The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread June 2011

[George Wallace]

The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread June 2011              

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

 

[GAP]

Articles found June 2, 2011

Concern over cleaning Canadian tanks
By Patrick Dewhurst Published on June 2, 2011
Article Link

THE GREEN Party has called on the government to investigate the risk of allowing Canadian forces to clean their potentially radioactive vehicles in Cyprus.

According to the Green party’s George Perdikis, the Cyprus Government allows homebound Canadian forces from Afghanistan to clean their tanks and military vehicles on the island.

Perdikis believes the military vehicles could contain traces of depleted uranium or potentially hazardous microorganisms, which could contaminate Cyprus’ ecosystem and so last week his party requested an environmental impact assessment to be carried out.

He said: “The issue was first raised by the Canadian government. They were concerned that vehicles returning home might be contaminated – they are worried and so instead the tanks and lorries are being cleaned here.”

According to Perdikis, the government entered into an agreement to allow Canadian vehicles to stop over in Cyprus.

He said that the government had set several requirements on the Canadian authorities for the vehicles’ cleaning, but he did not consider these to be adequate in case there are traces of harmful radioactive material on the vehicles, and as of yesterday, they had not responded to his request for a full impact assessment.
More on link

Canada Land Forces choose Revision for eye protection
Article Link
May 31, 2011

Revision, a leading developer and manufacturer of ballistic protective eyewear for defence agencies and armed forces worldwide has secured a contract with the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) to supply its Land Forces with the Desert Locust and Bullet Ant Goggle Systems. The initial contract is to supply 50,000 Desert Locust kits, 10,000 Bullet Ant kits and 50,000 additional lenses in 2011, with a five year option period. This follows Revision's contract to supply protective eyewear to the Ministry of Defence for British troops in Afghanistan.

The contract also includes an option for specialty lenses such as laser and high-contrast capability. Revision's Desert Locust and Bullet Ant Goggles were selected for their superior performance, excellent ballistic and optical properties, and their environmental and chemical testing performance.

This is Revision's second major contract with the DND this year; in January, the company was awarded the Air Force Ballistic Eyewear (BEW) contract for 33,000 eyewear kits and 40,000 additional lenses.

'Revision is proud to receive the Canadian Army Goggle contract,' said Jonathan Blanshay, CEO of Revision. 'Today's soldier must be ready for any number of threats, including laser. That's why we're pleased to supply Canadian Land Forces with the best defence against ballistic impact, the elements as well as laser radiation.'
More on link

 

[GAP]

Articles found June 4, 2011

The Gazette's View: Afghanistan: the troops depart, the work goes on
  Article Link
MOntreal Gazette June 3, 2011

MONTREAL - Canada is leaving Afghanistan next month, almost 10 years after its troops first landed in the arid, impoverished and war-torn nation.

Last week Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a surprise visit there and said the time had come to go home. Afghanistan was no longer a “geostrategic risk to the world,” he said, or “a source of global terrorism.”

It is true that, during the past decade, the Taliban have moved to the edges of Afghanistan, mainly along its border with Pakistan. But fears persist that Afghanistan, still a struggling state, could, left on its own, become a source of, or haven for, terrorism.

For that reason, among others, the issues around Canada ending its mission there are complex and difficult ones.

The Canadian government cannot say we’re leaving because the Taliban are defeated. They aren’t. Nor can it say that Kandahar province, where Canadian Forces have been based, is secure. It is more secure than it was, but it’s not clear that will be a lasting state of affairs.
More on link

Joint U.S.-Van Doos patrols in Panjwaii as Canadian pullout begins
Article Link
By Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press – 13 hours ago

ZANGABAD, Afghanistan — Canadian and U.S. troops patrolling together halted earlier this week in a tiny sunbaked hamlet on the hard-packed outskirts of Zangabad, a notorious former Taliban stronghold.

The soldiers were mobbed by children, usually a good sign as it meant insurgents were probably not lurking about.

One of the soldiers gave an Afghan girl a gift _ either a pen or Granola bar, it's hard to tell because she kept it clutched in her hand.

The girl, who looked to be about seven years old and was wearing a dust-coated red outfit, stuck up her thumb in appreciation.

"Canada good?" asked soldier, who sat on the ground leaning against his pack.

She nodded and kept her thumb raised for a moment before turning it down, all the while staring the Canadian soldier straight in the face.

"America," said the girl, and while keeping the thumb down she added: "Canada."

"Hey," barked the soldier, whose tone startled her.

She flipped the thumb around and gave him a weak smile before scurrying back to a pack of other children.

It might have been an unintended slight or a forgetful gesture from a child raised in a place where the Taliban creed was accepted as gospel for years.
More on link

Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan wake early for hockey
They're working side-by-side with Bruins fans
Article Link

KABUL, AF (NEWS1130) - Far away in dusty Afghanistan, Canadian soldiers are waking up before dawn to watch the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final.

News1130 spoke with some of those soldiers at Camp Phoenix near Kabul; they're part of the mission training Afghan National Security Forces. The soldiers are working side-by-side with members of the Massachusetts National Guard, who are Bruins fans.

"We're up at 4 o'clock in the morning to get over to see the game at 4:30," explains Master Corporal James Cowell. "It's just very jubilant, we're joking with each other about each other's teams."

Cowell made a sign for the final series with the slogan 'doubting Thomas' after the Bruins fans in camp put up a sign saying 'in Thomas we trust,' in reference to the Boston goaltender.
end

Afghanistan: How we saved the mission
  Article Link
By Matthew Fisher, Postmedia News June 4, 2011

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – In September 2005, Bill Graham, who was then defence minister in Paul Martin’s Liberal government, told me over tea in Moscow that what the Canadian Forces were about to start in Kandahar was different from what Canada had done so far. Kandahar, he said bluntly, would be “a combat mission, and we have made our decision knowing that.”

Graham’s candid remarks – in a country with its own complicated military history in Afghanistan – and similarly direct descriptions about the looming combat mission by Gen. Rick Hillier, who was then Canada’s top soldier, drew almost no political or media attention at home.

So, as the military and the government prepared for war in southern Afghanistan, the Canadian public was largely unaware of what the country had gotten itself into.
More on link

 

[a_majoor]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1393355/Hero-Gurkha-handed-bravery-medal-Queen-said-I-thought-I-going-die--I-tried-kill-I-could.html

'I thought I was going to die... so I tried to kill as many as I could': Hero Gurkha receives bravery medal from the Queen

By Daily Mail Reporter

    Corporal Dipprasad Pun defeated more than 30 Taliban fighters single-handedly
    Used the tripod of his machine gun to beat away a militant after running out of ammunition

A Gurkha soldier who single-handedly defeated more than 30 Taliban fighters has been awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross by the Queen.

Corporal Dipprasad Pun, 31, described how he was spurred on by the belief that he was going to die and so had nothing to lose in taking on the attackers who overran his checkpoint in Afghanistan.

His gallantry award is second only to the Victoria Cross - the highest honour for bravery in the face of the enemy.
Proud: Queen Elizabeth presents the 31-year-old Gurkha with his medal at Buckingham Palace during an Investiture Ceremony

Proud: Queen Elizabeth presents the 31-year-old Gurkha with his medal at Buckingham Palace during an Investiture Ceremony

Cpl Pun, from the 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles, was presented with the CGC during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, during which a number of other soldiers were recognised for their bravery.

Speaking after receiving the honour from the Queen, the Gurkha said: 'I'm very excited and happy to here in the Palace to receive the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. This will be a great memory for the future.'

The soldier fired more than 400 rounds, launched 17 grenades and detonated a mine to thwart the Taliban assault on his checkpoint near Babaji in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, last September.

At one point, after exhausting all his ammunition, he had to use the tripod of his machine gun to beat away a militant who was climbing the walls of the compound.

After the ceremony, Cpl Pun was congratulated by investiture guests who queued up to shake his hand.

Speaking about the actions which earned him the CGC, he said: 'At that time I wasn't worried, there wasn't any choice but to fight. The Taliban were all around the checkpoint, I was alone.

'I had so many of them around me that I thought I was definitely going to die so I thought I'd kill as many of them as I could before they killed me.

Decorated: Sergeant Dipprasad Pun, 31, of the 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles holds his Conspicuous Gallantry Cross

Decorated: Sergeant Dipprasad Pun, 31, of the 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles holds his Conspicuous Gallantry Cross

'That incident happened in the middle of my tour and after that I thought nobody can kill us now - when we met the enemy I wasn't scared.

'I thought the Taliban did not have the capacity to fight with us.'

Cpl Pun, an acting sergeant during his Afghan deployment, was on sentry duty at the time of the attack when he heard a clinking noise outside the small base.

At first he thought it might be a donkey or a cow, but when he went to investigate he found two insurgents digging a trench to lay an improvised explosive device (IED) at the checkpoint's front gate.

He realised that he was completely surrounded and that the Taliban were about to launch a well-planned attempt to overrun the compound.

The enemy opened fire from all sides, destroying the sentry position where the soldier had been on duty minutes before.

Defending the base from the roof, the Gurkha remained under continuous attack from rocket-propelled grenades and AK47s for more than a quarter of an hour.

Most of the militants were about 50ft away from him, but at one point he turned around to see a 'huge' Taliban fighter looming over him.

The soldier picked up his machine gun and fired a long burst at the man until he fell off the roof.
Hero: Sergeant Dipprasad Pun defeated more 30 Taliban attackers single-handedly

Hero: Sergeant Dipprasad Pun defeated more 30 Taliban attackers single-handedly

When another insurgent tried to climb up to his position, the Gurkha attempted to shoot him with his SA80 rifle. But it did not work, either because it had jammed or because the magazine was empty.

He first grabbed a sandbag but it had not been tied up and the contents fell to the floor.

Then he seized the metal tripod of his machine gun and threw it at the approaching Taliban militant, shouting in Nepali 'Marchu talai' ('I will kill you') and knocking him down.

Two insurgents were still attacking by the time the heroic Gurkha had used up all his ammunition, but he set off a Claymore mine to repel them.

At this point his company commander, Major Shaun Chandler, arrived at the checkpoint, slapped him on the back and asked if he was OK.

In total he fired off 250 general purpose machine gun rounds, 180 SA80 rounds, six phosphorous grenades, six normal grenades, five underslung grenade launcher rounds and one Claymore mine.

The only weapon he did not use was the traditional Kukri knife carried by Gurkhas because he did not have his with him at the time.

The married soldier, whose father and grandfather were also Gurkhas, is originally from the village of Bima in western Nepal but now lives in Ashford, Kent.

His medal citation said he saved the lives of three comrades at the checkpoint at that time and prevented the position being overrun.

It read: 'Pun could never know how many enemies were attempting to overcome his position, but he sought them out from all angles despite the danger, consistently moving towards them to reach the best position of attack.'

Major General Nicholas Carter, who was commander of combined forces, including British troops, in southern Afghanistan during Cpl Pun's deployment, praised the soldier and those from the Mercian Regiment receiving gallantry awards today.

The senior officer, who received the Distinguished Service Order from the Queen for his leadership in the Middle East country, said: 'Their efforts have been tremendous. It was a privilege to have members of the 1st Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles and the Mercian Regiment under my command.

'The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross does not get handed out lightly, it was a most remarkable achievement by that particular young Gurkha.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1393355/Hero-Gurkha-handed-bravery-medal-Queen-said-I-thought-I-going-die--I-tried-kill-I-could.html#ixzz1OMspJZ75

 

[a_majoor]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=367643

NHL ON TSN'S GORD MILLER MAKES SPECIAL VISIT TO KANDAHAR

The NHL on TSN's Gord Miller got a little bit of time off after the last game telecast of the season and it was time well spent. Gord accompanied Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla and Canadian Olympians Jayna Hefford and Marie-Philip Poulin on a very special visit.

I was sitting on the Prime Minister's airplane, returning from a trip that had taken us from the G8 summit in Deauville, France to state visit to Greece and a trip to Kandahar to see Canadian troops in Afghanistan.  At this point, we had been flying for nearly 18 hours; I looked bad, smelled worse and the best sleep I'd had was the four hours I got on the steel floor of a cargo plane.

I wanted to change clothes, but Jarome Iginla was wearing my last pair of clean pants, while I looked on enviously as two other Canadian Olympians - Jayna Hefford and Marie-Philip Poulin of the 2010 Canadian women's hockey team - snoozed comfortably in the row in front of me.

And all I could think was that this is the most incredible road trip I've ever been on.

*****

The call came while I was in Boston getting ready to broadcast game two of the Lightning/Bruins series for TSN.  "How would you like to go to Afghanistan with Prime Minister Harper?" asked the man from the PMO.

"Sure," I answered, trying not to sound stunned.  "When?"  I was told that for reasons of operational security, the trip would happen on very short notice, and that I was not to discuss it with anyone, not even my family.

My playoffs were over after game four of the series, and upon returning home, I got a call from the Department of National Defence.  The visit would take place on Monday, May 30.  I would be going with the three Olympians and hooking up with the Prime Minister's delegation in Greece, which would mean taking an overnight flight the night before, connecting in Frankfurt and heading to Athens.

After the visit to Afghanistan, we would retrace our steps, returning to Canada late in the day Tuesday.  Four days of almost continuous flying for 12 hours on the ground in Kandahar.  "Sounds good to me," I said.  But then came another call from the Prime Minister's Office.  The commercial flights were expensive, and the Prime Minister had some open seats on his plane heading to Europe.  Would I be willing to go on the whole trip?  "Sure," I said.  "When do we leave?"

"Wednesday morning," he said.  It was Monday.

*****

Early Wednesday morning, we met at a private hangar in Ottawa.  Jayna Hefford and Marie-Philip Poulin had also agreed to come, while Iginla would join us later.

The Prime Minister's aircraft has been reconfigured from its original use as a Wardair plane (those of us old enough to remember grow misty-eyed at the very mention of that great airline).  The Prime Minister has a suite in front with a sitting room and bedroom, while the rest of the plane has conventional airline seating.

Two hours into the flight, we were summoned to the forward cabin and told that the Prime Minister was inviting us to join him for lunch.  The PM chatted about the upcoming summit, the trip to Greece and of course, the trip to visit the troops, his fourth since becoming Prime Minister.  Most of all, he talked in depth with Jayna and Marie-Philip about their Olympic experience, recalling their games in detail.

When it was over, he returned to G8 preparations and we returned to our seats, as many passengers on the plane, still unaware of the "third leg" of the trip, wondered what on earth we were doing there.

*****

When we landed in France, the Prime Minister was immediately whisked to his hotel in a motorcade.  Our car took us to a separate hotel outside the security perimeter, which would allow us to come and go more freely.

Since Jayna and Marie-Philip had never been to Paris, I took them in for a visit on Thursday.  I had spent a great deal of time there covering the 1998 World Cup soccer, so it was fun to show them all the sights.

Friday was more somber.  We went to Normandy to visit Juno beach, where Canadian troops came ashore on D-Day in 1944.  We also visited the Canadian Military cemetery in Beny-Sur-Mer, where more than two thousand Canadian soldiers are buried.  The grounds are magnificent, and are maintained by the people in the area as an ongoing gift of gratitude to the Canadian people.

At the front of the cemetery is a marble monument with the inscription "Their name lives for evermore", an elegant and poignant statement.  I would put Beny-Sur-Mer near the top of any Canadian's ‘must see' list when traveling to Europe.

On to Greece.

*****

After narrowly avoiding a complete shutdown of every road in coastal France due to departing motorcades, we managed to join up with the PM's party again and fly to Athens, arriving late Friday night.  Once again, we joined a motorcade that whisked us to our hotel in downtown Athens.  A guy could get used to traveling like that.

On Saturday, Jayna, Marie-Philip and I once again went sightseeing: the acropolis, the old town of Athens, the port area and most intriguingly for them, the stadium that hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896.  For the two of them, it was obviously special to go to the place where the modern games started.  We decided to come back the next day and take some pictures with their gold medals.

By Sunday, Jarome Iginla had joined us.  He had flown overnight from Calgary to Frankfurt, where he encountered mechanical delays that forced him to switch planes, delaying his arrival in Athens by three hours.  Clearly exhausted, Jarome nonetheless wanted to come and see the stadium, and joined us for a photo shoot with the PM's personal photographer, Jason Ransom, who took some incredible shots.

We had two more items on the agenda before leaving for Afghanistan: a security briefing, followed by dinner with the PM.  Suddenly, Jarome looked a little uneasy; he hadn't expected to be invited to dinner and since he was planning for the heat in Kandahar, he only had a couple of pairs of shorts and T-shirts with him.

I had an extra pair of pants I was planning to wear on the trip home, and offered to loan them to him.  Jarome was worried they would be too long, while I was worried the waist would be about four inches too big around for him.  The waist was a perfect fit, so I taunted Jarome about being shorter than me.

At dinner, the Prime Minister talked at length about the trip, how he would be going "outside the wire" which meant leaving the airfield in Kandahar.  This time he would be going more than 50 miles off the base, further than he had ever been, despite the fact that just days before, seven American soldiers had been killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in the field they were patrolling.  They were less than 60 miles from Kandahar airfield.

The scenery from the rooftop of the restaurant was amazing, the lights of Athens glittered while the Parthenon atop the acropolis was bathed in light.  The trip had been remarkable so far, but nothing could prepare us for what was to come.

*****

The four-hour flight from Athens to Qatar was quiet, partly because by then, everyone on the plane had been briefed about where we going.  In Dohar, we got off the PM's plane and boarded a C-17 transport, a behemoth of a plane that can transport everything from soldiers to supplies to tanks and armoured vehicles.

Known as a "Globemaster", the plane is designed for efficiency, not comfort.  This time it had been configured with rows of seats in the middle, along with seats along the outside walls.  We were warned that the four hour flight would be noisy.

As I took my seat, I noticed two soldiers seated nearby on the exterior benches.  They nodded in my direction and I wandered over to say hello.  When I asked their names and where they were based, they politely told me that all their personal information, including their names, regiment and location of their base was classified.

These were soldiers from Canada's special forces who would spend the entire time in the air and on the ground as part of the PM's personal protection force.  A few minutes before the flight left, defence Minister Peter MacKay, who had joined us on the final leg of the trip, went over to them to say hello.  When MacKay shook hands with the first soldier, the man looked him in the eye and pressed a medallion from his regiment into the minister's hand.


MacKay had just been "coined," an honour soldiers bestow on people (usually civilians) who have performed a service for the military.  The Minister was clearly honoured and told me "those guys are some of the best soldiers in the world."

The flight to Kandahar took four hours, during which the mood changed dramatically.  Up to then, the planes carrying the PM had been guarded by plain clothes military policemen, who often chatted amiably with us.  Now, they were quietly changing into uniform, loading automatic weapons and checking sidearms. The special forces soldiers were changing into full battle gear as well, including Kevlar vests and helmets equipped with night vision goggles.

We landed in Kandahar at 10 am, and when the door to the plane opened, we were hit by a blast of heat.  It was already 35C, and the day was just starting.  As we came down the stairs, we were greeted by Brigadier General Dean Milner, the commander of the Canadian Kandahar Taskforce, and by General Walter Natynczyk, the Chief of Defence staff, the highest ranking person in the Canadian military.

As we waited for a van to take us to another briefing, a young soldier working on a helicopter looked up and saw us.  He stared at Iginla, his eyes wide. Very few people on the base had been told we were coming.

We were then taken to a military briefing, where we were told what to do in case of a rocket or mortar attack.  The briefing officer assured us that the attacks were usually unsuccessful and didn't happen very often, at which point he paused and said "although there was one yesterday…"

Iginla and I looked at each other, trying not to betray any emotion.

From there we were taken to perhaps the best known part of the base, the ball hockey rink constructed by Canadian soldiers and home to the 14-team Kandahar Hockey League, or the "tougher KHL" as the Canadians like to call it.

By then, word had spread that we were there, and soldiers and civilians on the base began streaming over.  For the next two hours, Jarome, Jayna, Marie-Philip and I posed for pictures and chatted with the soldiers.  It was blazing hot by then then, over 40C, but the Olympians (in far greater demand than I) never flinched, smiling all the way.

One soldier had an Iginla poster for Jarome to sign.  When I saw it, I asked if he just happened to have one in his desk.  "I'm in the intelligence service," he said with a wink.  "I knew you were coming."

Then it was time for some ball hockey.  As Jarome and the girls finished up posing for pictures, I grabbed some some gloves and a stick and joined some soldiers passing the ball around and shooting.  After five minutes in that blazing heat, I made an excuse to go to the bathroom, worried that another minute on that concrete slab would lead to me being taken home in a paper cup.

Jarome, Jayna and Marie-Philip played for 15 minutes, after which time was mercifully called.  We retreated to the shade of the nearby boardwalk for some cold drinks, at which point Jarome looked at me and smiled. "Dude, you're melting," he said.  He was right.

From there, we toured the base, meeting the soldiers in their places of work.  We saw the ordinance area, with every matter of weaponry imaginable, the engineering area where IED detection and defusing equipment is kept, and the light armoured vehicles or LAVs, which are used for the bulk of the "outside the wire" transport by Canadian troops.  It was fascinating to hear about how the soldiers went about their day to day work, and they seemed proud to describe it to us.

After that it was time for a quick (and again merciful) shower, and then the start of the official events.

By then, the PM had returned from his trip outside the base and at 5pm, we met him at the monument to the 156 Canadian soldiers who have lost their lives in Afghanistan.  Like Beny-Sur-Mer, it is a simple but elegant tribute to the fallen, and the Prime Minister's wreath laying was another somber moment.

Then another briefing.  The Prime Minister was about to make a speech to the troops, and I was asked if I would be willing to say a few words on behalf of the group, with Marie-Philip to do the same in French.  We both agreed, albeit a little nervously.

We were told that there would be a couple of hundred soldiers on hand, but when we walked over, there more than a thousand crammed into a small area.  The Prime Minister spoke of the mission in Afghanistan, how Canada's combat role was ending, and how a new mission - the training of Afghan soldiers and policemen - was beginning.

After a short break, we moved to a small riser, where Peter MacKay introduced me to the group and asked me to speak, with the Prime Minister standing a few steps away.  I have given hundreds of speeches in my life, but this was easily the most intimidating, not because of the dignitaries on hand, but rather the soldiers.  I wanted to make sure I said things the right way.  Besides, most of them were heavily armed.

After introducing Jarome, Jayna and Marie-Philip, I talked about the mission to Afghanistan, and why it was important.  I spoke about my friend Ace Bailey, a scout for the LA Kings who was killed aboard United Airlines flight 175 when it slammed into the World Trade Center, about how he frantically called his wife in the final moments of his life.  As I finished, I looked down at a soldier standing in front of me, who nodded and gave me a thumbs up, the most gratifying response I've ever received to a speech I have given.

Marie-Philip then spoke in French, and showing amazing poise for a 20-year-old, talked about her pride in being there, and how much messages from Canadian Forces personnel had meant to the Canadian women's team leading up to the 2010 Olympics.

We only had a few hours left on the base.  Hockey Canada had sent boxes of merchandise, which we passed out to the soldiers. Then we spent our remaining time chatting and posing for pictures. Jayna and Marie-Philip were a big draw with their Olympic gold medals, which they happily allowed to be touched and worn.

And off to the side was Jarome Iginla, surrounded by hundreds of people.  At that point, he had been awake for more than 24 hours, was still adjusting to a 10 and a half hour time change and had been meeting people almost non-stop in the stifling heat.  He never stopped smiling and never stopped making people feel good.

Many of the people who had posed for pictures with him in the afternoon had gone to the computer area and printed them off so he could sign them, and Jarome signed every one with a grin and a personal message.

Finally, it was time to go.  As we went to board the plane, were greeted by General Natynczyk, Brig. General Milner and defence minister MacKay, each of whom shook my hand and pressed a medallion into my palm.  Now I too had been "coined" and understood fully what it meant.

For some reason, I couldn't sleep on the C17.  Finally, a young airman named Tony, who had noticed my discomfort, came over with an inflatable air mattress and laid it out on the floor.  At last, I got four good hours of sleep.

*****

There are three messages that came through loud and clear from Kandahar, messages that the people stationed there want Canadians to know.

The first is to respect the fallen.  156 Canadians have lost their lives serving their country in Afghanistan, and regardless of your feelings for the mission, that sacrifice elevates us all.  As the inscription says in Beny-Sur-Mer, their name lives forever more.

The second is to take care of the wounded and injured.  Thousands of Canadians have served in Afghanistan, and many have returned home with injuries, both physical and mental.  Among the many excellent groups that have been formed are Soldier On (http://www.cfpsa.com/en/corporate/SoldierOn/index.asp) and Wounded Warriors (http://woundedwarriors.ca/nc/home/) both of which offer help and support, along with fundraising activities.  Jarome, Jayna, Marie-Philip and I actively encourage you to support them.

And finally, there are the families of those who serve.  While soldiers in the field face hardship and danger everyday, their families face the long absences and uncertainty that go with military life.  For more information, go to http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/lfwa/families.asp

*****

There are many people to thank for making a trip like the one we just went on possible.  The staff at the PMO are first rate, in particular Giulia Ricciuto, who handled every detail of our logistics expertly, and put up with some of our missteps, including the part where we almost made the PM late leaving for France, and the time I accidentally walked down the stairs from the plane before the Prime Minister.

My traveling companions for the trip were splendid.  Jayna Hefford and Marie-Philip Poulin are more than great athletes, they are tremendous people who represent our country and themselves with class wherever we go.  I already miss their smiling faces every morning, ready for a new adventure.

As for Jarome Iginla, it speaks volumes that he is the first active NHL player a travel to Afghanistan, which meant the world to the men and women stationed there.  And he even offered to have my pants dry-cleaned and shipped to me.

But most of all, thanks to the men and women serving in the Canadian Forces.  For nearly a decade, under trying and difficult conditions, you have served your country and the cause of freedom well.  We will never forget those who have fallen, will continue to make sure the wounded and injured are cared for, and wish you happiness and health as you return home to the warm embrace of your loved ones.
[/quote]

 

[GAP]

Articles found June 5, 2011

NATO helicopter crashes in Afghanistan, 2 killed
Article Link

Sun Jun 5, 6:25 am ET

KABUL, Afghanistan – A coalition helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing two on board.

The helicopter crashed in the Sabari district of the eastern province of Khost, according to eyewitnesses. Khost, which borders Pakistan, is a Taliban stronghold and sits along important insurgent supply routes.

The crash's cause is being investigated, NATO said, adding that there were no reports of insurgent activity in the area at the time.

The coalition declined to release other details about the crash, including the nationalities of those killed.

In southern Afghanistan, an insurgent attack killed a NATO service member Sunday morning, the coalition said.

The coalition declined to release other information about the attack until relatives could be notified.

More than 200 NATO troops have died so far this year in Afghanistan, many of them in the southern provinces where Taliban fighters are trying to regain territory lost over the winter.

In other violence Sunday, a bomb killed two Afghan security guards near the entrance of a Kabul Bank branch in the Maidan Shahr district of Wardak province in central Afghanistan, according to the Interior Ministry.

The explosion occurred as government employees queued up to receive their monthly salaries, said Shahidullah Shahid, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

In the eastern province of Nangahar, at least two Taliban gunmen shot to death a local counterterrorism official in the Khogyani district Saturday night, said provincial spokesman Ahmadzai Abdulzai.

The Taliban has been waging an assassination campaign against Afghan government and security officials in an effort to undermine the government and to intimidate perceived collaborators.
More on link

Canada axes Afghan security firm
Published On Sat Jun 04 2011
Article Link

WASHINGTON—Canada is severing ties with a controversial Afghan security firm blacklisted last year by the U.S. military amid allegations of corruption and excessive violence, the Star has learned.

Watan Risk Management, which safeguards Canada’s signature Dahla Dam restoration project in Kandahar, is being replaced by an as-yet-unnamed firm, as engineering giant SNC-Lavalin scrambles to finish the job.

“Watan will no longer provide security services to this project and we have taken measures to have an alternate security supplier in place,” SNC-Lavalin spokeswoman Leslie Quintan confirmed in an email to the Star.

“Because this is an issue of security, we are not at liberty to go into any further detail.”

Mired in controversy for more than a year, Watan Risk Management and its parent firm, the Watan Group, are led by two of President Hamid Karzai’s cousins: Ahmed Rateb Popal and Rashid Popal. Billed as “Afghan owned, British led” — a reference to the British former commandos who supervise the mostly Afghan rank and file — Watan is also believed to be under the sway of Ahmed Wali Karzai, or “AWK,” the president’s younger half-brother and the pre-eminent power broker in southern Afghanistan.

Canadian concerns over Watan were exposed last year in a Toronto Star investigation into setbacks surrounding the $50 million Dahla Dam project, regarded by many as Canada’s best chance for a lasting legacy in Afghanistan.

Among the revelations were details of a dramatic confrontation between Watan security guards and their Canadian overseers in February 2010, at the project’s management compound in Kandahar City. The guns hired to protect the project turned on each other in a “Mexican standoff” that ended with two private Canadian security officials fleeing for their lives on the next plane home.
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[GAP]

Articles found June 9, 2011

Gunmen attack Afghan wedding party, killing 9
Article Link
The Associated Press  Thursday Jun. 9, 2011

KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen opened fire on a wedding party in eastern Afghanistan, killing nine people, including the groom, officials said Thursday.

The assailants entered a field where the groom and his family members had gathered late Wednesday night in the remote Dur Baba district and started shooting, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, the provincial government spokesman. The attackers also set fire to a nearby house and a car.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. It occurred on the eve of a NATO meeting to discuss the alliance's mission in Afghanistan ahead of a decision by the Obama administration on how many of the 100,000 American troops to pull out of the war in July.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Thursday's meeting the alliance is on track to hand over responsibility for security to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.

Abdulzai said the cousin of the groom is the chief administrator for Dur Baba district, suggesting that it may have been an insurgent strike against the family for being allied with the government. He said officials are investigating.
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Canada paid $1M in compensation to Afghan civilians caught in the crossfire
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By Steve Rennie, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The Canadian government has shelled out more than $1 million in goodwill payments to compensate hundreds of Afghans for deaths and damages incurred over the course of Canada's mission in Afghanistan.

The sobering tally comes as Canadian troops prepare to leave Kandahar next month.

While most would argue that the loss of human life can't be measured in dollars and cents, the military has a long-standing policy of making one-time, no-strings-attached "ex-gratia" payments to those who suffer losses because of the actions of Canadian troops.

The government has paid $1,047,946 to 453 people since 2005, according to figures provided by the Defence Department.

The names of the recipients, as well as the circumstances that led to the compensation awards, are not disclosed in the public accounts documents or by the department.

"It is not our policy to discuss in detail compensation to families," spokesman Andrew McKelvey said in an email. "Payments are a private matter between all parties, and disclosure of recipients could put these individuals at risk of extortion or otherwise jeopardize their safety."

The settlements ranged from less than $100 to as much as $21,420 — a fortune in a country where the national gross domestic product is about $1,000 per person.
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Eight hours under fire
Strathconian wins Star of Military Valour for Afghan ambush
Wednesday, Jun 08, 2011
Article Link

Eight hours seem to fly by when there are bullets in the air, according to Richard Stacey.

August 4, 2009, was a day like any other day in Afghanistan, says Stacey, a master warrant officer with the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) regiment: clear, sunny, and hot as hell.

“It was extremely hot,” recalls the former Edmonton resident, with the mercury bubbling at around 62 C. He was riding in an armoured personnel carrier with a convoy of American, Canadian and Afghan forces when one of their tanks struck an improvised explosive device.
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U.S. seeks to negotiate its way out of Afghanistan
Published On Tue Jun 07 2011
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MARZAR-I-SHARIF, AFGHANISTAN—Solutions have an unsettling habit of breeding more problems in Afghanistan and the push to talk peace with the Taliban is triggering threats of a new conflict between old Afghan enemies.

The U.S. is bleeding cash here at the rate of some $10 billion a month, money that’s getting harder to come by as the Obama administration struggles to avert a catastrophic debt crisis at home.

Canadian combat troops are leaving. The British are also anxious to get out. Afghans, who are supposed to take up the slack, are increasingly angry at foreign bombing raids on their villages, runaway government corruption, injustice and haphazard economic development.

The Taliban’s extraordinary resilience, including the recent assassinations of Afghan security force commanders and political leaders, underlines a conclusion most people here reached long ago: this war, in its 10th year, can’t end the insurgency.

So, it seems, the Americans hope to negotiate their way out. They’ve reportedly even put out word that they’re willing to meet with the fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, whom the U.S. has long wanted dead.
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Afghan army still work in progress: Canadian military
The Canadian Press Posted: Jun 7, 2011
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Canadian troops and their commanders say the Afghan army remains a work in progress, despite the success of a recent operation in Panjwaii.

The sweep through rural Kandahar marked a significant milestone for the army that Canada has been training for the better part of four years.

The Afghans were able to plan and execute the entire security operation on their own, without any input from NATO — one of the conditions set out by Ottawa for next month's withdrawal of Canadian soldiers from combat.

Canadian and U.S. troops participated in the operation, supporting Afghan patrols in troublesome areas such as Zangabad.

Capt. Simon Ouellet, who leads the Alpha Company's 13 Platoon, 1st Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment, said they've managed to get the Afghans more organized than they were before.

"One of the things I'm most proud of from this tour is the ANA [Afghan National Army]. When we started it was just guys with guns. We've got them more organized," he said.
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Taliban changing strategy in Kandahar: governor
Article Link
By Guillaume Lavallee (AFP)

MONTREAL — Taliban militants have changed their strategy in southern Afghanistan and are attacking towns as their support dwindles among the local population, the governor of Kandahar province said.

"The insurgents are changing their strategy. They are coming to the city, they are just doing sporadic assassinations," Tooryalai Wesa told AFP on the sidelines of an international forum in Montreal.

"They don't have the resources, they don't have the luxury they have before," he said, adding that the Taliban's revenue from poppy harvests had been cut as their ties with local farmers were less solid than before.

"People are not helping them, before the governance was not present in most of the remote areas. Now, we are there... Now the people see the governance and they are not supporting the insurgents."

Wesa, who was attending the International Economic Forum of the Americas, said security was improving in the south, which has been a Taliban stronghold.

"Last year at this time we were unable to go to some of the districts, to some of the villages," he said, adding he had even been forced to visit some villages by plane. "But now I drive... The districts are doing pretty well."
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Winding down, hanging up, speaking out
  Article Link
By David Staples, Craig McInnes and Matthew Fisher, Edmonton Journal June 6, 2011

The following are excerpts from recent posts on Postmedia News services. For other postings on these blogs and for other blogs on a wide range of topics, go to the links at the end of each item.

Canada at War

As Canada's pullout nears, troops struggle to stay focused, posted Friday by Matthew Fisher.

Canada's troops in Afghanistan have never been busier since they first arrived here in 2002 ...

As the temperatures once again climb into the 40s, the traditional fighting season in the Taliban heartland has begun. The Canadians -led by 1 Royal 22nd Regiment battle group -have already begun handing over responsibility for some parts of their battle space to incoming U.S. army units from Fairbanks, Alaska. ...

So much is happening concurrently, with so many moving parts headed in so many different directions, that trying to keep track of who and what is where right now and for how long is an operations officer's nightmare. All of this is complicated by the fact that until the last day of the mission in July ... Canada remains at war.

Still, signs that things are winding down for Brig.-Gen. Dean Milner's Task Force Kandahar are everywhere from the crowded sleeping areas at the main airfield, where headquarters staff contend for beds with combat troops coming in from the field and many hundreds of logisticians from Canada who are charged with dispensing with or shipping home massive amounts of equipment, much of it sensitive and potentially lethal if it is not handled with great care. ...
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WikiLeaks: US Pressure for Irish troops and gardai help in Afghanistan
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By Tom Brady Tuesday, 7 June 2011

The US put intense pressure on the Irish government to sanction a bigger role for the Republic's troops or gardai in Afghanistan, leaked secret papers reveal.

And the US also wanted special status for troops passing through Shannon Airport on their way to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Confidential documents, obtained by the Irish Independent from the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, reveal the extent of the pressure placed on Irish officials by the US Embassy in Dublin.

Despite the negative reaction from several Irish contacts, US Ambassador Dan Rooney reported back to Washington: "We will keep pressing the Irish on additional police or troop trainers and development assistance."
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[GAP]

Articles found June 13, 2011

Tim Horton's withdrawing from Kandahar in October
Article Link

Kandahar - A few months after the majority of Canada's soldiers withdraw from Afghanistan, the Tim Horton's franchise in Kandahar will also close up shop.
The franchise, which served more than 3 million coffees in its five-year run at Kandahar airbase, will remain open for three months after Canada's troops leave in order to serve the logisticians who will remain behind to pack up the remaining equipment, the Montreal Gazette reports.
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Canadian's terrorism trial points to Pakistani double game
By Bill Gillespie, CBC News Posted: Jun 11, 2011
Article Link

Tahawwur Rana was on trial in Chicago on charges of supporting terrorism, but it was his best friend, David Headley, who grabbed the attention of the international media and, no doubt, the U.S. State Department.

Headley took the witness stand and blew the whistle on Pakistan’s covert support for terrorism. Headley is a U.S. citizen but, more importantly, an ethnic Pakistani super-patriot. He despises India and, like most Pakistanis, he passionately believes the disputed Kashmir region belongs to entirely to his native country.
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The Pentagon Allocates Half a Billion US$ to Outfit Afghans with New AFVs within 18 Months
Article Link
By Administrator on June 11, 2011

Textron Marine & Land Systems will provide 440 Medium Armored Security Vehicles (MASV) to equip the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) within 18 months for a total cost of $543 million.

The MASV family of armored vehicles comprises nine variants, configured for specific missions; the vehicles are derivatives of the M1117 Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) operated by the U.S. forces. ASV Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) are also operating with the Iraqi military and police, and the military forces of Colombia and Bulgaria.

The ASV missions within the U.S. Army include Military Police operations in support of convoy protection, checkpoint security, perimeter security and reconnaissance, as well as Field Artillery Combat Observation and Lasing Teams (COLT) with the M1200 Armored Knight configuration. The MASV mission variants include command and control, ambulance, engineering, maintenance, mortar, and reconnaissance vehicles.

The vehicles ordered for the ANA will be configured with Enhanced Survivability (ES) capability, which improves blast protection to mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) levels. The new ES-equipped vehicles will continue to utilize the M1117 V-shaped hull design, improved with additional protection design features that enable it to meet MRAP blast protection standards.
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Dust, bugs, heat among Afghan exit crew's challenges
Article Link
Andy Johnson, CTV.ca News Staff

Canada's combat role in Afghanistan is on track to end in July, and troops are beginning to wind down their military operations and prepare for the journey home.

But for a group of specialized military "movers" tasked with staying behind to prepare, pack up, and 'rack and stack' the gear for shipping, months of work is just beginning.

The Mission Closure Unit's mammoth responsibility, which has been compared to packing up and moving a small town from Afghanistan to Canada, is in the early stages now but will hit full steam in July.

The goal is to complete the move by the end of the year.

But even then, due to the complexities of repatriating such vast quantities of equipment, it is expected that the Canadian Forces won't be ready for another deployment of combat forces until November 2012, a full year later.
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Canadian troops to face new threat: Disguised insurgents
Published On Sun Jun 12 2011
Article Link

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, AFGHANISTAN — When Canada’s last combat troops soon leave southern Afghanistan and the mission shifts to training Afghan security forces, Canadians will face a different, sinister enemy: the one from within.

Taliban infiltrators are bringing the war inside the razor wire, and once reliably secure, northern compounds where Canadian troops and police will start work over the coming weeks in Kabul, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif are increasingly vulnerable.

Afghan insurgents, usually dressed in police and army uniforms, have launched several spectacular attacks recently. They are striking far from their ethnic Pashtun power base in the south, where a surge of U.S. troops has thrown the Taliban off balance.

“It’s a very real threat and it’s very disconcerting,” Col. Peter Dawe, deputy commander of Canada’s new military training mission, told the Toronto Star. “But you just keep doing what you’re doing. We’re all military professionals and the vast majority of us have been here before. We know the risks.”

The insurgents aren’t stupid and are doing the logical thing in the face of an overwhelming enemy in the south, Dawe added.
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[Edit to correct Date]

 

[George Wallace]

Articles found June 15, 2011

Bin Laden raid CIA informants arrested by Pakistan

Article Link

Pakistan's intelligence service has arrested the owner of a safe house rented to the CIA to observe Osama bin Laden's compound before the U.S. raid that killed the al-Qaeda leader, as well as a "handful" of other Pakistanis, a U.S. official said late Tuesday.

In Pakistan, a Western official confirmed a New York Times report that five of the Pakistani informants who fed information to the CIA before the May 2 bin Laden raid were arrested by Pakistan's top military spy agency.

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.

The Times, in an article posted on its website late Tuesday, said the detained informants included a Pakistani army major who officials said copied the licence plates of cars visiting bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad in the weeks before the raid.

The fate of the CIA informants who were arrested was unclear, but American officials told the newspaper that CIA Director Leon Panetta raised the issue when he visited Islamabad last week to meet with Pakistani military and intelligence officers.

U.S.-Pakistani relations have been strained over the raid by Navy SEALs on Pakistani territory, which was a blow to Pakistan's military, and other issues.

Officials said the arrests of the informants were just the latest evidence of the fractured relationship between the two nations.

The Times said that at a closed briefing last week, members of the Senate intelligence committee asked Michael Morell, the deputy CIA director, to rate Pakistan's co-operation with the United States on counterterrorism operations, on a scale of 1 to 10.

"Three," Morell replied, according to officials familiar with the exchange, the newspaper said.

American officials speaking to the Times cautioned that Morell's comment was a snapshot of the current relationship and did not represent the Obama administration's overall assessment.

"We have a strong relationship with our Pakistani counterparts and work through issues when they arise," Marie Harf, a CIA spokeswoman, told the newspaper. "Director Panetta had productive meetings last week in Islamabad. It's a crucial partnership, and we will continue to work together in the fight against al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups who threaten our country and theirs."

Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, said in an interview with the Times that the CIA and the Pakistani spy agency "are working out mutually agreeable terms for their co-operation in fighting the menace of terrorism. It is not appropriate for us to get into the details at this stage."
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[GAP]

Articles found July 17, 2009

Tanks a big, imposing asset for Canadian troops in Afghanistan
  Article Link
By Matthew Fisher, Postmedia News June 16, 2011

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A column of Canadian tanks emerged from the desert Thursday, trundling into this NATO airfield at the end of an unlikely combat mission where they proved their worth in the counter-insurgency war against the Taliban.

Deployed for the first time overseas since the Second World War, tanks from the 12e Regiment blinde du Canada have spent almost all of their seven months in Kandahar patrolling western Panjwaii. They had been sent there along with infantry and combat engineers to protect a key road-building project that Brig.-Gen. Dean Milner likened to "stabbing the Taliban in the heart."

A career tanker himself, Milner shouted "It's history, c'est magnifique!" as he saluted the dirt-covered crews from Valcartier, Que., as they paraded past him in their Leopard 2 tanks.

Canada was the only NATO country to deploy tanks to Kandahar. They arrived in the bloody aftermath of Operation Medusa in late 2006, when the Taliban suffered high casualties after massing in their hundreds to fight Canadian infantry.

Although military experts considered them too heavy to be effective in a counter-insurgency conflict, the Danes and the U.S. Marine Corps subsequently also deployed main battle tanks, to fight the Taliban in neighbouring Helmand.

"Tanks have proven their utility in a counter-insurgency," said Master Warrant Officer Alain Champagne, the regiment's sergeant major. "When our major would go to a shura (meeting) and climb out of his tank, he was the boss. A tank really has a psychological effect.
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Canadian military holds a garage sale in Kandahar
susan sachs KANDAHAR— From Thursday's Globe and Mail Wednesday, Jun. 15, 2011
Article Link

An army marches on its stomach, as Napoleon once observed. But the modern-day military needs more than just food. It needs everything from welding torches and duct tape to gun grease, computers, leaf blowers, inner tubes, generators, eye wash, sunscreen, fax machines, cellphones, video games and spare windshields.
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Soldiers train for Afghan mission
Published Wednesday June 15th, 2011
  Article Link

Training is underway at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown for deployment early next year of close to 500 soldiers to Afghanistan.

The troops will come from The Second Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (2RCR).

The deployment will be for eight months and will be the second rotation of troops as part of Canada's new non-combat role in Afghanistan.

The federal government announced in 2010 that after the mission ends later this year, Canadian Forces personnel will be deployed as part of the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan with a focus on training Afghan National Security Forces in a non-combat role. That will continue until March 2014.

Lt.-Col. John Fife, the outgoing commander of 2RCR, said about 480 soldiers from the battalion - about 60 per cent of the current unit - will deploy to Afghanistan in late February or early March.

"Already, we have pushed forward with a lot of the training requirements in order to have the unit ready to deploy," Fife said. "There's a lot of what we call individual training that we have to do and then we'll start focusing more on theatre-specific training. But right now, the unit is doing a bunch of individual training courses."

Fife handed control of the battalion over to Lt.-Col. Alex Ruff last week.

Personnel from 2RCR will be joined by hundreds of other soldiers, bringing the total of troops deploying with the mission to 950.

Personnel from 2RCR are scheduled to take block leave from Aug. 12 to Labour day.

The last time soldiers deployed en masse from 2RCR to Afghanistan was in 2007.
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[GAP]

Articles found July 20, 2009

Afghanistan’s Last Locavores
By PATRICIA McARDLE Published: June 19, 2011
Article Link

MANY urban Americans idealize “green living” and “slow food.” But few realize that one of the most promising models for sustainable living is not to be found on organic farms in the United States, but in Afghanistan. A majority of its 30 million citizens still grow and process most of the food they consume. They are the ultimate locavores.

During the 12 months I spent as a State Department political adviser in northern Afghanistan, I was dismayed to see that instead of building on Afghanistan’s traditional, labor-intensive agricultural and construction practices, the United States is using many of its aid dollars to transform this fragile agrarian society into a consumer-oriented, mechanized, fossil-fuel-based economy.

In 2004, the Department of Energy carried out a study of Afghanistan. It revealed abundant renewable energy resources that could be used to build small-scale wind- and solar-powered systems to generate electricity and solar thermal devices for cooking and heating water.

Rather than focus on those resources, the United States government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build large diesel generators and exploit the country’s oil, gas and coal reserves. The drilling of new oil wells may provide unskilled, poorly paid jobs for some locals, but the bulk of the profits will likely flow overseas or into the pockets of a few warlords and government officials.

American taxpayers’ dollars are also being used for energy-inefficient construction projects. During my year in Afghanistan, I sat for hours in meetings with local officials in remote mountain and desert locations, sweating or freezing — depending upon the season — inside concrete and cinder-block schools and police stations built with American aid. These projects are required to adhere to international building codes, which do not permit the construction of traditional earthen structures.

These structures are typically built with cob — a mixture of mud, sand, clay and chopped straw molded to form durable, elegant, super-insulated, earthquake-resistant structures. With their thick walls, small windows and natural ventilation, traditional Afghan homes may not comply with international building codes, but they are cooler in summer and warmer in winter than cinder-block buildings. They also last a long time. Some of Afghanistan’s oldest structures, including sections of the defensive wall that once surrounded the 2,000-year-old Silk Road city of Balkh, are made of cob and rammed earth. In England, people are still living in cob houses built before Shakespeare was born.

Renewable energy and sustainability aren’t just development issues. They are security issues, too. Seventy percent of the Defense Department’s energy budget in Afghanistan is spent on transporting diesel fuel in armored convoys. In a welcome attempt to reduce this dangerous and expensive dependence on fossil fuel, the Marine Corps recently established two patrol bases in Afghanistan operating entirely on renewable energy
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War Evolves With Drones, Some Tiny as Bugs
Article Link

By ELISABETH BUMILLER and THOM SHANKER
Published: June 19, 2011

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — Two miles from the cow pasture where the Wright Brothers learned to fly the first airplanes, military researchers are at work on another revolution in the air: shrinking unmanned drones, the kind that fire missiles into Pakistan and spy on insurgents in Afghanistan, to the size of insects and birds.
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Kandahar district chief buying peace out of own pocket
Article Link
The Canadian Press  Friday Jun. 17, 2011

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The governor of the restive Panjwaii district, where Canadian troops are operating, is paying for peace out of his own pocket by covering food, lodging and the personal expenses of dozens of former Taliban fighters.

The ex-militants have surrendered and are awaiting promised Afghan government assistance in the form of amnesty, cash and resettlement.

"The government is trying, but many things take time," said Haji Fazluddin Agha, a respected former mujahedeen and land owner who was recently appointed leader of the district that's been at the epicentre of the Taliban insurgency.

Agha, whose son was killed by hard-line Islamists, opened up several of his compounds in eastern Panjwaii recently to roughly 70 former insurgents.

Another 200 are looking to give up, he said Friday in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"We have to figure out how much it will cost and how much we can afford."

Agha has given the current crop of fighters shelter while the government in Kabul struggles to contend with as many as 5,000 Taliban who want to come in from the cold.

He said he's allowing them to live rent-free; the money has been for food and living expenses.

Some ex-insurgents complained earlier this week they're fed up with the glacial pace of the formal reintegration program and threatening to re-join the ranks of militants.

Despite the traditional fighting season being well underway, Kandahar has not seen the level of violence other provinces are experiencing.
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‘Au revoir, Zangabad,’ Canadian army hands over Afghan village to U.S.
Article Link

ZANGABAD, AFGHANISTAN — The road to Zangabad is lined with graves and for many years was littered with mines, but for Canadian troops it is now memory lane.

The place they fought hard for over so many years, a place they occupied for the first time last fall, was quietly handed over to the Americans on Sunday as the withdrawal of the Canadian army from Kandahar hit full stride.

Alpha Company 1st Battalion Royal 22e Regiment, which rolled into the notorious Taliban redoubt as part of NATO’s major offensive last year, pulled back to Kandahar Airfield as a first step on the long journey home.

“Au revoir, Zangabad,” the radio crackled on Sunday morning as the last Canadian light armoured vehicles rolled out the gate of the region’s main forward operating base.

The stubborn little knot of tightly-woven villages has gone by a few nicknames over the years, including “Zangaboom” because of all of the improvised explosives. At one point in 2008, troops could not drive into the area because it was so heavily mined.

It’s also been called “Zanga-not-so-bad” when compared with even wilder communities, such as Mushan to the west.
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[GAP]

Articles found June , 2011

Canada's civilians leaving Afghanistan
Article Link
Mon Jun. 20 2011 The Associated Press

BAZAAR-E-PANJWAII., Afghanistan — Canada's civilians in Kandahar have started pulling out of Afghanistan.

In addition to the Canadian soldiers who are leaving next month, some 75 civilians responsible for the mission's diplomatic and developmental programs are also heading home.

Joffre Leblanc, one of a handful of gutsy civilians working alongside the military outside the wire, spent much of the last year in the Panjwaii district as a district stabilization officer.

He says he leaves Afghanistan with a sense of hope.

Leblanc's job was to help tie together the often incoherent Afghan government with local residents in far-flung regions.

He says he's watched over the last 11 months as villagers have started to show up at district meetings to demand services for the first time.
end

 

[GAP]

Articles found June 22, 2011

Halifax-born worker helps foster stability in Afghanistan
Article Link
By The Canadian Press  Tue, Jun 21

BAZAAR-E-PANJWAII, Afghanistan — As he sat amid the blackened, bombed-out ruins of a bazaar in western Panjwaii, Joffre Leblanc could sense something was different.

At the time, it was pure instinct. But there was something about the unfamiliar faces who showed up for a shura, or meeting, following a grinding NATO sweep through Kandahar province last fall that told him change was indeed in the air.

"You do have moments here when things certainly become a lot clearer," said Leblanc, 26, who grew up in Halifax.

As a district stabilization officer, one of a handful of gutsy civilians working along side the military, Leblanc’s job was to fortify an all-but-non-existent bond between Kabul and villagers in far-flung areas who knew little of their government, and cared even less.

And yet, here they were in Mushan, one day after the Taliban bombed the local market as a warning, surrounded by villagers who had never before expressed much interest in lending any legitimacy to the embattled Afghan government.

Haji Baran — the district governor at the time — flew into the community, a notorious Taliban transit point and supply centre, after U.S. troops had driven insurgents to ground. About 50 people showed up for what was supposed to be a meeting with village elders.

"There were new faces, ones we’d never seen at the district centre before," Leblanc said. "A week later we held the weekly shura at the district and saw those same faces and then were seeing them return the following week."

Those faces were present again on Monday when the provincial governor officially opened an office in Bazaar-e-Panjwaii, built with Canadian dollars, that will for first the time deliver federal health, agriculture and justice services in the unruly district.
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Soldiers adapt as Afghan mission changes from fighting to training
  Article Link
By MATTHEW FISHER, Postmedia News June 22, 2011

As the last troops dribble in from the former Taliban heartland of Panjwaii, ending Canada's bloody five-year combat commitment in southern Afghanistan, the Canadian army has begun tackling a less dangerous mission in the north.

Nearly 50 Canadian trainers started working with Afghan army recruits two weeks ago at a joint Afghan-NATO Regional Military Training Centre on the outskirts of Kabul.

Over the next few months this modest first wave is to be joined by 900 more trainers and support personnel. The troops, most based in Edmonton, are to work out of Afghan security ministries and training bases in both the capital and northwestern Afghanistan.

"It is about establishing relations. That is what we've been doing these first few weeks," said Major Darren Hart, who this week provided media the first look at what Canadian soldiers will be doing until the spring of 2014.

Hart, an infantryman with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, served two tours in Kandahar mentoring local forces. His job now is to coach an Afghan colonel who runs a boot camp that trains as many as 1,400 recruits at a time.

Hart's third Afghan tour represents a closure of sorts.

"I saw lots of combat in 2006 and friends of mine and soldiers who served under me were killed," he says.
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[GAP]

Articles found June 23, 2011

French plan phased withdrawal from Afghanistan
Article Link
The Associated Press Thursday Jun. 23, 2011

PARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced Thursday the progressive withdrawal of France's troops from Afghanistan -- on a timetable matching the U.S. troop pullout that starts this summer.

The withdrawal of France's approximately 4,000 troops will take place in coordination "with our allies and with Afghan authorities," and "in a proportional manner comparable to the withdrawal of American troops," a statement from Sarkozy's office said.

Word of the French plan came on the heels of President Barack Obama's announcement of a staggered U.S. troop withdrawal from the country.

Obama announced an initial drawdown of 10,000 troops in two phases -- with 5,000 troops coming home this summer and 5,000 more by the end of the year. An additional 20,000-plus are to follow by September 2012.

With France having a much smaller number of troops in the region than the U.S., the pullbacks would be equally far smaller.
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Report cites ‘crisis in trust’ between Afghans and NATO
COLIN FREEZE  Globe and Mail Wednesday, Jun. 22, 2011
Article Link

As the Canadian Forces shifts its mission in Afghanistan from combat to training, a new report warns that yawning cultural chasms remain a huge obstacle to creating a self-sufficient Afghan military.

“A Crisis in Trust and Cultural Incompatibility,” a 70-page survey led by a U.S. Army behavioural scientist, highlights problems between NATO soldiers and Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). The May, 2011, study shows that a decade into the war, the nominal allies are often at odds – nearly 60 Western soldiers have been killed by ANSF members in the past four years, many deliberately, for perceived provocations.

Western governments are pinning their hopes for Afghanistan on their ability to tutor standalone national-security forces. Yet soldiers on the ground find that one of their biggest challenges is to instill basic values, such as respect for human rights. The allied forces can no longer gloss over the recurring issues that lead to mutual mistrust, the authors say – NATO and ANSF need to be explicit on what behaviours they can tolerate from one another, and which ones they cannot.
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[GAP]

Articles found June 24, 2011

Soldiers head to Afghanistan to help pack up
By Jeff Cummings, QMI Agency
Article Link

Roughly 120 Edmonton-based soldiers set off to one of the most dangerous regions in Afghanistan Friday.

But they are not headed to Kandahar for combat.

The troops are the first wave of about 500 soldiers from Edmonton's Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry tasked with helping remove all of Canada's heavy equipment inside military operations at Kandahar - ending this country's long combat mission in the war-torn region.

"This time around, we are not going out looking for the fight," said Master Corporal Nick Faryna, a 26-year-old soldier who will be on his fourth mission in Afghanistan since 2004.

"We just want to pack everything up and make sure it's done safely, along with making sure all of the material does get back."

But Faryna, who will be securing the convoys of heavy equipment out of the base, adds that the mission won't be easy.

Troops are still on guard for Taliban ambushes and the deadly improvised explosive devices that have killed dozens of Canadian soldiers since the Afghan mission began a decade ago.

Master Warrant Officer Dominic Lapointe says troops won't be going outside "the scope of the base" at Kandahar that often, which does lesson the threat from possible insurgents.

"However, it's still Kandahar, Afghanistan," said Lapointe who will be leaving his wife and children behind in Edmonton for the third time.

"There are insurgents, there are rockets, and we always have to be ready. You have to keep your wits on about yourself."
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On patrol with Canadian troops in Afghanistan
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by Michael Petrou on Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Michael Petrou follows along with Canadian soldiers, with additional footage from Kabul and the Panjshir Valley
Video

 

[GAP]

Articles found June 25, 2011

Enemy ditching weapons for shovels: Military
Article Link
By Thane Burnett ,QMI Agency  Saturday, June 25, 2011

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - You can apparently hire away an insurgent for a few dollars a day here.

And while officials say the Taliban's daily rate is competitive in paycheque to what locals are handed for manual labour on Canadian-funded development projects -- from freshly paved roads to new schools -- toiling with insurgents may be very short-term work.

Canadians set a 600 local Afghani dollar figure for a daily wage -- about C$13 -- to meet a normal and healthy paycheque here. Any higher, and you would have had Afghan teachers and engineers quitting their jobs to dig ditches.

But it's been enough of an incentive to, military officials say, cause an untold number of the enemy to drop their weapons and pick up shovels -- one of the reasons Canadian soldiers have noticed a substantial drop in violent clashes with the Taliban in June.

"If you are looking to work (for your community), you're going to make money and be happy," says Maj. Daniel Lamoureux, officer commanding of CIMIC -- the Civil-Military Co-operation unit.

"But if you're working for the bad guys, there's a big chance that we're going to drop a bomb on you," he said.

The Canadians set up a large number of building projects across the region -- which is roughly the size of Nova Scotia -- to coincide with the annual violent season.

"If you've been shovelling all day, you're going to be too tired to pick up a rifle at night," one combat engineer points out.
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DiManno: Canadians share hard-won expertise foiling IEDs
Published On Sat Jun 25 2011
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KANDAHAR—The yellow plastic fuel jug: Lethal.

In the slap-dash alchemy of improvised explosive devices, gasoline containers are the kill-conveyors of choice.

Their brightly shredded aftermath is an evident tip-off that it was an IED rather than a mine when something goes boom. Mines can remain operative, silently lurking, for decades, and Afghanistan was seeded with some 10 million of them from the era of Soviet invasion. IEDs, whether activated by pressure plates, trip-wire or remote control, have a brief lifespan because they’re usually charged by batteries. When the battery drains, the IED is de-fanged and useless, unless replaced.

That’s the only upside to IEDs.

For a long time, years, these explosives — buried under gravel or dirt, secreted into culverts — presented the most deadly threat faced by Canadian troops in Afghanistan. Cheap, easy to assemble, with only five basic components required, they were the lifeblood of the insurgency’s asymmetric warfare.

Of the last 10 soldiers killed in Kandahar — over 13 months — nine were claimed by IEDs.

Yet Roto 10 — the current and final deployment — has lost just three service members, two from IEDs.

We’ve learned a great deal about counter-IED strategies: better armour protection for vehicles, sophisticated tactical equipment (which can’t be described here because of operational security), lightweight compact metal detectors hand-held by a ground-scanner walking ahead of a patrol. More basically, denying freedom of movement to the Taliban by saturating the area of operations with troops, police checkpoints and eyes-on vistas, increasingly augmented by friendly intelligence from civilians and an IED tip-line.
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While US Talks Withdrawal, Afghan Corruption Soars
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by The Associated Press

WASHINGTON June 25, 2011, 04:05 am ET

The farmer picking apples in the outskirts of Kabul must pay the Taliban $33 to ship out each truckload of fruit. The governor sends in armed men to chase workers off job sites if the official bribes aren't paid. Poor neighborhoods never get their U.N.-provided wheat, long since sold on the black market.

These are some of the elements, large and small, that together form the elaborate organized crime environment Afghans contend with daily. And despite the hoped-for success of the U.S. military surge and President Barack Obama's claims of significant progress, Afghanistan's resemblance to a mafia state that cannot serve its citizens may only be getting worse, according to an upcoming report by the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank.

The 46-page study, to be released next week, looks specifically at Afghanistan's heartland: the rural areas of Ghazni, Wardak, Logar and other provinces just beyond the periphery of Kabul. Unemployment is high, government presence is low and the insurgency operates with impunity. Corruption and cooperation with the Taliban reach the highest levels of local governance.

"Nearly a decade after the U.S.-led military intervention little has been done to challenge the perverse incentives of continued conflict in Afghanistan," the research group says. Rather, violence and the billions of dollars in international aid have brought wealthy officials and insurgents together. And "the economy as a result is increasingly dominated by a criminal oligarchy of politically connected businessmen," the report concludes.

The sobering analysis of a culture of corruption that long predates the U.S.-military effort comes as Obama tries to highlight military and other gains in Afghanistan as proof that Americans can leave. The widespread abuse of power from simple shakedowns to outright collusion with the Taliban will surely outlive the presence of American combat troops.

In announcing that he would pull out 10,000 soldiers this year and 23,000 more by the end of next summer, Obama made it clear that his timetable for a U.S. military drawdown was not going to be beholden to further security advances or the ability of American and Afghan forces to maintain their recent gains. Obama didn't mention the issue of corruption.

But regardless of how many troops are withdrawn, and how fast they come home, Obama acknowledged the U.S. withdrawal by 2015 will create challenges for the country. "We will not try to make Afghanistan a perfect place," the president said. A responsible end to the war is achievable, but he warned of "dark days ahead."
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[GAP]

Articles found June 26, 2011

Suicide bomber attacks hospital in eastern Afghanistan
By Bill RoggioJune 25, 2011
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A suicide bomber killed more than 30 Afghans in a deadly attack on a hospital in the eastern province of Logar today.

The suicide bomber rammed an SUV packed with explosives into a local hospital in the Azra district in Logar just before noon today. Patients and medical personnel were among those killed in the attack. One Afghan official said that more than 35 people were killed.

The Taliban denied carrying out the attack and claimed the accusation was an attempt to "defame" the terror group.

"We condemn this attack on a hospital ... whoever has done this wants to defame the Taliban," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

But the Taliban have carried out suicide attacks and bombings at hospitals, mosques, markets, and other civilian centers. On May 21, the Taliban claimed credit for a suicide attack at a hospital on Kabul that is frequented by military and police personnel. And just yesterday, the Taliban detonated a bomb at a market in Kunduz, killing 10 civilians
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Special operations forces capture 5 al Qaeda operatives in Afghan southeast
By Bill RoggioJune 25, 2011
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Coalition and Afghan special operations teams captured five suspected al Qaeda-linked fighters during a June 23 raid in the southeastern province of Ghazni.

The combined special operations team captured the five operatives during a raid that targeted a "senior al Qaeda facilitator" who operates from Pakistan and supports attacks in Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force stated in a press release.

"The facilitator, who typically operates in Pakistan, helps plan terrorist operations and moves fighters, money and materials into Afghanistan and Pakistan," the ISAF press release said.

The nighttime raid took place in the Gelan district, a known al Qaeda haven. No Coalition or Afghan forces were killed or wounded during the raid.

ISAF and Afghan forces have had multiple engagements with al Qaeda commanders and fighters since mid-April, resulting in the death and capture of dozens of operatives. On June 1, special operations forces captured an al Qaeda commander who was linked to Osama bin Laden and was based out of Pakistan. During a raid in Zabul on May 8, ISAF and Afghan forces killed 10 al Qaeda fighters, including one from Saudi Arabia and one from Morocco, and captured a "Germany-based Moroccan al Qaeda foreign fighter facilitator." Security forces also "found passports and identification cards from France, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia amongst ten insurgents killed during the operation." On May 3, Afghan troops killed and wounded more than 25 al Qaeda fighters in the Barg-e-Matal district in Nuristan. And on April 14, an ISAF airstrike in Kunar killed several al Qaeda leaders and fighters, including Waqas, a Pakistani commander, and Abu Hafs al Najdi, a wanted Saudi emir.
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[GAP]

Articles found June 27, 2011

Afghan girl, 8, carrying bomb tricked, police say
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Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times Monday, June 27, 2011

Kabul -- Insurgents tricked an 8-year-old girl in a remote area of central Afghanistan into carrying a bomb wrapped in a cloth and then detonated the device remotely when she was close to a police vehicle, Afghan authorities said Sunday.

Only the girl was killed in the blast in the Char Chino district of Uruzgan province, said Fazal Ahmad Shirzad, the police chief.

Shirzad said he believed that the girl was completely unaware that the bag that she had been given by Taliban insurgents held a bomb. Her body was later "taken to a nearby security check post and the police called her relatives," he said.

In Logar province in southeastern Afghanistan, the death toll in the bombing that occurred Saturday at a hospital rose to 37 as people who were severely injured by the blast died, said Mohammed Zarif Naibkhail, the director of public health for the province. Another 53 people were injured.

"The casualties are actually way higher than that but the local villagers rushed to the hospital right after the explosion and took the bodies of their relatives to their own villages," he said.
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US: Pakistan must show it wants Afghan peace
DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press  Monday, June 27, 2011
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Washington's special envoy to Afghanistan said Monday that Pakistan must prove it wants an end to the war by preventing militants from hiding out on its soil and enabling those who launch attacks on the Afghan side of the border.

Marc Grossman, U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, said in Kabul that discussions among Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States being held this week in the Afghan capital are important to coordinate efforts to find a political resolution to the nearly decade-long war.

He said they also are an opportunity to clearly convey to Pakistani officials that part of their responsibility for bringing peace is to stop supporting insurgent safe havens and those who attack Afghans and international forces in Afghanistan.

"We've been pretty clear that going forward here, we want the government of Pakistan to participate positively in the reconciliation process," Grossman said at a news conference. "Pakistan now has important choices to make."

Grossman and representatives from more than 40 nations are attending a meeting of the International Contact Group. The group's 11th meeting comes after President Barack Obama announced last week he was ordering 10,000 U.S. troops home by year's end; as many as 23,000 more are to leave by September 2012. That would leave 68,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

The 33,000 total to be withdrawn is the number Obama sent as reinforcements in December 2009 as part of an effort to reverse the Taliban's momentum and hasten an eventual political settlement of the conflict. The U.S. and its allies plan a full combat withdrawal by the end of 2014.
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Afghanistan poppy killers get scrutiny absent in prior contracts
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By Michelle Jamrisko, Published: June 26

U.S. contractors with almost $2 billion worth of counter-narcotics business in Afghanistan will get more scrutiny than they faced for work completed in Latin America over the past decade, government officials said.

DynCorp International, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, ITT and ARINC, which are working with the Defense and State departments on anti-drug efforts in Afghanistan, performed similar work in Latin America with inadequate competition and little oversight, according to a report by the majority staff of a Senate Homeland Security subcommittee and a previous investigation by the Pentagon’s inspector general.
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Soldiers’ Stories: Adam Siokalo, Captain
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Adam Siokalo, 30, Captain
CFB Valcartier with the 12th Armoured Regiment.
First deployment to Afghanistan.

My squadron has conducted many operations throughout Panjwaii but we were mostly focused on building the new road through the Horn of Panjwaii. We were the command and control element for this operation as well as the protection and strike capability for the construction of the route itself for five months.

When the rains came in mid-February, most wheeled vehicles were bogged down by the thick mud and flooding. The fact our Leopard 2 A4M and A6M tanks are tracked allowed us to continue operating on and off road.

We used the occasional pause in construction to further influence the surrounding population and villages. We conducted operations in which we would follow in the insurgents’ lines of communications to their safe houses, caches and meeting points.
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[Bzzliteyr]

Dead link on the fourth article in the latest post.

 

[GAP]

Articles found June 28, 2011

Afghanistan’s top banker flees nation
DEB RIECHMANN Kabul— The Associated Press  Tuesday, Jun. 28, 2011
Article Link

Afghanistan's top banker, who is alleged to have played a role in the failure of the nation's largest private lender, has fled the country, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said Monday.

Karzai spokesman Waheed Omar said Abdul Qadir Fitrat had not notified the Afghan government of his resignation. But he said that Mr. Fitrat was named in a report sent Monday to the Afghan attorney general's office as someone possibly responsible for the failure of Kabul Bank.

Mr. Fitrat told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from a Northern Virginia hotel that he left the country because his life had been threatened and that the Karzai government was refusing to prosecute those allegedly involved in fraudulent loans.

“My life has become completely endangered,” Mr. Fitrat said. “Since I exposed the fraudulent practices on April 27 in parliament I have received information about threats on my life.”

He said he has permanent resident status in the United States and would not be returning to Afghanistan.

The former bank governor said he asked for the Karzai government to prosecute those involved in the alleged fraud 10 months ago.

“To date, there is no information of any credible plan to try and prosecute these suspects for the crimes they have allegedly committed, Mr. Fitrat said in taking the unusual step of resigning in the U.S. rather than Afghanistan.

Kabul Bank, Afghanistan's largest private financial institution, nearly collapsed last year because of mismanagement and questionable lending practices. The bank — now under the control of Afghanistan's central bank — became a symbol of the country's cronyism and deep-rooted corruption and is now considered a bellwether on attempts to root out patronage and show accountability to world financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund.

Afghanistan has stepped up efforts to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent loans made by Kabul Bank, which plays a key role in the Afghan economy by handling payrolls for government workers and security forces and has close ties to Afghanistan's ruling elite.
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Afghans Build Security, and Hope to Avoid Infiltrators
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By RAY RIVERA  June 27, 2011

KABUL, Afghanistan — For someone who had once joined an insurgent group, and whose family was tied to a top Taliban commander, Akmal had a strikingly easy path into the Afghan National Army.

The district governor who approved his paperwork had never met him. A village elder who was supposed to vouch for him — as required by recruiting mandates — did little more than verify his identity.

No red flags went up when, after just six weeks in the army, he deserted. He returned more than three months later with the skimpiest of explanations and was allowed to rejoin. “I told them I got sick,” Akmal recalled.

Now Akmal, 18, who like many Afghans goes by one name, could face the death penalty for his admitted part in a suicide bombing on May 22 that killed six people on the grounds of the Afghan national military hospital.
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Afghan, NATO Forces Nab Militant Dressed as Woman
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS  June 28, 2011
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A senior leader of an al-Qaida-linked terror group has been captured in northern Afghanistan dressed up like a woman — the latest in a recent series of cases involving male militants disguised as females, the U.S.-led military coalition said Tuesday.

A joint Afghan and coalition force apprehended a leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and two of his associates during a nighttime operation Monday in Kunduz city, NATO said.

It said the militant, who also supported the Taliban network, had planned attacks against the Afghan National Police, various suicide bombings and assaults against other Afghan security forces.

NATO did not release the names of the three suspects caught in Kunduz.

"The leader attempted to disguise himself as a female by wearing a burqa, which is an all-enveloping cloak worn by some Muslim women," the coalition said in a statement. "In the last two months there have been several instances of targeted males wearing burqas in attempts to disguise themselves in order not to be caught by Afghan-led forces."

The coalition said there also have been a handful of recent reports of female combatants in burqas.
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Base training centre will be busy
Published Monday June 27th, 2011
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Despite a change of focus next month in Canada's military mission in Afghanistan, the Combat Training Centre at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown will remain busy, says its outgoing commander.

Brig.-Gen. Jim Simms, who will hand control of the centre over to Col. Dave Corbould next month, said the shift in focus from combat to training Afghan National Security Forces won't result in a lot of changes.

"Whether we're in Afghanistan, the northern part of Canada, or if we are some place else in the world that the government might choose to send us, we need the same skill sets," Simms said in an interview.

The centre consists of the Gagetown-based land forces trials and evaluation unit, the artillery, infantry, tactics and armour schools, as well as the Canadian Forces Land Advance Warfare Centre, located at 8 Wing CFB Trenton in Ontario.

Also part of the centre is the Canadian Forces School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at CFB Borden in Ontario, the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics at CFB Kingston, and the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering at CFB Gagetown.

Simms said regardless of an overseas troop drop from close to 3,000 to just under 1,000, more leaders will be required to help the Afghan National Army.
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DiManno: Insurgency has gone AWOL in Afghanistan
Published On Mon Jun 27 2011
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MA’SUM GAR, AFGHANISTAN—In early morning, the light is as delicate as crystal, the sky lapis lazuli blue.

Viewed from a promontory of splintered boulders, the village of Bazaar-e-Panjwaii sprawls below, tranquil and timeless, as if unencumbered by the 21st century. Graybeards in Dickensian rags emerge from mud walled compounds. Venerable turbaned shepherds prod at their flocks. Farmers study the plumping, ripening fruit on their grapevines. A child rolls a rubber tire with a stick. Only the bellowing of a pneumatic truck horn from a vehicle trundling along Route Hyena, throwing up spectral dust, breaks the drowsy quiet.

Over the past few months, on many mornings just like this, Maj. Frederic Pruneau has scanned the landscape, so lush in the nourished floodplain of the Arghandab River, and wondered: “Where are you?’’

It’s not his own place in the sweep of Afghanistan that puzzles Pruneau. He knows where he stands and why, in a few days, he’ll be leaving as his parachute troops — Alpha Company of 3 Van Doos, attached to the 1st Van Doos for this mission — depart the area of operations, depart the country, Task Force Kandahar fading to black.

Rather, it’s the enigmatic no-see-em insurgency that has Pruneau taking the lay of the land, sizing up the significance of an opponent that has largely gone AWOL in this, the second half of the Para tour. The traditional spring and summer terrorism surge in Panjwaii has not materialized, insurgency dialed down to a whimper hereabouts. Though hereabouts is, quite frankly, small — a mere 35 square kilometres, south of the river, less than half of the Panjwaii area formerly under Canadian jurisdiction, before this and neighbouring districts devolved to the incoming Americans.

“We used to have three districts with the same amount of troops,’’ reminds Pruneau.
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