# The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread November 2011



## The Bread Guy (29 Oct 2011)

*The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread November 2011  *               

[size=12pt]*News only - commentary elsewhere, please.
Thanks for helping this "news only" thread system work!*


----------



## GAP (2 Nov 2011)

*Articles found November 2, 2011*

Afghan MPs from Kandahar say troops there not ready to take full control from NATO
Article Link
By Associated Press, Published: October 31 | Updated: Tuesday, November 1, 2:14 AM

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan lawmakers from Kandahar say their country’s security forces are not yet ready to assume full security responsibilities from NATO in the restive southern province.

The lawmakers said Tuesday that Kandahar — the birthplace of the Taliban — should be among the last regions handed over by NATO to its Afghan counterparts.

Kandahar lawmaker Khalid Pashtun says recent attacks in the province spotlight the continued insecurity in the area.
More on link

 Afghan mission hurt by intelligence failures: historian
Article Link
CTVNews.ca Staff Mon. Oct. 31 2011

One of Canada's most prominent military historians says Canada's Afghan mission was constantly dogged by intelligence failures and a lack of strategic oversight in Ottawa.

"I'm virtually certain that we did not spend enough time examining the circumstances on the ground in Kandahar," David Bercuson of the University of Calgary said on CTV's National Affairs Monday.

"What did we not know and should have known about the amount help we'd get from our NATO allies?" he added. "There's all kind of questions that were left open prior to the engagement.

He's also particularly critical of Ottawa's politicians, saying they "confused" the public on the purpose of the mission.

"We had all kinds of mixed messages going on from 2005 through to 2011. There was too much politics going," he said. 
More on link

 Afghan forces on track to take over security
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
Article Link

The Afghan army and police are on track to handle security when U.S. troops withdraw, although top NATO officers acknowledge that desertion is a problem and that the country will need at least $4 billion a year to maintain its forces.

Better pay, two additional years of training and appropriate equipment should result in Afghan security forces that can sustain themselves well beyond 2014, when President Obama wants all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, the officers say.

"We inherited what was left of the Taliban and the warlords," said Air Force Brig. Gen. Timothy Ray, chief of training for the Afghan air force, who briefed the Pentagon and Congress on progress.

"None of that had a culture and heritage of sustainment. They just fought for today. Now it's train, sustain and supply," he said. "Once you can get that cultural switch to flip, all those other things fall into place."

Army Maj. Gen. Peter Fuller, the top budget officer for NATO's Afghanistan training mission, said the emphasis is on providing Afghan security forces with rugged buildings and equipment more in tune with the climate and culture.
More on link

 Cooper: Soldier discovers he’ll never be a warrior
  Article Link
 By Barry Cooper November 2, 2011 

The Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary does not appeal to all students. But some are more interested in war studies than peace studies. For them, the interest and focus they bring to class ensures an enormously fulfilling experience, particularly for us who teach them.

Ryan Flavelle is a student. Like several others, he is also a member of the military. Unlike his colleagues, he has written a riveting book. It deals with his service in the southern Panjwaii district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan.

Flavelle’s motives for writing The Patrol: Seven Days in the Life of a Canadian Soldier in Afghanistan were both universal and personal. Like every historian from Thucydides to the present, he wanted to ensure the memory of the immediacy of his experiences would not be lost in oblivion. But the personal side of his story is far more compelling.

Flavelle spent the best part of seven months attached at the hip, as he said, to the officer commanding Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. The Patricia’s have won battle honours unequalled in Canadian military history. They lived in a universe far different from what Flavelle had previously known as a self-described nerd in 746 Communication Squadron. This was his reserve outfit; he was chiefly concerned with repairing radios.
More on link


----------



## The Bread Guy (5 Nov 2011)

Congrats to the Canadians who won the German shooting medals (see bolded highlight below)  

*Coalition troops earn German Schützenschnur*
2011/11/05  By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mike Andriacco, Regional Support Command-North/NTM-A Public Affairs
Article link

CAMP MIKE SPANN, Afghanistan – A group of Regional Support Command – North Coalition troops were given the opportunity to earn the German Army’s Schützenschnur, or German Armed Forces badge for weapons proficiency, at a local Afghan National Army weapons range Oct. 27, near Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan.

The decoration may be earned by military personnel of all ranks, but is only authorized to be worn by the enlisted force, regardless of country of service.

The opportunity to earn the badge was afforded by the RSC-N German contingent.

“There were a few reasons we wanted to give our co-workers a chance to earn the award,” said German Army Col. Dirk Kipper, co-commander of RSC-N. “To deepen our comradeship with our co-workers, improve our marksmanship together, and give an incentive with this award for the participants to show their best. It is an opportunity for our friends to achieve something they may not normally be able to and was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many of them.”

*Of the 21 U.S. and Canadian Soldiers and Airmen who participated, 19 walked away with medals. The award comes in three classes based on performance — gold, silver and bronze. The gold medal went to 12 participants, and five and two were awarded silver and bronze, respectively.* All agreed that they had a good time and learned a lot about German military weapons and traditions during the event ....

More on link


----------



## GAP (8 Nov 2011)

*Articles found November 8, 2011*

 Haqqani Network: Desperate Measures
Mon, 11/07/2011 - 09:18 South Asia Intelligence Review/IBNS
Article Link

On November 4, 2011, Pentagon officials declared that "relentless pursuit" of the Haqqani Network was the top priority for American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, as this terrorist formation continued to be a major threat to US and NATO Forces in Afghanistan. Navy Captain John Kirby, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Media Operations, noted, "The Haqqani Network is lethal, deadly and continues to conduct operations inside Afghanistan and is a growing concern for our commanders out there."

Operations against the Haqqani Network have been intensified and, according to the New American Foundation, at least 47 drone strikes have already been executed in the North Waziristan Agency (NWA) of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in 2011 (data till October 31, 2011). 103 such attacks were executed in 2010, 23 in 2009, 19 in 2008, 3 in 2007, one in 2006 and two in 2005. The database further indicates that 28 of the 198 drone attacks since 2005 specifically targeted the Haqqani Network – one in 2006, two in 2008, four in 2009, 16 in 2010 and five in 2011. In the first recorded offensive against the Haqqani Network on November 2, 2007, a US strike on a housing compound in Danda Darpakhel, near the Miranshah town of NWA, killed at least five alleged militants and wounded up to a dozen. On September 8, 2008, a major strike killed 23 persons, again in the Danda Darpakhel, including nine militants and 14 civilians. Among the dead were many family members of the group’s leader, Jalaluddin Haqqani, including eight of his grandchildren, two wives, his elder sister, his sister-in-law and other relatives. The New York Times wrote about the incident, “The strike hit the compound run by Sirajuddin Haqqani, who used the compound as a guest house for militants arriving in the North Waziristan to join the jihad forces of the Haqqani family... The family runs training camps and facilities in the tribal region and also has places to hide.” Sirajuddin Haqqani is Jalaluddin’s son, and the present leader of the Network.
More on link

 Canadian Highway of Heroes Silver Commemorative Coin Available
Article Link
November 7, 2011 by Darrin Lee Unser 

The Royal Canadian Mint has issued the 2011 Highway of Heroes Silver Commemorative Coin which celebrates a grassroots movement responsible for honoring Canada's fallen servicemen and servicewomen known as the Highway of Heroes. A $20 surcharge on the sale of each commemorative coin will be forwarded to the Afghanistan Repatriation Memorial and the Military Families Fund.
More on link

 10 killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan: politician
  Article Link 
AFP November 8, 2011

HERAT, Afghanistan — Ten people were killed by a roadside bomb in northwest Afghanistan late Monday, a local politician told AFP Tuesday.

The blast struck a police vehicle in Badghis province, killing two officers, and also killed eight civilians from the same family in another vehicle which was following it, said Badghis provincial council chairman Faizullah Azimi.

"A mine planted by the Taliban hit a police vehicle in Qadis district yesterday evening leaving two policemen and eight civilians dead," Azimi told AFP. "All the civilians were members of the same family."

He added: "Two policemen and one child were also injured."

Monday was the second day of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, when many Afghans celebrate by visiting friends and family.

It was not the first attack during Eid in Afghanistan — on Sunday, a Taliban suicide bomber killed seven people returning from prayers at a mosque in the city of Baghlan, northern Afghanistan.
More on link

 After Afghanistan, new ways of remembering
From Monday's Globe and Mail Sunday, Nov. 06, 2011 11
Article Link

Friday marks the first Remembrance Day since the end of this country’s decade-long combat mission in Afghanistan. More than 55,000 Canadians have served there since 2001, the largest deployment since the Korean War.

Nov. 11 is always an occasion for reflection, a sanctioned, sober time to consider who and what was lost in conflict. But this year presents a unique opportunity to take stock of how a new generation of veterans and their loved ones are reshaping the very notion of remembrance.
More on link


----------



## GAP (10 Nov 2011)

*Articles found November 10, 2011*

 Tearing it down is no easy task
Published Wednesday November 9th, 2011 
Article Link

In July, Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan came to a conclusion.

After six years of counterinsurgency work in and around Kandahar, emphasis shifted from fighting to instructing.

As we are all aware by now, Canada is training Afghan soldiers and police officers at several sites in the Afghan capital of Kabul. The effort is known as Operation Attention.

What many people do not realize, however, is that closing down something as massive as what's been going on in Southern Afghanistan is no easy job. In fact, it's a task that can only be described as mammoth.

Known as the Mission Transition Task Force, the effort is not only responsible for packing up the combat mission (Operation Athena) but also for overseeing the transition of Canadian Forces personnel and equipment back to Canada and to other deployments.

Since the tear down began a few months ago, 1,400 Canadian troops have been working, literally, around the clock in an effort to get the task accomplished so they can be out of Kandahar before the end of the year.

The job at hand includes, among other things, the dismantling of 261 buildings in 18 compounds, totalling 5.5 million square feet or 127 acres, equivalent to 86 CFL football fields.
More on link

 She served coffee to go on front lines
2011-11-10 / Local News By DAN PELTON Staff Reporter
Article Link

Christine Thomas of Mono worked at a Tim Hortons for six months between October, 2010 and May, 2011.

That, in itself, is hardly newsworthy. But in this case, the Tim Hortons was near the front lines in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

“When I first arrived,” she recalls, “I was taken aback by the hostility of the landscape. It was 33 Celsius. It was all beige.

“I called it the moon, because that’s exactly what it looked like.”

The soldiers on the base and the local Afghans were a different story.

“The soldiers were warm and friendly. The Afghans were lovely, (but) I didn’t get to interact with them because the men simply don’t interact with women.”

While this could be construed as blatant gender inequality by Western standards, Ms. Thomas didn’t see it that way because she was in Afghanistan and was respectful of their traditions.

“They covet their women,” she explains. “The women stay at home and are rarely seen.” But that didn’t mean the family females were without authority.
More on link

Canada in Afghanistan: On the path to success 
Article Link
NICOLE BERGOT, EDMONTON SUN Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Suppress the enemy, uplift the ability of the Afghan security forces. 

Canadian Forces Maj.-Gen. Michael Day, ­ now the Kabul-based Deputy Commanding General for Afghan National Security Force Development, including their army, police and air forces, ­ has done both.

Click here to read stories from Nicole's assignment in Afghanistan, November, 2009

Two years into a complex five-year NATO training mission, Canada has helped build the numbers and capabilities of the Afghan National Army and police force to a point where leaders like Day believe success of an independent Afghanistan is more attainable than not.

"It's programmed to last for three more years before the Afghans have to assume command," says Day, whose soldiering includes years with Canada's elite Special Operations Forces, Joint Task Force Two (JTF 2).

"What we aspire to do is two things: Continue to suppress and decrement the ability of the insurgency and concurrently uplift the ability of the security forces. The goal is the insurgency will be much weaker and that they (security forces) will be much stronger."

About 920 Canadians are deployed on the training mission, with the vast majority involved in the actual training and mentoring of Afghan security forces.
More on link


----------



## GAP (12 Nov 2011)

*Articles found November 12, 2011*

Afghanistan mother and daughter stoned and shot dead
Article Link
 11 November 2011 Last updated at 04:18 ET

A group of armed men have stoned and shot dead a woman and her daughter in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, security officials have told the BBC.

The officials blamed the Taliban, who they said had accused the women of "moral deviation and adultery".

The police said two men had been arrested in connection with the murder.

The attack was only 300m from the governor's office in Ghazni city, which is on a list of places to be transferred to Afghan security control.

The incident happened on Thursday in the Khawaja Hakim area of Ghazni city, where the family lived.

The BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says it is close to the governor's office, the police chief's office and a Western-backed Provincial Reconstruction Team.
More on link

'Kill team' leader Calvin Gibbs guilty of murder
Article Link
10 November 2011 

A US military court has convicted an American soldier of three counts of premeditated murder for leading a rogue "kill team" in Afghanistan.

Sgt Calvin Gibbs, 26, admitted cutting and keeping fingers from corpses as war trophies, but said he was returning enemy fire and did not set out to kill.

He was given life for 15 convictions related to the killing of three men, but could be paroled within nine years.

Three co-defendants in the case pleaded guilty, and two testified against him.

Gibbs, from Billings, Montana, was the highest-ranking of the soldiers charged with murder.

Prosecutors told the jury that Gibbs and the other soldiers dropped weapons by the bodies to make them appear to be combatants.

Gibbs' lawyer argued that the three who pleaded guilty conspired to blame him for their own actions.

The jury of five deliberated for four hours before announcing the verdict, pronouncing him guilty on all 15 charges against him.

He faces life in prison.
More on link


----------



## GAP (13 Nov 2011)

*Articles found November 13, 2011*

Life better since Taliban driven from Kabul, says Nato
By Orla Guerin BBC News, Kabul  13 November 2011
Article Link

Ten years since the Taliban were driven from the Afghan capital, Nato's ambassador to Afghanistan, Simon Gass, says there have been big improvements.

Kabul has changed beyond recognition, he said, but much remained to be done.

Critics stress that fully securing Kabul is a challenge. The Taliban can still bring death into the heart of the capital, as recent attacks prove.

On 13 November 2001 the western-backed Northern Alliance swept into the Afghan capital virtually unopposed.

A decade after the liberation, Kabul is growing fast, but it still has the architecture of war - checkpoints, blast walls, and heavily fortified buildings.

A city of bicycles has become a city of jeeps and traffic jams - a monument to commerce and to corruption.

"People are always having to pay bribes for everything, even legal things," said Kate Clarke, of the Afghan Analysts Network.

Poverty remains - Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries on Earth. But there is progress, like electricity around the clock in most neighbourhoods. 
More on link

 THE HOUSE: Afghan missions new and old
CBC News Posted: Nov 12, 2011 Audio
Article Link

Canada's new mission in Afghanistan — training the Afghan National Army — is the complement of its old assignment fighting Taliban militants, Maj.-Gen. Michael Day says.

The old combat mission aimed to cut down the firepower of the Afghan government's opponents. The new mission seeks to improve the skills and capabilities of the government's troops.

Day, a senior Canadian Forces officer, is deputy commander of the NATO mission to train Afghanistan's security personnel. He spoke from Afghanistan to CBC's Evan Solomon, host of The House.
More on link


----------



## GAP (14 Nov 2011)

*Articles found November 14, 2011*

 Afghan cenotaph to come home to Canada
Friday, November 11, 2011
Article Link

OTTAWA - After standing tall in the heat and dust of Kandahar for five years, a cenotaph honouring the Canadians killed in Afghanistan will soon be coming home.

The decision to relocate the Joint Task Force Afghanistan Cenotaph to an undetermined location in Ottawa was announced by Defence Minister Peter MacKay and defence chief Gen. Walt Natynczyk on Thursday evening.

"We have a solemn duty to remember those who served, especially those who have fallen in service to their country," MacKay said in a statement.

The government and the National Capital Commission are in the process of identifying a site for the cenotaph, which MacKay said will ultimately be a "place for reflection and remembrance."

Natynczyk added that the cenotaph is an important piece of Canada's involvement in Afghanistan and is one well worth bringing home.

"It has served as a powerful symbol of sacrifice," he said in a statement.
More on link

 Afghan interpreter denied Canadian visa
Article Link

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN—A battlefield interpreter, hailed as a courageous leader by the Canadian soldiers he served with, has been rejected by immigration officials who questioned his decision to go public with his complaints about a bogged-down system.

Sayed Shah Sharifi was lost in Canada’s immigration labyrinth when I found him here last July, desperately seeking a visa under a special program for Afghans whose lives were in danger because they worked with Canadian soldiers and officials.

Days after the story of his frustrations and fears appeared on the front page of the Toronto Star this summer, Sharifi received preliminary approval to move to Canada. And then, in recent weeks, he was just as suddenly rejected with a form letter.

During his almost four-hour interview on July 21 with Canadian officials, who, Sharifi says, identified themselves as “immigration intelligence officers,” they mentioned reading the stories on thestar.com.

They wanted to know if he wasn’t worried that having his name and picture on the web had increased his risk of being attacked by insurgents, who had warned months earlier that they considered him a collaborator with enemy, infidel forces.
More on link

 Shaking hands becomes a cultural lesson in Afghanistan
  Article Link 
By Cpl. Jennifer Scott, Special to The Journal November 13, 2011

Upon arriving in Mazar-e-Sharif, we met the U.S. Army team that we would be replacing. It didn’t take much time for a U.S. Army sergeant to tell me, “I hope you have thick skin because we haven’t had a female adviser down at Camp Shaheen, so I don’t know how they will act toward you.”

My first reaction was to shake my head, throw my hands up and say, “Really? Aren’t we past this – females in the military — by now!”

In Canada perhaps we are, but welcome to Afghanistan.

We walked outside the gates of our coalition camp to Camp Shaheen, the adjacent camp where the Afghan National Army (ANA) trains, to meet the Afghan toli that we would be mentoring – a toli is a 100-person unit in the Afghan National Army, like a company in the Canadian Army.

All the guys on my team shook hands and exchanged greetings with the toli staff, but when the staff came to me, they stopped, unsure of how to greet me. I put out my hand and shook theirs. We are all soldiers here, but it’s interesting how different we are after that.

Even the simple act of shaking hands is different. On one occasion, one of the ANA soldiers shook my hand and didn’t let go. He kept shaking my hand and speaking in Dari. At the time, my interpreter was translating for my Team Leader and was unable to hear what he was saying. I just smiled and then he started squeezing harder, almost like a game kids play to see who can squeeze harder and make the other person yield. Playing along, I squeezed back. This went on for a couple minutes, until I said with a smile, “OK, give me my hand back.”
More on link

 To me, poppy captures silence of fallen comrades
  Article Link 
By Sgt. Bryan Crowston, Edmonton Journal November 12, 2011

First published Oct. 30, 2011.

Remembrance Day this year will mark two special occasions in Afghanistan. It will be the last time Nov. 11 is observed by Canadian troops deployed in Kandahar province. To those of us in the north working with the new Canadian Forces training mission who served previously in the south, this will mean a lot.

For many of us, Kandahar Airfield was the place where we said goodbye to friends who had been killed. This year will also see us marking Remembrance Day in places where Canadian soldiers have not served before.

Here in Camp Spann just outside of Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, we started wearing our poppies on Friday. To soldiers from other nations in this camp, we will stand out because we are the only Commonwealth soldiers here - we are the only contingent wearing poppies.

I'm sure the Afghan National Army soldiers we are working with, and some of the other coalition members, will be curious about why we are wearing a poppy. The explanation we will give is: We wear poppies to remember those who have died fighting in our wars.
More on link

 Road to Mazar-e-Sharif was a long one
  Article Link 
By Lt.-Col. Derek Chenette, Edmonton Journal November 12, 2011

First published Oct. 16, 2011.

Well, we're here now. In fact we've been on the ground for almost two months. Bunks are settled, work spaces are established and we are starting to get into a battle rhythm.

We are the 39 Canadian Forces training mission staff at the Afghan National Army's Regional Military Training Centre-North. We are deployed in northern Afghanistan at Camp Spann, a forward operating base 15 kilometres from Mazar-e-Sharif. Our job is to advise the Afghan National Army commander and staff at RMTC-N and help improve the quality of training at the centre.

Afghan Army instructors at RMTC-N teach seven different courses with a focus on basic army training. The training also has an extensive literacy component. Literacy training is worked into almost every course and is part of the Army's professional development program. The pen is, after all, mightier than the sword. This training helps lay the foundation for a more capable and professional ANA and contributes to the Afghan National Security Forces being able to assume the lead for security across Afghanistan by 2014. That is our ultimate goal.

The road to Mazar-e-Sharif was a long one. The team started training for the mission in Edmonton last January. Our training focused on convoy operations, mentorship skills, ANA doctrine and cultural awareness. This last point cannot be overstated. Understanding is the foundation of mutual respect and a vehicle of progress.
More on link


----------



## GAP (15 Nov 2011)

*Articles found November 15, 2011*

 Afghan teen wins spot at prestigious Canadian school
Published On Mon Nov 14 2011
Article Link
By Paul Watson Star Columnist

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN—Roya Shams has spent much of her young life overcoming obstacles, and by soaring over one of the biggest hurdles, the Afghan schoolgirl has won admission to a prestigious Canadian private school.

Ottawa’s Ashbury College has accepted Roya, 17, after she sat for a nerve-wracking interview over the Internet, and completed an entrance exam, which she wrote in the safety of a well-guarded Kandahar guesthouse.

Her next challenge is to get a study permit from Immigration Canada in time for the start of classes on Jan. 9.

Getting a Canadian visa can be difficult for Afghan students.
More on link

 Afghans must take over the fight: senior Canadian general
  Article Link 
By Matthew Fisher, Postmedia News November 14, 2011

CAMP ALAMO, Afghanistan — Canada's senior general in Afghanistan has been given a much bigger assignment in a reshuffle of NATO's top command in Kabul.

Maj.-Gen. Mike Day was named deputy commander of NATO Training Mission Afghanistan (NTM-A) last week. Five American generals, a British general and three police generals now report to Day, who will be responsible for the training of hundreds of thousands of Afghan troops and police officers.

"Form needed to follow function," Day said in explaining the changes to the NTM-A, which were made by U.S. army Lt.-Gen Daniel Bolger to streamline the training command in Afghanistan by eliminating a large number of senior staff positions.

"Mike's got a huge job," Defence Minister Peter MacKay said after spending Saturday in Kabul at meetings with Day and top Afghan and American military officials. "It shows the trust and confidence Americans and NATO have in Canadian leadership."

A massive, U.S.-funded, multibillion-dollar crash training program for Afghan security forces is the cornerstone of the alliance's strategy for its exit from Afghanistan, which is set for 2014. The Harper government announced late last year that it would send 950 military trainers to northern Afghanistan when Canada's combat mission ended in Kandahar this summer.

"There is no win in this if we do not get Afghanistan to take over," said Day, who commanded Canada's special forces until last year and has been in Afghanistan for several months.
More on link

 NATO: Taliban Leadership Lost Control Over Organization
11/14/2011
Article Link

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has said that "the Taliban leadership has lost control of their organization."

During an operational update by representatives from the ISAF headquarters and NATO on Monday, Canadian Commodore Bill Truelove, Deputy Director of the ISAF Communication Directorate, said the Taliban carried out several attacks recently in spite of the Afghan Eid holiday.

"Over the past week, the Taliban showed their blatant disregard for this holy celebration through a series of attacks resulting in the deaths of many innocent civilians," he told reporters in Kabul.

Truelove said the attacks occurred after senior Taliban leaders issued specific orders to their troops, directing them to stop killing innocent Afghan civilians.

"Still, enemy forces are realizing they are sacrificing their lives for a cause that is not just and under leaders who have no concern for this country or its people," he added.

Truelove claimed that "increasingly, enemy fighters are choosing an alternate path to the fighting and killing, and are turning to peace and reintegration."

NATO and ISAF representatives said since the Taliban fled Kabul, the economy is 11 times larger than under Taliban rule, five times more people are enrolled in education programs - 40 percent of those are women - and Afghan women today play an important role in politics, the police and the army.
More on link


----------



## a_majoor (16 Nov 2011)

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/11/isaf_beats_back_assa.php

*ISAF beats back assault on eastern Afghan base*
By Bill RoggioNovember 9, 2011

Coalition troops defeated a massed assault by the Haqqani Network and allied terror groups on a remote base near the border with Pakistan earlier today. Afghan officials claimed that more than 60 enemy fighters were killed during the attack.

An estimated 60 to 70 fighters from the Haqqani Network and other terror groups launched an attack on Combat Outpost Margah in the Bermel district in Paktika province.

"The insurgents were armed with heavy and light weapons," the spokesman for Paktika province told the BBC. "In retaliation, ANSF launched their own attack. After a fierce gun battle and air support from NATO, all of the insurgents were killed."

US officials confirmed the attack but did not provide an estimate of enemy casualties. No US or Afghan forces were killed or wounded during the fighting.

A local Afghan police official claimed that foreign fighters from Pakistan, Caucasus, Uzbekistan, and Arab countries were involved in the attack.

'We know for sure that there are foreign fighters among those killed because we listened to their radio chatter, there were Arabic, Chechen, Uzbek and Urdu speakers," the official told the BBC. He also said the assault was "carried out by the Haqqani Network to take revenge for several recent operations, which resulted in the killing and capture of their commanders and fighters."

Groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the recently emerged Caucasus Mujahideen in Khorasan are known to operate in the Khost, Paktia, and Paktika area. Arab al Qaeda fighters are also known to have been killed in Bermel. In June 2011, Mahmoud Hamdan Nizal, a Jordanian al Qaeda operative whose nom de guerre was Abu Dher al Urduni, was killed while launching rockets and mortars against Combat Outpost Margah.

The Haqqani Network and allied groups have carried out four major assaults against US outposts in Bermel since 2008. In November 2008, US forces killed 16 enemy fighters as they assaulted Combat Outpost Margah.

In the fall of 2010, the Haqqani Network launched two major massed suicide assaults on COP Margah over the span of two months. On Sept. 2, US forces killed 20 Haqqani Network fighters. And on Oct. 31, US forces killed 78 Haqqani Network and foreign fighters while repelling a massive attack. The Haqqani Network was backed by fighters from al Qaeda as well as the Taliban.

More recently, on March 28, 2011, a three-man suicide assault team attacked a compound owned by the Zahir road construction company in Bermel district. The suicide team first killed a security guard at the main gate, then drove a truck packed with explosives into the company's compound. In the massive blast, 20 road workers were killed and more than 50 were wounded.

Al Qaeda and allied groups maintain a presence in Paktika province, according to an investigation by The Long War Journal. US military press releases document the presence of al Qaeda and "foreign fighter" cells in the districts of Wor Mamay, Yahya Khel, Yosuf Khel, Zadran, and Ziruk; or five of Paktika's 18 districts. The US military uses the term "foreign fighters" to describe al Qaeda and allied terror groups from outside of Afghanistan.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/11/isaf_beats_back_assa.php#ixzz1dtCa0kIE


----------



## GAP (22 Nov 2011)

*Articles found November 22, 2011*

 Canadian troops headed to U.S. survival school for Afghan risks
Article Link
OTTAWA—The military is seeking security and survival training for Canadian soldiers who must “operate outside the wire” in Afghanistan, a mission that had been originally been pitched as low-risk.

And they want to give the work to a private American contractor.

The revelations raise questions about why Canada must turn to the United States when a generation of soldiers has gained combat expertise risking life and limb over the last few years in Kandahar.

It also tests the Conservative government’s assurance that the more than 900 soldiers involved in the 2011-2014 training mission would be operating largely out of harm’s way.

“Deployed (Canadian Forces) members now have a standing task to operate outside of the wire (OTW) to fulfill its tasks while deployed,” says a government document soliciting firms to bid on a training contract.

“Tactics that are now taught as part of the basic courses require added training for the CF. members to maximize their survivability while deployed on overseas operations.”

The document was posted to a government website just days after Master Cpl. Byron Greff, an Edmonton-based infantryman with the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, was killed by a suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives.

The military convoy — an armoured bus escorted by two armoured patrol vehicles — was travelling between a training base and headquarters in Kabul at the time of the incident.
More on link

 Military orders black boxes to track Afghan bomb blasts
Article Link

OTTAWA—Canada’s fleet of armoured vehicles in Afghanistan is being equipped with special devices to track the effect of bomb blasts.

The 2,000 data recorders that the military is ordering — essentially a black box for ground vehicles — will be required to study the acceleration and rotation of the vehicles as well as the internal pressure caused by the blast waves.

The pressure that results from the explosion can lead to traumatic brain injuries and other internal organ damage — one of the unique injuries that has stemmed from the decade-long war in Afghanistan.

Though combat operations ended over the summer and Canadian troops are now involved in a three-year training mission, the military says the devices are needed to fill “a gap in information/data gathered regarding incidents in theatre.”
More on link

 Canadian medic defends Afghan interpreter denied visa
Article Link

In a democracy, when government officials threaten someone’s life or liberty, they’re at least supposed to let a judge or jury hear witnesses who disagree with them.

In the case of Sayed Shah Sharifi, a former Afghan interpreter for Canadian combat troops cut loose by immigration officials in the Taliban heartland, a young man’s life may be sacrificed by bureaucratic fiat.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has the power to issue the 23-year-old Afghan a reprieve, to show compassion for the young man heralded for his bravery by former Canadian commanders, and give him shelter in Canada.

But Kenney defends the decision by officials who didn’t find Sharifi credible when he said Taliban insurgents want to kill him, just as they kill other suspected collaborators almost every day.

Sharifi can’t call witnesses in his defence, to show that Canada’s immigration department is making a grave mistake, if not intentionally punishing Sharifi for criticizing the failed special visa program.

So I will call a witness for him, and let you be the jury.
More on link

 Employers don't always see value of military service
  Article Link 
By Darah Hansen, For Postmedia News November 21, 2011

Tim Laidler's Remembrance Day began, as it so often has since his return from Afghanistan in 2008, with a media interview, followed by a moment of silence for the friends and colleagues he lost to war.

At 26, Laidler has become something of a spokesman for combat veterans in British Columbia. His rocky transition back into a civilian career after an eight-month posting with the Canadian Forces in Kandahar serves as a cautionary tale to those who have more recently come home or are still overseas.

Laidler, a member of the army reserve in B.C. for 10 years, left university to join the Canadian military effort in Kandahar.

He believed his hard-won experience as a supply convoy gunner, driver and junior crew commander operating in one of the world's most dangerous countries gave him lessons in teamwork, leadership and grit that no degree or diploma could provide, and would count for something when he got back home.

Yet that's not what employers saw when he handed them his resume.
More on link


----------



## GAP (25 Nov 2011)

*Articles found November 25, 2011*

 Last Herc out of Kandahar
By Jerome Lessard Posted 1 day ago
Article Link

CFB TRENTON - Lt. Col. Colin Keiver is on an historic flight.

Keiver is currently flying Task Force Canuck halfway around the globe bringing home the last aircraft of Canadian air operations out of Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. He's due home next Wednesday.

Following stops in India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, a Royal Canadian Air Force CC-130J Hercules piloted by Keiver — also commanding officer of 436 Transport Squadron — is flying home this week while retracing the squadron's origins.

The Herc and its aircrew of 10 left New Delhi, India on Nov. 20 bound for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Jakarta, Indonesia — following the recently concluded mission to Kandahar, where a close-out ceremony took place on Nov. 18.

The departure from Kandahar of the last remaining CC-130 Hercules aircraft after 10 years of continuous service in support of coalition forces in Afghanistan is a "monumental" milestone in Canadian air mobility operations as it marks the closure of the longest continuous tactical airlift operation in RCAF history, said Keiver, during a phone interview from Jakarta, Indonesia, where the pilot and his crew of 10 spent two days meeting with some of that country's air force officials.

"The purpose of this trip in East Asia is because 436 Transport Squadron was originally raised in India as one of the two Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons formed in India during the Second World War in support of the China-Burma-India theatre," said Keiver, during a phone interview from Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Royal Canadian Air Force has a strong historical link with the Indian Air Force. To mark this connection, Keiver and his group of 436 air crews as well as the squadron's honorary colonel John Smylie conducted a formal ceremony of remembrance at the Delhi War Cemetery on Nov. 19 where 1,500 Canadian soldier are interred, along with members of the Indian Air Force
More on link

 Tim Hortons to close shop at Canadian base in Kandahar, Afghanistan
By The Canadian Press  | November 24, 2011
Article Link

OAKVILLE, Ont. - As the last Canadian troops disappear from Kandahar, Afghanistan, so too will the much-loved double-double.
Tim Hortons (TSX:THI) says it will close its outlet at the Canadian Forces operations base at the end of this month, as most of Canada's troops will be gone.
Tims says it has served four million cups of coffee, three million donuts and half a million iced cappuccinos and bagels since opening at the base on Canada Day in 2006.
The Kandahar Tims became a popular hangout not only for Canadian troops but also for visitors to the base and soldiers from other countries.
"It has been an absolute privilege and honour for Tim Hortons to be associated with the military and bring a little taste of home to the brave Canadian soldiers serving overseas," said Paul House, the company's president and CEO.
"We are flattered that so many troops from different nations also made Tim Hortons a part of their everyday routine."
More on link

Canadian troops continue Afghan rebuilding mission
By KRIS SIMS, PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU November 23, 2011 
Article Link

OTTAWA -- A major change is taking place in Afghanistan.

"Our goal is to transition the Afghan National Security Forces towards assuming responsibility for Afghanistan's security by 2014," said Defence Minister Peter MacKay in his quarterly report on the turbulent and sometimes deadly mission.

"Canada's ultimate goal continues to be to help Afghans rebuild Afghanistan into a better-governed, prosperous and secure country that is no longer a safe haven for terrorists."

The quarterly report lists events and changes between April and June 2011, and is one of the final accounts of the military portion of the Afghan mission.

The Department of National Defence reports that the Afghan National Army grew by 11,000, reaching 171,000 personnel in total.
More on link


----------



## The Bread Guy (25 Nov 2011)

A look at Canada's training of Afghan soldiers
By Lt.-Col. Derek Chenette, For Postmedia News November 25, 2011
Article link 

This week I thought I would give you a glimpse of a day in the life as the Senior Military Adviser at Regional Military Training Centre-North (RMTC-N).

The position is a privilege and perhaps I can give you a unique perspective as I have access to every aspect of the school.

Generally speaking, my days are filled with engaging the RMTC Commander, stopping by to check in with his staff, visiting field training and linking in with my team leaders.

There is a method to the madness. Respect is earned, not bestowed, and part of our job here is to show the Afghan National Army ``what right looks like.'' They have not had many shining examples in the last 30 years. Leaders need to be seen by their troops. Commanders need to leave their office, talk with their soldiers and share in the hardships of training. Slowly, we are getting there.

I start each day with an update from my Operations Officer and Sgt.-Maj. The information helps me prioritize issues that need to be addressed. Then, the Sgt.-Maj, my interpreter and I make the walk to the school headquarters.

Usually, Col. Mohamadullah greets me with a friendly smile, a handshake and a ``Che Tur Husten'' (how are you). He inevitably will call on his assistant for chai (tea) before we sit to discuss any issues. Recently, the conversation has focused on accountability, resource stewardship and logistics - all functions that the unit must continue to improve as we head toward transition ....
More on link


----------



## GAP (29 Nov 2011)

*Articles found November 29, 2011*

 Pakistan says NATO ignored its pleas during attack
By CHRIS BRUMMITT Associated Press November 28, 2011 
Article Link

The NATO airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers lasted almost two hours and continued even after commanders at the bases pleaded with coalition forces to stop, Pakistan’s military claimed Monday, charges that could further inflame anger in Pakistan.

NATO has described the incident as “tragic and unintended” and has promised a full investigation.

Unnamed Afghan officials have said that Afghan commandos and U.S. special forces were conducting a mission on the Afghan side of the border and took incoming fire from the direction of the Pakistani posts. They responded with airstrikes.

Ties between Pakistan and the United States have sunk to new lows since the deadly attack, delivering a major setback to American hopes of enlisting Islamabad’s help in negotiating an end to the 10-year-old Afghan war.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the Pakistani troops at two border posts were the victims of unprovoked aggression. He said the attack lasted almost two hours and that commanders had contacted NATO counterparts while it was going on, asking that “they get this fire to cease, but somehow it continued.”

The Pakistan army has previously said its soldiers retaliated “with all weapons available” to the attack.
More on link

Pakistan to boycott Afghan Bonn talks after Nato
Article Link
29 November 2011 

Pakistan is to boycott a meeting on Afghanistan's future in protest at a Nato air strike which killed 24 of its soldiers at the weekend, officials say.

The decision not to attend came as Nato troops were attacked by insurgents in eastern Afghanistan, some firing from across the Pakistani border.

A BBC reporter with US troops says Nato fired shells into Pakistani territory.

Pakistan says Saturday's air strike violated its sovereignty. Nato has apologised, calling the deaths tragic.

Pakistan has cut crucial Nato supply lines through its territory to Afghanistan. Nato is investigating what happened.

Tuesday's boycott decision came amid mounting public anger in Pakistan and growing demands from opposition parties to sever ties with the US.

The BBC's international news channel has been taken off air amid uproar over the Nato air raid. The move came after the BBC aired a documentary that questioned Pakistan's commitment to tackling militancy - and could be part of a wider crackdown on foreign media coverage in the country.
More on link


----------



## GAP (30 Nov 2011)

*Articles found November 30, 2011*

 They're coming home: 33,000 more U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan by end of 2012 
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 29th November 2011
Article Link

The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan is set to plummet by 33,000 by the end of next year - leaving Afghan forces increasingly on the frontline.

Thousands more across the 49-nation coalition will withdraw, shrinking the foreign military footprint in the country by a total of 40,000.

In June of this year, the U.S. had 101,000 troops in Afghanistan - the peak of its military presence in the decade-long war. 
More on link

The Pakistani tail is wagging the American dog
DAVID VAN PRAAGH  Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011
Article Link

It’s time – way past time – to stop the tail from wagging the dog.

The latest confrontation between the United States and Pakistan underscores the futility of working with an “ally” that is hell-bent not on saving Afghanistan as an independent country but on taking it over with China’s backing as U.S., Canadian and other foreign soldiers leave by 2014.
More on link

NATO Strike Can’t Lead to Breach With Enemy-Ally Pakistan: View
November 30, 2011
Article Link

Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- When NATO aircraft killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in a strike near the Afghan border on Nov. 25, U.S. press reports called it a case of “friendly fire.” That seems the wrong term. It has been some years since the U.S. and Pakistan could be accurately described as friends.

The U.S. and Pakistan have a handful of common goals but far more that conflict. The U.S. wants to fight all forces opposed to Afghanistan’s government; Pakistan nurtures remnants of the Haqqani Network and the Afghanistan Taliban as a way of maintaining influence in that country. The U.S. wants to be equally friendly with Pakistan and its archenemy, India; Pakistan considers that a betrayal.

Still, it would be unwise for the U.S. to allow Pakistan to become an enemy.

Pakistan responded to its soldiers’ deaths by closing, at least temporarily, the land routes through which a third of supplies reach NATO forces in Afghanistan, and ordered the U.S. out of the airbase at Shamsi, from which Americans have launched drone attacks. Pakistan also plans to boycott Afghanistan peace talks in Germany on Dec. 5; the U.S. hoped Pakistan would be a helpful participant.

Why must the U.S. maintain strong ties with such a difficult partner? The success of the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, scheduled to end in 2014, will depend partly on whether Pakistan plays a constructive role in its neighbor’s future. While Pakistani authorities essentially sanction anti-Indian terrorists and provide support for some elements of the Afghanistan Taliban and the Haqqani Network, they also cooperate with the U.S. against al-Qaeda.

Eyeing the Arsenal

Most importantly, relations give the U.S. a window on Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal --a grave threat to U.S. national security. Some have suggested that the U.S. government abandon Pakistan -- cut off its $3 billion in annual aid, place it on the state-sponsors-of-terrorism list and throw in its lot fully with India. This would be unwise: An isolated Pakistan would be more likely to go to war with India, more vulnerable to disintegration into a nuclear-armed jihadist state and less able to keep its weapons technology secure from terrorists.

To keep the relationship functioning, U.S. officials first need to address Pakistan’s objections to the attack by North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces. The U.S. and NATO were correct to order an investigation and invite the Pakistani government to participate. U.S. officials said the probe will determine how to prevent a recurrence. But, to a great extent, it’s already clear how to do that.
More on link


----------

