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The Official Canada in Afghanistan thread
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| EvilTree |
Seems something worth updating, since Canada has so much stake in this...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv...y/National/home
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Canadian resolve weak: Taliban official
MURRAY BREWSTER
Canadian Press
Kandahar, Afghanistan — As MPs gather in Ottawa to discuss Canada's more combative role in southern Afghanistan, a senior Taliban official and coalition commanders painted two disparate images Sunday of where the war is headed.
In a weekend interview with The Canadian Press, insurgent spokesman Qari Yuosaf Ahmedi said the Taliban are convinced the resolve of the Canadian people is weak.
As suicide attacks and roadside blasts increase, the public will quickly grow weary, he said.
“We think that when we kill enough Canadians they will quit war and return home,” Mr. Ahmedi said in an interview, conducted through a translator, over a satellite telephone.
Given the fact troops are already deployed, Mr. Ahmedi suggested Monday's House of Commons debate as a sign of indecision among Canadians.
In addition to his fire-breathing rhetoric, the Taliban's public relations spokesman claimed that the insurgency had recruited 180 suicide bombers for operations in and around Kandahar over the next few weeks.
He said they are prepared to attack Canadians “any one else, at any place and at any time.”
But coalition commanders had a vastly different assessment, painting the Taliban as cornered, marginalized into rural pockets, struggling to raise money and find recruits.
“The reason we think the Taliban are falling apart is because the pattern of attacks we're seeing is not co-ordinated,” said Major Quentin Innis, a Canadian liaison officer with the local community.
“It may appear there are a lot of attacks going on and those are regretable.”
On Sunday, Kandahar city was rocked by two separate remote-control improvised explosive device, or IED, attacks, which injured 11 Afghans, including two children.
Senior Taliban commanders reside on the Pakistan side of the Afghan border and where many suiciders — as they known by local Afghans— are recruited, said the chief of staff to multinational brigade commander.
British Col. Chris Vernon said, while the coalition has faced increased attacks, it has been successful is eliminating junior insurgent commanders.
“Various middle level leaders in Afghanistan have been removed from the circuit over the last month,” he told reporters Sunday.
“When they're asking for volunteers to come in and take those mid-level positions, there is a distinct lack of volunteers coming forward, particularly out of Pakistan.”
He also said requests by front-line Taliban for more funds and equipment have not been answered.
Canada's more front-line involvement in this dirt poor, war-ravaged country will be the subject of a “take-note” debate in the House of Commons on Monday. It will be largely a symbolic exercise as the matter will not be the subject of a vote.
The new Conservative government has been reluctant to hold the debate because of its potential impact on the morale of the country's 2,200 troops deployed in southern Afghanistan. A few weeks ago, a public opinion survey found that a majority of respondents were opposed to Canada's more aggressive posture and wanted the country to return to its more traditional role of peacekeeping.
And on Sunday, a new poll suggested the public is evenly divided on the Afghan mission.
The survey by Decima Research found 45 per cent of respondents considered the deployment a good idea while 46 per cent viewed it as a bad idea. That's a statistical dead heat, given the poll's margin of error.
The poll also indicated a lack of agreement on how long the military commitment should continue.
Twenty-five per cent of respondents said the troops should stay as long as it takes to complete the mission. Another 10 per cent said they should stay another year or two, while 15 per cent were willing to see them stay up to five years.
Fully 43 per cent, however, said the troops should come home within the next year.
The online poll was conducted between March 31 and April 4 among 2,131 respondents. A random sample of this size is considered accurate plus or minus 2.2 percentage points, 19 times in 20.
Since 2002, the conflict has cost the lives of 11 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat.
A senior Afghan army officer said Sunday that Canadian politicians need to understand the positive contribution the army has made to the region, beyond military assistance.
“The Canadians did a lot of things, especially for Kandahar,” Major Rahmatullah Sha, the deputy garrison commander of the city, said through a translator.
“They've done a lot of reconstruction and security help. The security of Kandahar is normal. It's not that bad.”
His account was somewhat contradicted by Major Innis, who laid out statistics from the local media that show there have been 24 roadside explosions or suicide car attacks between June 2005 and March 2006. Those assaults have killed 32 civilians.
“We understand the citizens of Kandahar don't feel secure, but there are two things you have to realize,” said Major Innis. “The first thing is that there are more unsuccessful Taliban attacks than successful. I can't go into the details but we've prevented more attacks than those that have occurred.”
The carnage can be blamed on foreign fighters, including jihadists from Pakistan, Chechnya and some Arab countries, said Major Sha.
Coalition forces are believed to have killed a senior Taliban commander during an offensive in southern Helmand province Friday, said a statement by the U.S. military. Although the man was not identified, authorities claimed the commander “was directly tied to dozens of improvised explosive device attacks.”
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I don't think so my Taliban friend...
You and your type aren't wanted by most of Afghans, simply because Canada and the rest of the allies are helping Afghan govt rebuild, while you Taliban types insist on blowing up stuff only. |
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| EvilTree |
Saturday Apr. 15 at 7pm ET and Sunday Apr. 16 at 1pm ET
An exclusive glimpse into the reality facing Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan with unprecedented access into Operation Peacemaker, the largest combat mission for Canadian infantry since the Korean War. In a special W-FIVE documentary airing Saturday, April 15 at 7 pm on CTV (in all markets), correspondent Lisa LaFlamme joins Canadian Forces on a grueling 12-day mission to track the Taliban.
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Sounds like worth a look, if you're interested in this kind of stuff. |
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| amb_ |
| quote: | Originally posted by EvilTree
Lisa LaFlamme |
Ha, my mum went to school with her...
Really though, it seems as though the Taleban are resorting to desperate measures, using some of the only weapons they might have left--words.
I support our troops and the Afghan mission. It's a small step towards a promising peace in a region that has suffered enough over the past decades of oppression. |
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| sufee_b |
| quote: | Originally posted by EvilTree
I don't think so my Taliban friend...
You and your type aren't wanted by most of Afghans, simply because Canada and the rest of the allies are helping Afghan govt rebuild, while you Taliban types insist on blowing up stuff only. |
That's a real subjective statement. The only people who we see in the media on Afghanistan are the ones that do not like Taliban. Fact is, many, probably most Afghans DO want Taliban there...the Taliban have not only regained much seized land by the allies but also control it- with the help of the locals willing to fight with them..of course the media will not tell you that. |
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| amb_ |
| quote: | Originally posted by sufee_b
That's a real subjective statement. The only people who we see in the media on Afghanistan are the ones that do not like Taliban. Fact is, many, probably most Afghans DO want Taliban there...the Taliban have not only regained much seized land by the allies but also control it- with the help of the locals willing to fight with them..of course the media will not tell you that. |
Maybe some do want the Taleban... I wouldn't blame them, they're offering the first bit of security since 1979... for a price, of course. |
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| zoogla |
I saw an amazing BBC documentary on the Passionate Eye the other day (God bless that show, btw) re: an Afghan women drivers' training service.
To see how open minded and democratic some FORMER TALIBAN fighters are gave me a lot of hope for the future of Afghanistan and made me think that the presence of CANADIAN security forces (not U.S.) can assist in spreading that liberal mentality. The U.S. presence, no matter what their leaders say, is too jaded IMHO. |
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| EvilTree |
For those of you that missed the W5 documentary, it's on again tomorrow at 1PM on CTV.
Only 30 mins long, but I thought it did a good job. More informative than exciting. |
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| EvilTree |
| quote: | Originally posted by sufee_b
That's a real subjective statement. The only people who we see in the media on Afghanistan are the ones that do not like Taliban. Fact is, many, probably most Afghans DO want Taliban there...the Taliban have not only regained much seized land by the allies but also control it- with the help of the locals willing to fight with them..of course the media will not tell you that. |
Coercion is not the best way to gain support of the locals.
The Taliban ruled by fear, while it remains to be seen, Karzai govt is supposedly based not on rule by fear.
A lot of Afghans haven't even seen a coalition soldier yet, so, until the coalition makes their presence felt and prove to the Afghans that they can be trusted, there is a lot of work to be done to undermine the taliban influence. |
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| EvilTree |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5355478.stm
Still more of a preliminary report. Expecting more details to be revealed later.
| quote: |
Canadians die in Afghan bombing
Map
A suicide bomber has killed at least four Canadians in an attack on a Nato patrol in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, Canada's military says.
Canadian commander Gen David Fraser said other troops were wounded.
Police said a number of civilians were also hurt when the bomber rode a bicycle laden with explosives into a crowd of troops and children.
The blast occurred in Panjwayi district, scene of recent fierce clashes between troops and the Taleban.
On the front line
Isaf - the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force - announced on Sunday it had successfully completed a mission to drive out the insurgents from the district, about 25km (15 miles) west of the city of Kandahar.
Hundreds of people have been killed in the worsening violence in Afghanistan this year, many of them in suicide bombings across the south and east.
A spokesman for the Taleban said the group carried out the latest attack.
'Wounded were running'
Isaf said the latest bomb attack in the south occurred about 0930 local time (0500 GMT).
Suicide attacks are common in parts of Afghanistan
Local police said a patrol of Canadian soldiers were outside a school on foot, handing out pens and other items to children when a suicide bomber on a bicycle rode into the crowd.
The explosives were in a crate on the back of his bike, an official said.
One bystander described a horrific scene after the explosion.
"Kids were running towards the Canadian convoy because they were giving out pens and notebooks to the children," Mohammed Karim told the AFP news agency.
"A man riding on a bicycle approached the crowd and detonated in the crowd.
"With the explosion, all the shouting of kids was ended and you could hear cries and people running to all sides. Some of the wounded were also running."
Troops cordoned off the blast site, Isaf said, and soldiers were evacuated to military medical facilities for treatment.
Taleban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf said the bomber was a young Afghan from Kandahar and promised more attacks.
Nato operation
Nato said on Sunday that at least 400 Taleban fighters had been killed in a two-week operation codenamed Medusa, the biggest offensive since Nato took over southern Afghanistan from US-led forces at the end of July.
The deaths cannot be independently verified.
Isaf commander Lt-Gen David Richards said the Taleban had been forced out of the district and the next phase was to maintain security to allow thousands of people who had fled the fighting to return home, and then to start rebuilding and development projects.
The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Kabul says the Nato mission emphasises this aspect, but has been bogged down by fighting over the past six weeks.
The operation in Panjwayi is seen as a major test of the mission's strategy, which is attempting to win the support of local people for the government, our correspondent adds. |
Wow. Willing to kill kids to get at ISAF soldiers. |
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| starsearcher |
| quote: | Originally posted by EvilTree
Wow. Willing to kill kids to get at ISAF soldiers. |
Scarry isn't it...although I think it's more like "willing to kill kids to get many westerners and 'non-believers' and etc..." :(
Keep safe out there boys! Our thoughts and prayers are with you! |
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