where hardline Islamic cleric Mullah Omar founded the Taliban in 1994.

"Zhari is probably about 90 per cent contested, or else flat-out under Taliban control because we've never had the coalition or Afghan security force capacity to go out there," Brig.-Gen. Frederick Hodges, commander of current operations for the coalition's Regional Command South, said in a recent interview.

Despite its endless rows of grapefields and abundant crops of pomegranate and, yes, marijuana, the area remains poor even by the standards of poverty stricken Afghanistan.
More on link

 Russia is ready to sell two dozen helicopters to Afghanistan
Article Link
Reported by: Emon CRWE Newswire Middle East correspondent.

According to the Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergi Lavrov Russia is ready to sell two dozen helicopters to Afghanistan. In addition, the interior Minister of Afghanistan will be free to put small arms and ammunition on the helicopters. The Afghan president said that republic needs the support of Russia. Dmitry Medvedev has promised to help in the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking.

Sergi Lavrov said; the helicopter package was discussed last August 18 in Sochi, the meeting was held between the presidents of both countries, Afghanistan and Russia.

His suggestion how we see this initiative, was passed a few months ago in Brussels. We expect a concrete answer from our partners, but this readiness is of course must be on reciprocal basis, First of all, in term of the source of finance.

The presidents of Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan after the meeting in Sochi, issued a joint statement on combating terrorism and drug trafficking. According to President of the Russia Dmitry Medvedev, Russia supports Afghanistan in the fight. In turn, Afghan president Hamid karzai, thanked Medvedev for his attention to Afghanistan and added that Afghanistan needs the support of other states and such a great country like Russia.

The Sochi Summit is the second meeting between the leaders of Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. For the first time, a year ago, all the presidents of these countries were in the same group in Dushanbe.
More on link

 Canada takes notes from Dutch on Afghan withdrawal
By Bryn Weese, Parliamentary Bureau August 20, 2010
Article Link

Canada can learn a thing or two from the Netherlands about how to pull its troops out of Afghanistan next year, according to Canada's Chief of the Defence Staff General Walter Natynczyk.

The Netherlands pulled their troops out of Afghanistan abruptly earlier this month.

Natynczyk and his Dutch counterpart, General Peter van Uhm, met in Ottawa over the past few days to discuss, among other things, the Netherlands'

recent withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan.

"On this visit, we've been able to talk about strategic issues with regard to NATO, strategic concepts with regard to moving forward on Afghanistan, but also receive lessons learned from the Dutch, from the Netherlands’

experience in terms of their transition of the mission," Natynczyk told reporters at the Ottawa International Airport Friday.

Van Uhm said they also discussed tactics. "But we will not expose that in the media," he said.
More on link

 Iowa National Guard soldiers learning to drive new mine-resistant trucks
Article Link

Camp Shelby, Miss. – Iowa soldiers will have a new ally when they head to Afghanistan later this fall.

Instead of traveling in Humvees, most of them will be using MRAP trucks, whose awkward-looking shape and heavy armor are designed to protect troops from roadside bomb blasts.

“They’re going to make a huge difference,” said Staff Sgt. Clint Koerperich of Cedar Rapids. “They can take it like a champ.”

MRAP stands for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected. The acronym refers to a class of trucks with V-shaped bottoms that project the force of a blast away from an armored capsule carrying the soldiers. “When the explosion goes off, it’ll take the front end off and it’ll take the back end off, but you’ll still have that capsule,” Koerperich said.

Koerperich is among 2,800 Iowa National Guard troops training at Camp Shelby for deployment to Afghanistan. He served in Afghanistan five years ago, when some American soldiers were still driving unarmored Humvees. That changed after Taliban insurgents became more proficient with roadside bombs. First, the Army added armor and bulletproof windows to Humvees. But those measures weren’t enough, so engineers developed MRAP trucks, which weigh up to 24 tons, nearly five times as heavy as an armored Humvee.
More on link


 Taliban, Al Qaeda, get increasingly inventive with IEDs in Afghanistan, wreaking havoc on troops
Article Link
BY James Gordon MeekDAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Sunday, August 22nd 2010

KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - The Taliban throw in everything but the kitchen sink when they cook up deadly improvised explosive devices.

Even electric cooking pots become weapons of mass destruction. To activate the lethal bombs, insurgents bury the crockpots in the ground next to a road or footpath and set the switch to "cook."

"They also use old artillery shells stuffed with spoons, forks and belt buckles, or any other metal they can find," said a Canadian soldier who's been wounded by three IED blasts in this rural southern Afghanistan province. "It's like a big grenade."

The Taliban's increasing improvisation on IEDs - which account for most U.S. war casualties - is a worrisome trend in the Afghan war.

They can be turned on or off with switches, cell phones or connecting a wire, such as during nighttime when U.S. patrols are often mounted.

"It just blew up in my face," recalled a Special Forces team sergeant one recent afternoon at a base near Kandahar, describing how an IED hit him on patrol.

His team was on foot with Afghan commandos when someone stepped on a pressure-plate activated bomb hidden on a trail. The blast tore apart one of the Afghan troops and gave the sergeant a concussion.

"I was completely out of it," said the Green Beret, who cannot be named because of his classified missions.

A week later, half his face was covered with whiskers where the brunt of the blast hit him. He can't shave the wound yet.

The team sergeant, from Oakland, Calif., talks out of the other side of his mouth, and his right eardrum is likely permanently damaged.

Four U.S. operators on his team have been wounded in the past two missions by IEDs or gunfire.

"There's my replacement," the team sergeant said, pointing to a wounded comrade hobbling across the compound on a cane. "You see some gnarly s--t out there."

Unlike Iraq, or earlier in this war, the Taliban prefer to bomb individual soldiers undertaking "dismounted" patrols rather than in vehicles.

"It's mostly pressure plate IEDs now. It takes too much manpower to build an IED to take out a truck," another Canadian trooper said.

Coalition troops on patrol use cellular jammers, which aggravate anybody at a forward operating base trying to make a call home on a mobile phone or get email on a BlackBerry. But the gadgets save lives.

The Taliban have had years to study U.S. tactics, techniques and procedures and even know the most likely spots on the ground an American will drive or walk across, soldiers say.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (23 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 23

United States, Afghan forces prepare for major assault on the birthplace of the Taliban
AP, Aug. 22
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/united-states-afghan-forces-prepare-for-major-assault-on-the-birthplace-of-the-taliban-101257614.html



> HOWZ-E-MADAD, Afghanistan - As Lt. Col. Peter N. Benchoff prepares for an assault next month into the birthplace of the Taliban, he doesn't sugarcoat the hurdles his troops face in this crucial swath of southern Afghanistan.
> 
> "Security sucks. Development? Nothing substantial. Information campaign? Nobody believes us. Governance? We've had one, hour-long visit by a government official in the last 2 1/2 months," the battalion commander says. "Taliban is the home team here."
> 
> ...



Air base expansion plans reflect long-term investment in Afghanistan
_Washington Post_, Aug. 23
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/22/AR2010082201670.html



> Three $100 million air base expansions in southern and northern Afghanistan illustrate Pentagon plans to continue building multimillion-dollar facilities in that country to support increased U.S. military operations well into the future.
> 
> Despite growing public unhappiness with the Afghan war -- and President Obama's pledge that he will begin withdrawing troops in July 2011 -- many of the installations being built in Afghanistan have extended time horizons. None of the three projects in southern and northern Afghanistan is expected to be completed until the latter half of 2011. All of them are for use by U.S. forces rather than by their Afghan counterparts.
> 
> ...


  

Pakistanis Tell of Motive in Taliban Leader’s Arrest
_NY Times_, Aug. 22, by Dexter Filkins
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/world/asia/23taliban.html?ref=todayspaper



> ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — When American and Pakistani agents captured Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s operational commander, in the chaotic port city of Karachi last January, both countries hailed the arrest as a breakthrough in their often difficult partnership in fighting terrorism.
> 
> But the arrest of Mr. Baradar, the second-ranking Taliban leader after Mullah Muhammad Omar, came with a beguiling twist: both American and Pakistani officials claimed that Mr. Baradar’s capture had been a lucky break. It was only days later, the officials said, that they finally figured out who they had.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (23 Aug 2010)

Kingston man to lead troops
AFGHANISTAN: Brig.-Gen. Dean Milner will oversee mission until July 2011
Kingston Whig-Standard, Aug. 23
http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2724419



> A Kingston man is next in line to be the head of Canadian Forces in Afghanistan.
> 
> Brig.-Gen. Dean Milner will deploy to Afghanistan on Aug. 31 to take over as Commander of Joint Task Force Afghanistan from Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (24 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 24


No US troops 'mass exodus' from Afghanistan next year, says Gen Petraeus
The new Nato commander in Afghanistan has warned of tougher fighting ahead against the Taliban-led insurgency and said there would be no mass exodus of American troops next year.
_Daily Telegraph_, Aug. 24
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7960156/No-US-troops-mass-exodus-from-Afghanistan-next-year-says-Gen-Petraeus.html



> Gen David Petraeus said fighting in the nine-year-long campaign in Afghanistan would get "harder before it gets easier" as troops tried to flush militants from southern strongholds.
> 
> He said troops would not rush to pull out in July 2011, when Mr Obama has promised Americans that the United State's 100,000-strong contingent would begin to go home.
> 
> ...



U.S. General Cites Goals to Train Afghan Forces
_NY Times_, Aug. 23
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/24/world/asia/24military.html?ref=todayspaper



> WASHINGTON — The American commander in charge of building up Afghanistan’s security forces said Monday that in the next 15 months he would have to recruit and train 141,000 new soldiers and police officers — more than the current size of the Afghan Army — to meet President Obama’s ambitious goals for getting Afghan forces to fight the war on their own.
> 
> The commander, Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, said the large recruiting number was to allow for attrition rates in some units of nearly 50 percent.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (25 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 25

Taliban could be misleading its forces
_Washington Post_, Aug. 25
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/24/AR2010082406373.html



> The commandant of the Marine Corps said Tuesday that Taliban leaders may be misleading their own forces into believing that they only have to keep fighting through the middle of next year, when U.S. troops are slated to begin pulling out of Afghanistan.
> 
> President Obama has said that troops will begin withdrawing in July 2011, but it will be months before the administration determines the size of the drawdown. On Tuesday, Gen. James T. Conway said in a Pentagon briefing that he thinks the Taliban has misinterpreted U.S. intentions.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (25 Aug 2010)

*Articles found August 25, 2010*

 Karzai complicates Afghanistan exit plan 
Article Link

Tue Aug 24, 6:20 PM

By The Canadian Press
ADVERTISEMENT

CHURCHILL, Man. - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the Afghan government's recent decision to kick private security contractors out of the country will "complicate" Canada's exit strategy.

Just how much of a monkey wrench has been thrown into the works remains unclear.

Ottawa plans to end combat operations next July but it plans to continue with a diplomatic and development mission.

Harper says questions about how to protect both diplomats and aid workers once Canadian soldiers depart are "difficult" to answer — even more so since Afghan President Hamid Karzai decreed that private security contractors are no longer welcome.

"I will certainly concede that President Karzai's recent decision will complicate some of those choices in the future but I'm not in a position today to answer those questions but we are working on them," Harper said Tuesday.

A report in Tuesday's Globe and Mail said Ottawa plans to spend up to $600-million over three years in Afghanistan to prevent the country from becoming a “haven for terrorists."

The Conservative government has been tight-lipped about how Canada will remain involved in the war-ravaged country after the latest combat mission mandate expires. Defence Minister Peter MacKay hinted last spring that Ottawa was prepared to send a contingent of civilian police trainers.
More on link

 Afghanistan: Waiting for the fight
Article Link
Major Kandahar offensive delayed as counterinsurgency strategy pushes forward.

 PANJWAYI, Afghanistan — Looking out from their hilltop vantage point, a group of Canadian soldiers can see the entire farming village below, nestled into a valley in the restive Kandahar province. Somewhere in the grape fields and mud huts, they know it’s a virtual certainty that an ambush is waiting for them or another Canadian patrol that’s also in the village.

Hiking back everyone is braced for the eventual burst of enemy gunfire, but after a nearly hour-long trek it seems it will end without incident. The other unit isn’t so lucky. Just as one unit marches through the base’s main gate, gunfire erupts in the distance. The other unit has walked into the ambush.

Fighting in Kandahar has continued to steadily intensify over the summer, despite a decision to delay the main offensive. But for many of the NATO forces responsible for actively patrolling the province, especially among the rank and file, frustration is mounting that they are still not putting enough pressure on insurgent groups in the area to make a serious difference.

“We’re going out and waiting for them to hit us and we’re not trying to hit them,” said Canadian Army Pvt. Mason Highmore.

Gaining control of an area like Kandahar’s Panjwayi district will likely take major clearing operations, which Pentagon officials have hinted are likely to come this fall. Meanwhile, commanders operating in the restive district say they are making progress against an increasingly desperate insurgency.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (26 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 26

Sarkozy says France will stay in Afghanistan 'as long as necessary' 
AFP, Aug. 25
http://www.france24.com/en/20100825-sarkozy-france-afghanistan-war-military-soldiers-nato



> President Nicolas Sarkozy declared on Wednesday that French forces will remain in Afghanistan for as long as they are needed there and enjoy the support of the Afghan people.
> 
> Two French soldiers were killed this week and Sarkozy faces mounting calls for France's 3,750 troops to begin withdrawing from a conflict that has cost 47 of them their lives and shows no sign of coming to an end.
> 
> ...



Key Karzai Aide in Corruption Inquiry Is Linked to C.I.A.
_NY Times_, Aug. 25
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/world/asia/26kabul.html?ref=todayspaper



> KABUL, Afghanistan — The aide to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the center of a politically sensitive corruption investigation is being paid by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Afghan and American officials.
> 
> Mohammed Zia Salehi, the chief of administration for the National Security Council, appears to have been on the payroll for many years, according to officials in Kabul and Washington. It is unclear exactly what Mr. Salehi does in exchange for his money, whether providing information to the spy agency, advancing American views inside the presidential palace, or both.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (28 Aug 2010)

Taliban attack Nato bases in Afghanistan's Khost area
 28 August 2010 Last updated at 08:14 ET
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11118459

Soldier at Forward Operating Base Salerno, file image The sprawling Salerno base supports both US and other Nato forces

Taliban insurgents wearing US military uniforms have attacked two coalition bases in eastern Afghanistan, Nato forces say.

Coalition forces repelled both attacks, killing 24 militants, the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said.

There were no coalition casualties in the fighting, in Khost province, south-east of Kabul, Isaf said.

The Taliban said about 30 fighters were involved in the two separate assaults.

The attacks on Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khost province and nearby Camp Chapman began at about 0400 (2330 GMT).

Two of the insurgents managed to breach the fence at Forward Operating Base Salerno and enter the compound, but were killed, a statement from Isaf said.


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## MarkOttawa (28 Aug 2010)

Expanding counter-insurgency in Taliban strongholdCanada's focus this fall (usual copyright disclaimer)
CP, Aug. 24
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/expanding-counter-insurgency-in-taliban-strongholdcanadas-focus-this-fall-101408519.html



> DEH-E-BAGH, Afghanistan - Maj. Ned Ash points out his lightweight army uniform and the civilian clothes of a guest sitting at a meeting table in a small military strongpoint at the Dand District Centre in this small village south of Kandahar city.
> 
> "At this time, Deh-e-Bagh is safe enough that you and I could walk out wearing this," says Ash, of the *U.S. Army 1-71 Cavalry, 10th Mountain Division, an American unit that took control of the base in April under the command of Canadian forces in Kandahar* [emphasis added].
> 
> ...



Assignment Kandahar: Villagers flee as campaign against insurgents intensifies (usual copyright disclaimer)
_National Post_, Aug. 26, by Brian Hutchinson   
http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/08/26/assignment-kandahar-villagers-flee-as-campaign-against-insurgents-intensifies/



> KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Worried Afghan villagers are packing up their belongings and fleeing unstable districts around Kandahar city as Canadian, U.S., and Afghan forces intensify a long-planned campaign against insurgents in the area, local sources have told Postmedia News.
> 
> About 1,700 U.S. soldiers and Afghan army and police officers are sweeping through a semi-rural corridor directly west of Kandahar city and have detained 116 suspected Taliban insurgents since Wednesday, said Col. Ghulam Farooq Parwani, deputy commander of the Afghan National Civil Police in Kandahar.
> 
> ...



Final fight: Canadians prepare for Panjwaii battle 
CP, Aug. 27
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1198954.html



> KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Canadian soldiers are girding for what may well be their final fight in Kandahar as they expand their counter-insurgency strategy this fall into a key district that has remained a stubborn Taliban stronghold throughout four years of battle.
> 
> The third phase of Operation Hamkari will get underway in the Panjwaii district, where Canadian Forces are now concentrated, and neighbouring Zhari, which has been handed over to the U.S. military.
> 
> ...



Marines in Afghanistan prepared for a long haul
A year since the U.S. troop buildup began with battalions descending on the Helmand River Valley, optimism about a quick defeat of the Taliban has given way to more sober assessments.
_LA Times_, Aug. 28
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghanistan-helmand-20100828,0,231141.story



> Reporting from Forward Operating Base Dwyer,
> 
> If Marine Lance Cpl. Kevin Oratowski was intimidated about briefing three visiting generals as he headed out on another overnight patrol chasing the Taliban, he didn't show it.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (28 Aug 2010)

CIA making secret payments to members of Karzai administration
_Washington Post_, Aug. 27
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/26/AR2010082606776.html



> The CIA is making secret payments to multiple members of President Hamid Karzai's administration, in part to maintain sources of information in a government in which the Afghan leader is often seen as having a limited grasp of developments, according to current and former U.S. officials.
> 
> The payments are long-standing in many cases and designed to help the agency maintain a deep roster of allies within the presidential palace. Some aides function as CIA informants, but others collect stipends under more informal arrangements meant to ensure their accessibility, a U.S. official said.
> 
> ...


   

Shock and Horror: Spies Engage in Bribery
Some U.S. officials say such practices essential to American intelligence and defense operations in Afghanistan.
_Newsweek_, Aug, 27, by Mark Hosenball
http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/declassified/2010/08/27/shock-and-horror-spies-engage-in-bribery.html



> Some U.S. national-security and intelligence officials are expressing exasperation at revelations—including front-page stories two days' running in the nation’s most important newspapers—alleging that the CIA has been secretly bribing numerous aides to Hamid Karzai, the embattled Afghan president.
> 
> The officials don’t even try to deny such shenanigans are occurring: they believe such practices are essential to American intelligence and defense operations in the region. What they fear is that any move toward curbing the authority of the CIA and other U.S. agencies to approach, and by means fair or foul, co-opt sources of information, however dubious their character, might significantly hamper American efforts to collect strategic and tactical information essential to American military and political operations in the region.
> 
> ...



How Unmasking Afghan CIA Sources Hurts Us
_Time_, Aug 27, by Robert Baer
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2014252,00.html



> If there ever were a story that's not worth the paper it's written on it's the "news" from the New York Times  that the CIA is paying corrupt Afghan officials for information.
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/world/asia/26kabul.html?ref=todayspaper
> Paying off corrupt officials — if we accept espionage as a kind of corruption — is exactly what the CIA was meant to do when it was set up in 1947. So where's the news?
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (30 Aug 2010)

ARTICLES FOUND AUG. 30

Analysis: Will battle for Kandahar win the war?
AP, Aug. 29
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/29/AR2010082901467.html

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan  -- Since the war began, this southern city and surrounding countryside have been marked as the heartland of the Taliban, the insurgents' springboard to retake all of Afghanistan. It has witnessed some of the bloodiest fighting.

Now, as U.S. and allied forces wrestle with urban warlords and take on die-hard insurgents in booby-trapped orchards and grape fields, the battle for Kandahar city is being described as the decisive campaign, a linchpin of American strategy to win the 9-year-old conflict.

"As goes Kandahar, so goes Afghanistan," has almost become the military's mantra.

Not all agree, arguing even if success in Kandahar is achieved, the war will be far from over. That success is far from guaranteed: the obstacles are overwhelming, the time to overcome them may prove too short, and victory may hinge not on what happens on the ground in Kandahar, but in the American political arena.

"This is Western military thinking which is totally irrelevant to Afghanistan," says Marc Sageman, a former CIA operative in the region now with the Washington-based Foreign Policy Research Institute. "You can pacify Kandahar and you'll still lose the war because Afghanistan remains a highly decentralized society, and in the countryside, the Kabul government has little legitimacy."..

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, has estimated the insurgency has spread to about one-third of the country's districts. Shadow Taliban governors, some reports say, exist in 33 of the country's 34 provinces. And there are other strategic hotspots besides Kandahar, including the Kabul region and stretches of the border with Pakistan, where al-Qaida - Washington's prime target when the war was launched in 2001- is concentrated.

Commanders describe the operation for Kandahar - dubbed "Hamkari Baraye Kandahar," or "Cooperation for Kandahar" - as not a conventional offensive but rather a "slow, rising tide," where military muscle plays a secondary role. At its height, roughly 25,000 NATO and Afghan troops will be deployed in the city and surrounding countryside.

"This is not Stalingrad or Fallujah. This fight is about governance, the mobs, the mafia," Carter said. "Success will be judged how we connect a credible Afghan government to the population."

But some tough fighting is taking place, with U.S. and Afghan forces concentrated on the city's western approaches to stem the inflow of fighters, suicide bombers and funds. *About 80 percent of one Taliban stronghold, the lush and heavily mined Arghandab Valley, has been secured, Carter says, and next month a major operation will be launched in adjacent Zhari* [emphasis added], an insurgency-wracked district where the radical Islamist movement was founded in 1994.

Within the city, "sleepers" have been planted to gather information, and plans call for U.S. military police and the Afghan National Police to have blanketed Kandahar with 11 security stations by the end of September. Intelligence-led operations will target what Carter calls "a resilient insurgency."

Simultaneously, development projects are to be rolled out, including temporary measures to boost electric power, which is not expected to come on full stream until 2014.

But perhaps the toughest, and most essential, nut to crack will be the parallel, warlord government that has taken root in a vacuum left by the decimation of tribal leadership and the absence of effective Kabul governance. Among several families essentially running the city is that of Ahmed Wali Karzai, the half brother of President Hamid Karzai who has shown little inclination to remove his relative despite widespread allegations of his involvement in racketeering, drug-trafficking and assassinations of rivals. The younger Karzai denies those allegations...  

The *head of the U.S. Special Operations Command, Adm. Eric Olson, has said too much emphasis is being placed on protecting locals and not enough on fighting the enemy* [emphasis added]. "Counterinsurgency should involve countering the insurgents," he says... 

With the clock ticking, COIN faces its first major test of the 9-year war in Kandahar. 

Mark
Ottawa


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