Articles found September 9, 2010
Canada to Deploy 20 Recently Upgraded Leopard 2A4M to Afghanistan
October 8, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Article Link
Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) is modernizing the Canadian Leopard 2A4 CAN tanks previously acquired from German Army surplus. The first batch of 20 tanks was handed back to the Canadian Armed Forces yesterday (October 7, 2010) at the Bergen training ground in northern Germany. The modernized tanks are scheduled to equip the Canadian forces in Hindu-Kush in Afghanistan.
The Canadians embarked on this latest upgrade of the tank in July 2009, anticipating their next deployment in the Afghan theater. The new version is specially designed for operations in Afghanistan based on experience gained by other Leopard 2 operators, including the Denmark and Canadian forces. (operating the Leopard 2A6M)
The main focus of the A4M CAN design was consistent protection of the crews, who are subjected to enemy attacks with powerful anti-tank projectiles and are in constant danger from mines and IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices). The starting point for the protection concept is outstanding protection from mines and good all-round protection. Furthermore, the capabilities of the new battle tank have been significantly extended by integrating a pioneer equipment interface. Mine rollers, mine ploughs and dozer blades allow the Canadian armed 3
More on link
Kidnapped female British aid worker killed during rescue attempt in eastern Afghanistan
Article Link
By: Robert Kennedy, The Associated Press Posted: 8/10/2010
A female British aid worker kidnapped during an ambush last month was killed during a rescue attempt by NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan, Britain's foreign secretary said Saturday.
The aid worker, identified as Linda Norgrove, was killed Friday night by her captors during the operation to free her, Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement from London.
Norgrove and three colleagues were kidnapped in eastern Kunar province on Sept. 26 after being ambushed. Police fought a gunbattle with the kidnappers near the attack site before the assailants fled.
"It is with deep sadness that I must confirm that Linda Norgrove ... was killed at the hands of her captors in the course of a rescue attempt last night," said Hague.
"Working with our allies we received information about where Linda was being held and we decided that, given the danger she was facing, her best chance of safe release was to act on that information," Hague said.
Norgrove's three Afghan colleagues were released shortly after being abducted.
It was unclear if any other deaths occurred during the raid.
Friday's wasn't the first rescue operation of an abducted Briton to end in bloodshed.
More on link
Clock ticking for Canadian Forces to get out of 'secret' Dubai base
By Matthew Fisher, Postmedia News October 8, 2010
Article Link
Canadian soldiers and aircrew have only 27 days to pack up and clear out of Camp Mirage, the not-so-secret airbase in the United Arab Emirates that Ottawa established seven years ago to support military operations in Afghanistan.
After two years of on-and-off negotiations, the Emirates on Tuesday suspended a memorandum of understanding with Canada about the base after the federal government balked at a demand that the Gulf sheikdom's two national carriers — Dubai-based Emirates Airlines and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways — each be granted daily flights between Toronto and the Emirates, up from the current three apiece each week. The two carriers were also seeking direct flights to the Persian Gulf from Calgary and Vancouver.
According to Transport Canada, there is no shortage of seats to meet demand for flights between the two countries.
"The rights under the current Canada-UAE air transport agreement meet the market demands of travellers whose origin or final destination is either Canada or the UAE," the agency has said. Air Canada has also resisted such a move.
More on link
Assignment Kandahar: Afghanistan’s fiery, fragile future
Article Link
The war that Canadian soldiers are helping wage in Afghanistan is not being lost. Having spent nearly six months in the country since 2006, most of that time embedded with our troops, I’ve just come home again, convinced of it.
But the war isn’t being won, either; the conflict, with sporadic fighting and death by remote control, just continues.
So it will, barring some miracle truce, and long after the last Canadian battle group has left Kandahar province next summer.
Other armies that comprise the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have enough capacity — if not the desire — to keep killing Taliban with relative ease, for many years. The United States might one day reduce its troop count in Afghanistan but having established its presence there with massive military fortresses, it won’t just up and leave.
The Taliban, for their part, have the resolve and resources to see that their fight lasts.
If anything is being lost, it’s the counterinsurgency, the crucial allied attempt to win local confidence and co-operation. Without those, this long war cannot be won.
More on link
Pakistan says it will reopen key border crossing to NATO supplies, 10 days after soldiers died
Article Link
By: David Rising, The Associated Press Posted: 8/10/2010
Pakistan will reopen a key border crossing used to transport supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan, authorities said Saturday — the 10th day of a blockade that has raised tensions with Washington and left stranded trucks vulnerable to attacks.
In a short statement, the Foreign Ministry said it decided to reopen the border after assessing security and that authorities on both sides of the border were now co-ordinating to resume the supply traffic smoothly. The statement said the decision would have "immediate effect" but when trucks would start crossing the border was not clear.
Pakistan closed the northwest crossing at Torkham on Sept. 30, the same day a NATO airstrike killed two Pakistani soldiers along the border. The U.S. on Wednesday apologized for that strike after an investigation concluded the "tragic event could have been avoided with better coalition force co-ordination with the Pakistan military."
Pakistan is a key supply route for fuel, military vehicles, spare parts, clothing and other non-lethal supplies for foreign troops in Afghanistan. Though a smaller crossing in the southwest has remained open, the closure of Torkham has left scores of trucks stranded on their way from the port city of Karachi.
In the latest in a steady stream of attacks, gunmen armed with a rocket attacked 29 tankers carrying NATO fuel supplied in southwestern Pakistan before dawn Saturday, setting them ablaze. Two responding police officers were wounded.
More on link
