CANinKandahar

Statement on Taliban Site (link to statement at non-terrorist site here): "The rationale for reconciliation can be only convincing when, at least, the invading Americans put signature on a document before the people of Afghanistan and the world, binding them legally to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan in a given time-frame."

Taliban Propaganda Watch (Links Only to Non-Terrorist Sites): Multiple Bombings, Attacks Alleged in Kandahar City

17 Oct 10

CAN Outta UAE: Cyprus as Back-Up Staging Area?

AFG Villagers in Panjwaii Claim CAN Forces Didn't Compensate for 2005 Damage, Losses?

"Air Assault" on Panjwaii Begins

"Series of attacks rock southern Kandahar city, including police headquarters; 2 Afghans dead" - More - more - more

NATO Civil-Military Fusion Centre Weekly Sector Review (PDF): Refugees Continue to Flee Fighting, Causing More Civilian Casualties, Greater Demand for Artificial Limbs

"(Aussie) Troops 'overwhelmed and cannot defeat Taliban' "

Talkin' to the Taliban: Karzai Upbeat about Peace Council

Taliban Propaganda Watch (Links Only to Non-Terrorist Sites): IED Attacks Alleged in Kandahar, Rockets Claimed on Zabul Base

16 Oct 10

Canada Leaving AFG: More on Plans to Start Packing Up

"Sixteen soldiers from the U.S.-led coalition have died in the past three days, but the mood among commanders and troops in southeastern Afghanistan continues to be more optimistic than ever before." - "Is Kandahar safer? Depends who you ask"

COIN Expert: Canadian Maple Leaf Sign of Vehicle Quality Among Taliban?!?

Guy Lafleur Drops By (A Third Time) - "Canada's biggest musical tribute to soldiers goes on air this week"

Warpoet.ca: contact

Khadr Trial: "Harper has only days to make choice on Khadr" - "PM remains mum on Khadr" - "Negotiations in the Omar Khadr case involve senior members of the Obama administration, as the White House continues to push for a plea deal and avoid a trial of Guantanamo’s youngest detainee" - More - more - "Khadr saga is far from over" - "Last word on plea bargain Khadr's: lawyer"

"Zabul Province Blast Kills Several Afghan Villagers"

Talkin' to the Taliban: Asia Times Online: "Pakistan has freed the supreme commander of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, so that he can play a pivotal role in backchannel talks through the Pakistani army with Washington" - "Afghan talks gain pace; U.S. engages: sources" - More - "Taliban talks: “an iffy, high-level treaty” " - Questions Media Should Ask Selves Before Filing More Reintegration/Reconciliation Stories

Taliban Propaganda Watch (Links Only to Non-Terrorist Sites): Attacks Alleged in Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul

15 Oct 10

Canada Leaving AFG: Planning for Packing Under Way

Matthew Dawe, 1980-2007, R.I.P.: "Kingston ‘can-do’ soldier lives on in new CFB residence"

Khadr Trial: Plea Bargain Reportedly in Works Where Khadr Spends Most of Sentence in Canadian Jail - BBC - New York Times - Postmedia News - Canadian Press - Toronto Star - CBC.ca - AFP - Miami Herald - "No deal to bring Khadr home: PMO"

Official UN Security Council Resolution Extending ISAF Mandate (PDF)

AFG NGO Safety Org: "The sum of (Taliban) activity presents the image of a movement anticipating authority and one which has already obtained a complex momentum that Nato will be incapable of reversing" - More - ANSO Quarterly Report Q3 2010 (PDF)

Washington Post: "The United States and its NATO allies, worried about how the Afghan government's ban on private security companies might affect their operations, have asked President Hamid Karzai to sign a letter allowing such companies to continue protecting the foreign aid community"

AUS to NLD: We'd Be Happy to Use Your Apaches if You're Leaving....

Bad Boy "Suicide Attack Facilitator" Nabbed in Kandahar

Talkin' to the Taliban: "Pakistan ready to facilitate Afghan-Taliban talks" - Head of AFG High Peace Council Says Taliban "haven't completely refused talks" - NATO Sec-Gen: "The reconciliation proces in Afgh is lead by the Afgh government. If asked NATO will provide practical support" - More - "ISAF allowed Taliban official to Kabul: Petraeus" - "US called 'partner' in Afghan talks with Taliban" - More - more - "U.S. Uses Attacks to Nudge Taliban Toward a Deal" - "U.S. says Taliban's leader Omar (wouldn't) qualify for role in Afghan future"

Taliban Propaganda Watch (Links Only to Non-Terrorist Sites): Taliban Claims +40 ISAF, AFG Casualties across Kandahar, Disses U.N. (Again) for Mandating ISAF Mission (Again)

14 Oct 10

Canada to GTFO UAE Base: Canada Eying Pakistan as Alternative Route? - PAK Considering It?

Opinion: "The Conservative government needs to get into a habit of providing good and timely information, and it needs to give Canadians a sense of what an honourable conclusion might look like."

UN Security Council Unanimously Endorses ISAF Mission for Another Year - Text of Resolution

"NATO Senior Civilian Representative Provides Script for Transition in Afghanistan" - More - Maybe Time for a Better Pashto/Dari Word for "Transition"?

Account of One 82nd Airborne Final Patrol in Arghandab

"No prosecution of Dutch soldiers after friendly fire incident in 2008 in which two soldiers died"

Talkin' to the Taliban: "A former Afghan president who heads a new peace council said Thursday that he's convinced the Taliban are ready to negotiate peace." - "More Taliban could be removed from UN blacklist: US" - "Gitmo not linked to Afghan reconciliation" - "Nato facilitating Taliban contacts with Afghanistan government"

Taliban Propaganda Watch (Links Only to Non-Terrorist Sites): Taliban (Yet Again) Denies Any Talks, Direct or Indirect, with AFG Regime

13 Oct 10

Wounded Warrior Continues to Recover in London

Canada to GTFO UAE Base: CF Flights Resume (But Still Have to be Gone by 2 Nov) - More - more - UAE Move Seen as "Blackmail" - "UAE official says Canadian response is ‘fear tactics’ " - "UAE rift exposes division in Harper caucus"

"Chilling and unsettling, but mixed with respect and tribute. That's the only way to describe a new book by Ontario author Kathy Stinson called Highway of Heroes."

Blog Watch: "Military leadership believes that very few foreign fighters are in the country, which means that the Taliban is mainly a domestic insurgency that is only vaguely guided by the leadership in Pakistan" - Analyst/Blogger: "Don't Rescue Me"

"Australian army chief resists pressure to drop charges against soldiers over 5 Afghan deaths" - AUS Chief of the Army Statement (also available here via Scribd.com) - AFG NGO Safety Report (PDF): Expect Fewer Attacks in South (Thanks to Winter Coming) - Red Cross: More Wounded in K'Har=More Trouble - Uruzgan Bad Boy Nabbed in Kandahar - Fertilizer, Wires Seized in K'Har Border Area - Taliban Claim Responsibility for Assassinating Uruzgan Official

Talkin' to the Taliban: PAK PM: AFG Peace Talks Will Fail w/o PAK at the Table - "Afghan peace council members want gesture from US"

Taliban Propaganda Watch (Links Only to Non-Terrorist Sites): Dozens of ISAF, AFG Troops Alleged Killed, Woiunded in Kandahar, Uruzgan

12 Oct 10

Canada to GTFO UAE Base: CAN DefMin, CDS Drops By AFG.... - ....But Take the Long Way Home - Canadian Press - Postmedia News - Globe & Mail - AFP - Associated Press - Wall Street Journal - BBC - UPI

"Tangled Tale of American" Spotted in Kandahar Province

"ISAF looks into civilian casualties following failed insurgent attack"

Talkin' to the Taliban: NGO report on reintegration & reconciliation calls assumptions behind strategy "flawed" (PDF)

Taliban Propaganda Watch (Links Only to Non-Terrorist Sites): Taliban Alleges ISAF Friendly Fire in Kandahar

11 Oct 10

More on Upgraded CAN Leopard 2's Headed Downrange

More on Canada Losing Use of UAE Support Base - More - CAN-UAE Relations to Suffer? - More - UAE Statement: Original in Arabic - Google Translation

Opinion: "Afghans’ unbreakable spirit: How three little girls gave one reporter an unforgettable life lesson" - "Cpl. Lewis is angry about a WikiLeaks report, based on ambiguous U.S. documents, that alleged the casualties of Sept. 3, 2006, were caused by friendly fire. "I was there," he told us. "I know these people died from the enemy." We can’t imagine a more credible source."

Talkin' to the Taliban: Karzai Confirms They've Been Talking for a While - More - more - PAK Taking Part in Kabul Peace Talks, Too

Taliban Propaganda Watch (Links Only to Non-Terrorist Sites): Attacks Alleged in Kandahar, Uruzgan & Zabul

"Pakistan Customs has launched a probe into disappearance of 500 oil tankers and containers carrying supplies for Nato troops in Afghanistan."

10 Oct 10

"Senior military officials in the restive southern province of Kandahar have been expressing a confidence of late that has some daring to outline what an end-game with the Taliban might look like."

AFG Pres Calls for Removal of Security Belt Around Kandahar City - Calls on Taliban to Lay Down Arms

Suspected Bad Boys Nabbed in Zabul

Taliban Propaganda Watch (Links Only to Non-Terrorist Sites): Attacks Alleged in Kandahar, Zabul

9 Oct 10

Manufacturer: First Batch of Upgraded Canadian Leopard Tanks Headed to AFG - New Grenade Launcher, Too? - CASW Announcement (via Army.ca)

Canadians Start Packing Up UAE Support Base

"Assignment Kandahar: Afghanistan’s ﬁery, fragile future"