Canadian general talks tough
Commander's comments come only days after allied powers agree to Afghanistan exit strategy
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Eric Talmadge Associated Press
Bolstered by the U.S. troop surge, the commander of Canadian forces in Afghanistan said Saturday he believes the allied coalition can cripple the Taliban in the country's volatile south by summer but not before hard fighting.
Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard, who also commands NATO's Task Force Kandahar, which includes U.S. forces, told The Associated Press in an interview that the next four months will be crucial in the battle against the Taliban, which was born in Kandahar in the 1990s. Kandahar remains the Taliban's spiritual home and a centre of Afghanistan's insurgency.
"I think that everything is going to happen in 2010," Menard said. "With the number of troops and resources right now that have been given to me, I believe I can break their back this summer. But more importantly, I can also ensure that the population understands that there is something else for them."
"I'm not after killing every single insurgent," he said. "I don't really care about the insurgents. What I do care about is to make sure the population understands they don't need to be threatened by them, and this is not the way that they should be living."
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Commander's comments come only days after allied powers agree to Afghanistan exit strategy
Article Link
Eric Talmadge Associated Press
Bolstered by the U.S. troop surge, the commander of Canadian forces in Afghanistan said Saturday he believes the allied coalition can cripple the Taliban in the country's volatile south by summer but not before hard fighting.
Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard, who also commands NATO's Task Force Kandahar, which includes U.S. forces, told The Associated Press in an interview that the next four months will be crucial in the battle against the Taliban, which was born in Kandahar in the 1990s. Kandahar remains the Taliban's spiritual home and a centre of Afghanistan's insurgency.
"I think that everything is going to happen in 2010," Menard said. "With the number of troops and resources right now that have been given to me, I believe I can break their back this summer. But more importantly, I can also ensure that the population understands that there is something else for them."
"I'm not after killing every single insurgent," he said. "I don't really care about the insurgents. What I do care about is to make sure the population understands they don't need to be threatened by them, and this is not the way that they should be living."
More on link
