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CANinKandaharOct2009

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Archived News

 

October 2009

 

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31 Oct 09

 

Steven Marshall, R.I.P.:  Sapper Killed in IED Blast During Panjwai Foot Patrol - CF Statement - More - more - more - more - more - Milnet.ca Condolences Thread

 

Justin Boyes, R.I.P.:   Arriving in Canada Saturday Afternoon

 

Election, Round 2:  CNN Says Run-off May be Called Off as Candidates May Boycott? - More

 

Blog Watch:  The Torch's Part 1 of 3 on What's Needed in AFG

 

CAN's Senior Representative in K'Har:  "Surgical counter-terrorism approach that neglects nation building is less likely to succeed"

 

Brit Injury Rates Reportedly Up from Last Year - American Ones, Too - AUS, AFG Troops Build New Patrol Base In Mirabad Valley - Three AFG Cops Injured in Blast in K'har

 

More on Bribing "Moderate" Taliban to Switch Sides - Taliban Deputy Dog Says They Can't Be Bought (and There's No Such Thing as Moderate Taliban)

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):   Statement Alleges Canadian Tank Destroyed, All Aboard Killed in Panjwai IED Blast - Haiku Summary of Latest Taliban Run-off Election Statement - AQ Expert Says Fighting Won't be Affected Even if AQ, Taliban Don't See Eye to Eye

 

 

30 Oct 09

Justin Boyes, R.I.P.:  On His Way Home - Phones 3-year-old Son Before Final Patrol - More - SK Legislature Pays Tribute - "The widow of the latest Canadian soldier to die in Kandahar put aside her grief for a few minutes to pay tribute to her husband and to share his concern that Canadians are losing support for the mission in Afghanistan"

 

One CAN Medal of Military Valour Winner's Story - One CAN Mentor's Story - What's Happening on the Dahla Dam Project - End of Ramadan Celebrations at K'Har PRT

 

CAN Vendor (Urgently) Sought to Install Anti-IED System for Testing

 

"Simple" US Mission to Support AFG Troops, CAN Mentors Turns Deadly - The Folks Who Rescue the Wounded

 

Election, Round 2:  UN Security Council Pissed with Attack on UN, Election Workers - "A decision to have more voting centers angers Western officials who had sought reduce the number from the first round in August, in hopes of curbing fraud." - More - Taliban Promises to Do More Killing - "U.N. Reassessing Security After Kabul Assault" - UN SecGen Asks Member States to Help with Security - More

 

Blog Watch:  The Torch on the Mission Messaging Mambo - "More on Nabbed Pro-Taliban Web Mistress" - American Writers Mention Vandoo Officer Returning to AFG with One Leg - How Transparent will CAN Committee Hearings on Detainees Be?

 

Opinion:  "For Canadian civilians the concepts of honour, duty and sacrifice act as a shield keeping people from recognizing that active duty, reserve and retired soldiers are also casualties of war. For the anti-war community, it’s a hatred of the whole military complex that clouds the eye. Either way, it’s the dead and walking wounded who suffer." - "It is not enough for (the Afghan government) to merely finger-point at coalition missteps, but rather they must demonstrate that they have the resolve to deal firmly with governments in Islamabad and Tehran and insurgents here at home, while establishing a skilled, transparent and corruption-free government. Until these challenges can be met, every half-baked theory .... will be met with nods of belief, rather than the sceptical derision they deserve." - "Afghans luuuuurve their conspiracy theories."

 

Joint IED Defeat Organization Boss: "IED attacks in Afghanistan have gone up along with the rising troop levels and likely will continue to increase if more U.S. forces are sent there"

 

Suspected Bad Boys Nabbed in Helmand

 

AUS Troops Mourn Loss of Bomb Poochie in Vehicle Accident

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):   Taliban Higher-Up Says "Been There, Done That" with Trying to Bribe Taliban to Switch Sides - Attacks Alleged in Uruzgan, Helmand

 

USA Sec of State Pressing PAK on "Where's Osama?"

 

29 Oct 09

Justin Boyes, R.I.P.:  Governor-General's Message - Prime Minister's Message - Minister of National Defence's Message - The Canadian Press - CanWest - More - Globe & Mail - More - CTV.ca - Agence France-Presse - Milnet.ca Condolences Thread

 

ISAF Top General Reportedly Asks CAN General, Staff "to be brutally realistic" when thinking about ways to best prepare for an eventual handoff of security to Afghan forces"

 

Blog Watch:  NDHQ Insider Says DND Has to "Self-Finance" Extra AFG Costs?

 

CAN DefMin: "Canada is waiting for an election decision in Afghanistan and a U.S. strategy review before setting a course for a post-2011 mission in the country." - More - MILNEWS.ca Blog's Take

 

CAN Pissed at Taliban Attack on UN Staff, Election Observers in Kabul - More - White House Pissed - Amnesty Int'l:  "attacks targeting civilians constitute war crimes" - MILNEWS.ca Blog:  Taliban Claim of Responsibility for Kabul Attack=Evidence of War Crime?

 

Best IED Spotters:  Hunters from the Country, or Folks from the 'Hood

 

RUS Company Official: "We are prepared on commercial terms to provide the NATO coalition forces with helicopters of different types''

 

BBC: "An independent review into a fatal 2006 Nimrod crash, which killed 14 service personnel, has accused the MoD of sacrificing safety to cut costs." - UK Secretary of Defence Apologizes - "The Nimrod Review: an independent review into the broader issues surrounding the loss of the RAF Nimrod MR2 aircraft XV230 in Afghanistan in 2006 report" - "Board of Inquiry Into The Accident Involving Nimrod MR2 XV230" Page

 

CAN Detainee Handling Fracas:  "A special House of Commons committee will conduct a wide-ranging investigation into the handling of Afghan prisoners" - More

 

Elders Beheaded in Zabul Province - More Details

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):   ~50 Claimed Killed, 9 Tanks Destroyed Across RC South - More Attacks Claimed in Helmand, Uruzgan

 

"U.S. Quietly Speeds Aid for Pakistani Drives on Taliban"

 

 

28 Oct 09

Justin Boyes, R.I.P.:  CF Officer Killed by Blast During Panjwai Foot Patrol - Militaire canadien décédé, deux autres blessés lors d'une attaque à l’EEI

 

CF: "Show Support By Writing To The Troops - But No Packages, Please" - The Torch on Other Ways to Support the Troops

 

UK Stats Report:  More Canadians Dying at Higher Rate (as Proportion of Troops Deployed) than Other Partners - Report (PDF) - Speaking of Stats, Associated Press Flogging Troop:(Alleged) Taliban Ratio to Death

 

CanWest Embed Heads Home

 

BBC: "The US military in Afghanistan is to be allowed to pay Taliban fighters who renounce violence against the government in Kabul."

 

Blog Watch:  "War Poetry, Scottish and Canadian"

 

NY Times:  President's Brother on CIA Payroll for Raising, Running Militia?   - More - Prez's Brother Denies Claim

 

CAN Detainee Handling Fracas:  PM Denies Request for Interview Lists before Reimbursement of Legal Fees "Retribution" Against Testifying Diplomat

 

"Eight U.S. troops and an Afghan civilian working with NATO forces were killed (Wednesday) in multiple “complex” bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan" - More

 

Election, Round 2:  "Media Commission gears up for run-off election"

 

"A survey of more than 50 (British) servicemen who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan concluded that the 5.56mm calibre rounds used by British soldiers 'tailed off' after 300 metres yet half of all Helmand firefights are fought between 300 and 900 metres."

 

"Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team Breaks Ground on Girl's High School in Shajoy"

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):   Heavy Fighting Alleged in, around Babaji; 16 alleged killed, 4 vehicles destroyed in Zabul

 

UN Special Rapporteur Questions Legal Basis for UAV Strikes into PAK - More - MILNEWS.ca Blog:  When is Special Rapporteur Going to Look Into Taliban's Assassinations?

 

27 Oct 09

 

CAN Helping Fight the Fertilizer Threat

 

CAN Detainee Handling Fracas:  Hillier Says He Discussed Potential of AFG Abuse with Minister in 2006 - CAN Won't Pay for Testifying Diplomat's Lawyer Until List of Prep Interviewees Released - More

 

14 Americans, Including DEA Agents, Reported Killed in Helicopter Crashes in South, West AFG

 

Election, Round 2:  "Afghan president Hamid Karzai rejected on Monday a demand from his rival in a presidential run-off to sack the country's top election official" - Security Think Tank:  "A flawed second round will hand Taliban insurgents a significant strategic victory and erode public confidence in the electoral process and the international commitment to the country’s democratic institutions."

 

"A combined force killed a dozen enemy militants in Kandahar province in an operation to interdict a Taliban commander and his unit believed to be responsible for attacks in the Arghandab district west of Kandahar City" - Homicide Attacks in Nimruz Funded by Iran?

 

Brit Injured in 15 Sept 09 IED Blast Dies of Wounds in UK - 3 SCOTS Troops Help Keep Taliban Away While Damaged Chinook Airlifted out of 13 Sept 09 Accident Site in Sangin - Scottish Soldier Publishes Poetry

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):  Taliban STILL Unhappy with United NationsAFG Police Chief and 24 Others Alleged Killed in Attacks in K'Har, Helmand and Zabul - More on "Chinooks Airlifting Taliban into North" Rumours

 

Remember the Kidnapped CAN Jihad Unspun Site Webmistress?

 

 

26 Oct 09 

"Changing IED technology makes training 1st stop for new Canadian troops"

 

What's on the Troops' IPods

 

"Support for Canada's military mission in Afghanistan has dropped below 50%, a new survey suggests, marking a significant decline over the past three years."

 

Two Helicopter Incidents = 14 Fallen Americans - Two Choppers Collided in South

 

Election, Round 2:  Both Sides Say No Power-sharing Deal in the Works - "Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah has demanded the chief of the country's election commission be sacked ahead of a run-off poll next month."

 

"Candidates for the provincial council election in Kandahar call on the electoral commission to unveil the poll result"

 

Taliban (Still) Using Child Soldiers - More from MILNEWS.ca Blog

 

Talkin' to the Taliban:  CAN Def Min Quoted by Turkish Media saying “Some kind of reconciliation is something we obviously encourage and support (but) any direct interaction with the Taliban is the role of the Afghan government"

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):   Attacks Alleged in K'Har, Helmand and Uruzgan - Taliban Threatening Violence During Run-off Election - Riots Condemn Alleged Burning of Koran in Wardak .... - .... while NATO Denies Incident

 

25 Oct 09

 

CAN Detainee Handling Fracas:  Fracas Mentioned in Weekly NATO Summary (PDF, pg. 4)

 

Remember Kidnapped Web Site Owner Beverley Giesbrecht?

 

Blog Watch:  AQ & Taliban:  partnership, or "friends with benefits"?

 

NATO Looking Into K'Har City Shooting of Car Not Stopping - NATO Apologizes, Too - More

 

DNK Soldier Killed on Foot Patrol in Helmand

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):  Taliban Alleges Americans Kill Civilians in Helmand Air Strike - All Kinds of Brits Allegedly Killed in Helmand

 

24 Oct 09 

New CAN Training & Mentoring Team Boss

 

Kandahar PRT Engineers Trying to Green the Place Up - "Maternal Waiting Home programme aims to save the lives of mothers and newborns in Afghanistan"

 

"Kandahar spy blimp raises privacy concerns"

 

Election, Round 2:  "Canadian election official gears up for Afghan runoff " - "Afghans tepid to presidential runoff vote" - Opinion: "Insist that your supporters, at every level, not cheat. It's not rocket science."

 

Canada's Post-2011 Mission Messaging Mambo ©:   "Canadians need to figure out what role they want to play in Afghanistan after the troops leave, and they need to think about it now."

 

NATO Ministers Back Plan for More Troops (But Won't Commit to Providing Them) - More - NATO Statement

 

Former CDS's Book:  Where's the "Strategic Communications" from CAN's AFG Task Force?

 

Latest UK Fallen Identified - "The British military has lost more than an entire infantry battalion in dead and injured during its bitter summer campaign in Afghanistan" - Bad Guys Killed, Nabbed in Helmand - UK Scots Helped Keep Taliban Away while Chinook Wreckage Retrieved - More - more - Brits Overflowing with Santa Suits Mailed to the Troops

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):  They're Baaaaaaaaack..... - Taliban Allege Civilian Casualties in Helmand Air Strike - More on Taliban Call for (Another) Boycott

 

Opinion:  "Even if our goals in Afghanistan are as narrow as we can afford to make them – self-defence against future terrorist attacks – I believe (Canada's) engagement in the country needs to be comprehensive and involve targeted counter-terrorist operations, a broader counter-insurgency, and nation-building."

 

23 Oct 09

Canada's Post-2011 Mission Messaging Mambo ©:   Survey Says More Canadians Polled Support than Reject Civilian Mission - Harris-Decima Poll News Release (PDF) - Hillier:  No Way to Get Away from Combat Post-2011 - More - more - Columnist Says Hillier's New Book=End of Mission

 

Conference of Defence Associations: "Canadian troops have finally "passed the tipping point on the road to success" in Kandahar"

 

Election, Round 2:  UN Says Preparations In Full Swing - U.S. forces step up attacks as Afghan runoff looms - Anti-IED Eye in the Sky in Use - Authorities Say Fraud Shouldn't Be Repeated (But Won't be Zero, Either)

 

CAN Detainee Handling Fracas:  Former CDS Quoted Saying "I don't recall reading that report. I really don't recall it and I've wracked my brain on that one."

 

Former CDS's Book:  CAN Came Close to Having Ambassador in Kabul, Not Military, Run War

UK Army Boss Quoted Saying Five More Years Fighting Ahead for Brits

 

"A Taliban militant and one police constable were killed in Taliban birthplace Kandahar in south Afghanistan as a mine went off prematurely"

 

"In Helmand, a model for success?"

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):  Attacks Alleged in K'Har, Helmand and Zabul

 

22 Oct 09 

Election, Round 2:  "Security concerns mount in Kandahar as preparations begin for runoff vote" - UN Starting to Distribute Ballots - Karzai Rival Agrees to Run-Off - K'Har Elders OK with Second Round Vote - Another CAN Minister Supports Run-Off - "Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada is accusing the media of "unwarranted pessimism" about his country's planned run-off election" - "Logistical Trainwreck", Obstacles and Complications Expected - Can It Even Be Done? - +200 Election Officials Canned

 

CAN Chief of Land Staff:  "Afghanistan is hard. Everything is really hard and things are not getting any easier .... It could be a lot worse ... I still think there's cause for hope."

 

More AFG Valour, Service to be Honoured by G-G

 

"Fighting an insurgency: you are only as good as your interpreter"

 

Canada's Post-2011 Mission Messaging Mambo ©:  CAN Def Analyst Says “Describing the training of the Afghan army outside the wire as a noncombat mission is, in my view, a nonstarter.”

 

Former CDS's Book:  CAN "Shunned" by European Countries When ISAF First Set Up

 

Blog Watch:  How Do You Deal with Religion Under COIN Doctrine?

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):  Governor of Registan District Reportedly Defects to Taliban

 

UN Anti-Crime Chief:  AFG Drugs a Global Problem

 

21 Oct 09

 

CAN Detainee Handling Fracas:  Hillier Says He Kept Prime Minister's Office in the Loop on Issue - Funny How Some are Blaming Former CDS as He's Flogging a New Book - "Bloc shoots down probe of Afghan prison torture" 

 

Fundraising for One of Canada's War Wounded Mentioned in House of Commons

 

One K'Har Hospital Nurse's Story

 

Post-Election Fracas:  Last Election Results Invalidated (PDF) - So Run-Off Election Coming 7 Nov 09 - Karzai Good with Run-Off - Calls on World to Help Secure Things - UN SecGen Pleased - UN'll Do What it Can to Keep Things Going Smoothly - More - Not Going to be Easy - CAN PM: "We are pleased that both candidates recognized the need for a run-off election in the best interests of Afghan democracy." - More - Registan.net:  "May the Best Cheater Win"

 

MILNEWS.ca Blog:  No, Canada DOESN'T Need a Special Envoy - The Torch:  USA Special Envoy to Take On Canadian Sidekick?

 

Next USA Units Headed Downrange - More

 

AUS Looking for Quickest Way Out - More - AUS Troops Find Weapon Caches in Uruzgan - AFG Soldier Killed in IED Blast While on Patrol with AUS Troops - AUS Soldier Not Hearing Right After Blast - Former OMLT-eer:  Why Don't We Hear About AFG Deaths? - AFG National Injured by AUS Vehicle

 

Zabul Residents Pissed at Lack of Health Facilities

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):  "(Alleged) Attack on patrol of Canadian invaders in Panjwai, Kandahar"

 

US Int Reportedly Worried about Taliban, AQ Working at Getting NATO Troops Hooked on Drugs - More

 

20 Oct 09

"There will be no stilling of Canadian guns in Afghanistan, even as Canada urges all nations in the world to observe an Olympic truce while the 2010 Winter Olympic Games go on."

 

DefMin: "Sacrifice Medal to honour all Canadian dead in Afghanistan" - CF Statement on New Rules

 

CAN Detainee Handling Fracas:  "Defence Minister Peter MacKay says he intends to find out why reports warning of the possible torture of Afghan prisoners early in the Kandahar mission never made it to his desk." - More - Someone Claiming Top Military Bosses Knew of Memos Highlighting Abuse

 

New Book:  Former CDS Says He Pressed to Keep CAN Troops in Kabul

 

Post-Election Fracas:  Karzai JUST Under 50 Per Cent Vote Count - More - UN Statement - More - UN SecGen Urges Karzai to Go With the Results - Karzai to Respond Shortly - More

 

Blog Watch:  Point:  "The Taliban-Al Qaeda merger" - Counterpoint:  Co-operation =/= Merger - Former OMLT-eer on Bribing the Tribe... - ....and on What Needs to be Done

 

AUS Gunners Helping Brits in Helmand

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):  "Canadian Invader Tank (Allegedly) Blown Up in Kandahar" - Canada One of Eleven Countries Accused in Open Letter of Abusing AFG Prisoners

 

AFG Taliban Give PAK Taliban a Hand - Meanwhile, PAK Taliban Has Hand Out

 

19 Oct 09 

Outgoing CAN Hospital Boss:  "The best team I have ever led"

 

"Kandahar's infamous Sarposa prison gets a badly needed upgrade"

The Fallen Memorialized in Fredericton

 

CAN Def Min: "Until the election issue is resolved, we're dealing a bit in a vacuum" - More

 

Post-Election Fracas:  "US Pushes Karzai to Power-Sharing Deal: MPs" - "Karzai May Reject Recount Results" - "Independent Electoral Commission accused of trying to hold up results expected to reduce Hamid Karzai's votes" - "The White House has said that it will take no decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan until it determines the new government is a "true partner"." - Editorial:  "Having already endured a post-election crisis, both sides know they can ill afford another round of rampant electoral manipulation."

 

Blog Watch:  "My gut feeling is that by the spring we'll see Karzai as Prez, and about 30,000 more American troops heading for Afghan soil." - Taliban Recruiting, Placement Fragmented? Translation Call Centres for AFG?

 

Brit SF Trooper Investigated for Threatening Taliban Prisoner During Interrogation - AUS Troops Seize Weapons Cache in Uruzgan

 

Taliban Money Machine Complex, Diversified - Taking Cut of Aid in Some Parts of AFG

 

NATO's Ministers to Discuss AFG Mission this Week

 

AFG Gov't Welcomes Latest Push Against PAK Taliban - PAK Cranks Up Border Area Push - More - Will AQ HQ Move to AFG Because of Pressure, or Not?

 

 

18 Oct 09 

Helping Canada's War Wounded - Helping Families Resume Life After Deployment

 

Blog Watch:  How Much of TF Afghanistan Commander's Interview Made it into Other Stories?  Not much

 

"NATO chiefs back reinforcements, more resources for Afghanistan"

 

Post-Election Fracas:  "Diplomatic wrangling delays results of Afghan election inquiry" - "Allies Press Karzai to Accept Election Audit Results" - More - "France to Afghan rivals: Accept election results"

 

US Soldier's Blog Posts from Helmand and Nimroz

 

"Zabul Prison Increases Security"

 

IRN Media Claim Brit Chinooks Airlifting Taliban from Southern to Northern AFG - AFG Pres Looking Into It

 

Talkin' to the Taliban:  "Taliban's Afghan allies tell Barack Obama: 'Cut us a deal and we'll ditch al-Qaeda' " - All Things Counter Terrorism Blog's Take on the Offer

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):  Taliban's Web Pages Down for Now

 

Opinion:  "Mullah Omar and Taliban militia, have fixed the 2010 summer deadline for a complete takeover of the war-torn country. But defeating US-NATO-ISAF-ANA (Afghan National Army) is easier said than done. It is beyond Taliban capacity." - November 2008 Opinion Piece Re-Shared via PAK Military Forum - More from All Things Counter Terrorism Blog

 

17 Oct 09 

Canada Denies "Bribing the Tribes" - MILNEWS.ca Blog:  Taliban Propaganda?

 

Wounded CF Medic Spends First Day of Retirement "candidly reminiscing about his experiences in Afghanistan"

 

CAN Detainee Handling Fracas:  CDS Wants To Know What Happened to Reports Diplomat Said he Sent Up the Line about Afghan Abuse of Detainees - "A diplomat who contends that he warned Ottawa about alleged prisoner torture in Afghanistan will now be allowed to testify in front of a military commission." - MILNEWS.ca Blog:  Read the Quotes Carefully

 

"Canadian soldiers pull out the stops for unofficial monkey mascot"

 

Post-Election Fracas:  "White House Sees Victory for Karzai in a Runoff " - AFG Bracing for Runoff

 

"Task Force 2-1 Finds Major Drug Cache in Southern Afghanistan" - USA Troops Work on Helmand School

 

Civilian Killed in DNK-Taliban Firefight in Helmand - Danish Defence Force statement in Danish - GoogleEnglish translation - More - UK Names Extra Units Headed Downrange

 

NATO Military Commission Drops By

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):  Nine Americans Claimed Killed or Wounded in Helmand

 

Opinion:  "We’re fighting for a backward culture that does not accept all of our ideas about human rights — against an even worse subculture that not only has the most attenuated notions of human rights conceivable, but is a standing threat to the peace of the whole world. In such an environment, it is inevitable that Canadian soldiers will be complicit, if only indirectly, in procedures that do not meet our own rarefied due-process standards."

 

Think Tank Wargames All of USA's Options in AFG

]

PAK Pushing on Taliban - Pentagon Keeping an Eye on PAK

 

16 Oct 09

CEFCOM Spokesperson:  "I haven't heard of any type of payment that would be done by our troops in order to remain protected .... With the number of casualties we've been getting, had we paid these guys they wouldn't be holding up their end of their bargain." - Here's What Led to the Question - More

 

RC-South Commander:  We Could Use Another 10-15K Troops - More

 

Embed Reporter Reads the Mood of the Troops (In Part) Through Graffiti

 

Post-Election Fracas:  AFG Envoy to USA Figures Run Off Coming

 

CAN Ministers on Reports of Afghan Detainee Problems Defence Minister Quoted Saying "I have not seen those reports in either my capacity as minister of National Defence or previously as minister of Foreign Affairs" - More - Former Defence Minister Quoted Saying "I was never made aware of any allegations of prisoner abuse, period .... Nobody came to me and said 'Minister, there are prisoners being mistreated.' Nobody." - Liberals and NDP Call for More Open Scrutiny of Issue

 

Even Business-owning Daughter of Kandahar's Mayor is Looking at Leaving - "Helmand Governor Muhammad Gulab Mangal has once again called for resurgent Taliban guerrillas to renounce their insurgency and join the government in rebuilding the war-devastated country."

 

Blog Watch:  ISAF Streamlining Media Materials? - Compare Civilian Casualty Approaches between NATO, Taliban

 

Talkin' to the Taliban:  Freelance Journalist Suggests Taliban May Guarantee Keeping AQ Out of Afghanistan?

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web page):  Attacks Alleged in Kandahar, Uruzgan, Zabul and Nimroz - More Reasons Why Taliban Wants Us to Think They're Not an International Threat - Taliban Statement Bashing Latest UN Resolution Now Available in Official English

 

 

15 Oct 09 

"Afghan's model village will work as long as Canadian forces stay put"

 

Canada's Post-2011 "Mission Messaging Mambo" ©:  Prime Minister Tells Global TV "We are very much planning to have the military mission end in 2011 .... The plan is to move to a civilian, development, humanitarian mission." - More - more - Here's a Question Nobody Seems to be Asking - Another Blogger Underwhelmed With Latest

 

CAN TF Boss Speaks to CBC Television (.mp3) - French Wire Service Focuses on Most Dire Adjectives from 20 Minute Interview

 

CAN Development Agency Wants to Expand Swap-Poppies-for-Wheat Program

 

"Ottawa was warned of possible Afghan torture" - More - more - more - more - "A University of Ottawa law professor is taking the federal government to court over its refusal to release photographs of detainees held by Canadian Forces in Afghanistan."

 

Why is USA Putting Minimal Resources into Successful Counter-IED Program? - More

 

It's Official:  UK Sending Mo' Troops - UK Parliament Hears Stats on Number of Firefights in Helmand - UK Government Report on "Support to High Intensity Operations" - Brits Help Open New Helmand Jail - AUS Special Forces Help Press in Oruzgan

Zabul Bad Boy Boss Nailed at Checkpoint

 

Video:  RAF Pilot Avoids Civvy Cas by Steering Bomb Away into Desert - Meanwhile, Here's What the Taliban is Doing to Win Hearts & Minds

 

Talkin' to the Taliban:  Getting Harder to Talk to Taliban?

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  American Helicopter Allegedly Shot Down in Kandahar - BBC's Version of Events - Taliban Anti-air Threat Bibliography

 

Opinion:  "The root cause of the NATO mission is not development: It is to eliminate al-Qaeda and neutralize the Taliban .... If small development projects do not soon deliver improved security, then Canada has neglected the reason for being there in the first place." - "By continuing to carry out (Quick Impact Projects) across the country, the militaries are keeping Afghan institutions from learning how to make plans, manage funds and projects, and be accountable to their people."

 

 

14 Oct 09

Next JTF Afghanistan HQ Heading Downrange - Meanwhile, Some National Support Element Folks Returning CAN Hands Over Command of Role 3 Hospital to USA - More

 

Fundraising Continues for Sudbury War Wounded Soldier

 

UK Reportedly Sending 500 More Troops Downrange BBC - The Telegraph - Agence France-Presse - Wall Street Journal

 

Post-Election Fracas:  Pashtun Tribal Leaders Say They Won't Risk Lives to Vote in Run-off

 

Blog Watch:  Another Possible Reason for "Mission Messaging Mambo" © - Too Much Faith in International Organizations & Non-governmental Organizations to Get Things Done? - Anti-War Blogger Doesn't Believe Soldier's Description of How Afghans Treat Him Because the Afghans are Just Humouring Him?

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  19 Canadian Troops Alleged Killed, Wounded in Dand District Bombing - Five Canadians Allegedly Killed in Spin Boldak Blast - Taliban Not Happy at UN Security Council Resolution Extending NATO/ISAF Mandate

 

Opinion:  "If the U.S. President truly commits to the war in Afghanistan, a majority government in Canada will stand beside him." - "Our soldiers deserve the thanks of every Canadian. What we owe them now, is clarity about the future of their mission." - "Start putting together an alliance of non-Pashtun warlords who can make a deal with the Taliban on the division of power in Afghanistan" - The Socialist Worker Pipes Up - "Surely at some point, we have to recognize that negotiating peace instead of making war is what's truly heroic."

 

13 Oct 09 

CAN Chief of Land Staff Quoted Saying "his force would be ready to continue with the mission if ordered to do so by the government in Ottawa"

 

"Improvements to Afghan police measured in baby steps"

 

Some Troops Coming Home

 

PM Statement:  "While you relax and celebrate this Thanksgiving weekend, I would ask that you remember and be thankful for the bravery and sacrifices of our men and women serving in Afghanistan." - « En ces temps de repos et de célébration de l’Action de grâces, je fais appel à vous pour avoir une pensée pour les hommes et les femmes qui servent en Afghanistan et pour les remercier de leur bravoure et de leurs sacrifices. »

 

Blog Watch:  "Canadian politicians are feverishly avoiding as many details as they can. Vagueness means votes--or so their demented thinking goes."

 

Post-Election Fracas:  Afghan Member of Election Watchdog Team Over Fracas - More - more - "Final results in disputed Afghan election expected within days"

 

AUS, AFG Troops Wounded in Uruzgan Blast - More Details on AUS Shooting of Motorcyclist Not Stopping When Ordered - Joint Coalition Op in Helmand

 

USA Treasury Official Says Taliban Better Funded than AQ - More - Treasury Official's Speech - Counter Terrorism Blogger:  But Does This Mean AQ Can't Do as Much?

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  Taliban Alleges Killing of High Ranking Security Official in Kandahar City - Taliban's (New?) YouTube Channel

 

More on USA Keeping Closer Eye on Taliban Base in PAK

 

 

12 Oct 09

PM Calls on Canadians to Remember the Troops this Thanksgiving - Defence Minister Says Same - Peter MacKay: « J’aimerais profiter de l’occasion pour souhaiter une joyeuse Action de grâces à toute la communauté de la Défense. »

 

CAN Chinook Boss Pleased with Unit's Progress

 

Padre on What the Troops Say: "The Afghans take all kinds of humanitarian aid, but they don't really help us find the Taliban. They never give anything back."

 

Canada's Post-2011 "Mission Messaging Mambo" ©:  "What is it with governments these days that they fear being direct with constituents? Holy smokes ... do these people in Ottawa actually believe that we don't get this?"

 

Opinion:  "As Taliban grabs new territory, Afghan outlook grows bleak" - "Given that the Afghans have a hard earned historical reputation as fierce warriors and they have a tremendous pride in their tribal heritage, why does the international community continue to emasculate the Afghan National Army by insisting they wear western-style uniforms and headgear?"

 

"A Dogged Taliban Chief Rebounds, Vexing U.S."

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  Attacks Alleged in K'Har, Helmand and Uruzgan - Taliban Media Machine Wants Media to Confirm Propaganda is Genuine

 

Post-Election Fracas:  "A number of Afghan MPs in a letter to the UN Secretary General ensure UN Special Envoy’s neutrality on Afghan poll"

 

11 Oct 09 

Canada's Post-2011 "Mission Messaging Mambo" ©:  An Alternative Read of Why the Messages are Mixed - Media Starts to Read Tea Leaves about Post-2011 Mission - More - Lack of Consistent Messaging Gives Anti-War Groups Room to Counter-message - Some Media Raise Worries about Backfilling Troops?

 

K'Har Residents Concerned About CAN Surveillance Balloon?

 

Post-Election Fracas:  A Week Away from "Final" Result - Head of UN Mission in AFG Quoted Saying "there was widespread fraud"

 

Fallen UK Coldstream Guard Identified - AUS Soldier Wounded in Uruzgan Firefight - Brits Nab Taliban Boss in Helmand - Joint AFG-NLD-AUS-USA Op in Uruzgan

 

UK to Allow Al Jazeera to Embed

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  Attacks Alleged in K'Har, Helmand - Want to Read the Taliban's Constitution?  How's Your Arabic?

 

Mullah Omar On the Rebound? - AFG DefMin:  Loadsa Foreigners Boosting Taliban

 

 

10 Oct 09 

Canada's Post-2011 "Mission Messaging Mambo" ©:  PM's Spokesperson:  Post-2011, CAN Troops to Train, But Not Mentor, AFG Security Forces - MILNEWS.ca Blog:  Will Taliban Take Advantage via Messaging? - More - PM says "Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan will end in 2011 .... And we will not be extending the military mission" after Foreign Affairs Minister Says "The military combat mission will end in 2011."

 

Nichola Goddard, 1980-2006, R.I.P.:  Living On through Various Memorial Projects

 

"The number of former Canadian soldiers receiving disability pensions for psychiatric stress injuries is now more than five times what it was when troops first arrived in Afghanistan"

 

Long War Journal: "al Qaeda does play a noteworthy role in the Afghan insurgency"

 

Post-Election Fracas:  "U.S. offers support for U.N. envoy in Afghanistan"

 

Coldstream Guard Killed in Helmand Blast - Brit Marines Break Up Drug Op with USA Chopper Help - New Commander of Brit Forces Takes Over in Helmand

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  Five Canadians Alleged Killed in Arghandab, 100 Americans Alleged Killed in Helmand - Afghan Helicopter Allegedly Shot Down by Rocket in Nimroz - Open Source Information on Taliban Anti-air Threat - (Alleged) Taliban Stats for Aug-Sept 2009 (English and Arabic PDF at scribd.com)

 

9 Oct 09 

More Edmonton-based Troops Head Downrange

 

Must-Read Vignette of CAN Troops Training, Mentoring AFG Troops

 

CAN, US Troops Partner with AFG Forces in Operation to Secure Zhari - More on CAN Counter-IED, PsyOp Troops Helping Brit Op

 

U.N. Security Council Unanimously Extends AFG Mission Mandate

 

CAN Politicians Say Post-2011 Mission to be Debated in Parliament - More - more - more - more - Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Tells House of Commons "The military combat mission will end in 2011."

 

CAN Pissed at Latest Taliban Suicide Attack in Kabul

 

Canadian Experts Sharing Information at AFG-PAK COIN Workshop Later in October

 

"Federal Liberals are asking the House of Commons defence committee to open its own wide-ranging investigation into the transfer and possible torture of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan."

 

Latest Brit Fallen Identified

 

Post-Election Fracas:   More on UN Saying "We Didn't Suppress Information" - More

 

Blog Watch:  Will Afghans be OK with Russians Training, Equipping Them (Again)?

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  Attacks Alleged in Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan

 

Warlord Gulbadin Hekmatyar to USA, NATO: "You will not win this war by increasing the numbers of the Afghan army. This army and police will disintegrate following your withdrawal and their weapons will reach the hands of your opponents. You will not achieve any objective as a result of your troops reinforcement ...."

 

Opinion:  "From Insurgency To Insurrection"

 

 

8 Oct 09 

CAN BG Commander: "Canadian troops are getting dramatically better intelligence from villagers now than they were before the summer, and they're getting more of it"

 

Next CAN TF Commander All Briefed Up By Americans at Naval Postgraduate School

 

More About Challenges of Training Afghan Troops - NATO Sec-Gen Suggests RUS Help Train, Equip AFG Forces

 

"Canada's planned 2011 military pullout from the Afghan war .... will significantly influence the debate among the United States and allies"

 

Panel Suspends Probe into AFG Detainee Treatment

 

Blog Watch:  Someone's FINALLY Talking About Canada's (Possible) Post-2011 Mission - You Have to Have AFG Troops to "Hold" as Part of the "Clear-Hold-Build" Approach

 

AFG CDS Dropping By Ottawa

 

How Do Reporters Get in Touch with Bad Guy Spokespersons? - MILNEWS.ca:  If It's THAT Easy...

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  Two Canadian "Tanks" Allegedly Destroyed in Kandahar Province - Lots of Attacks Against UK Troops Alleged, With Accusations of Destroying Shops in Helmand - Taliban Says They Don't Want to Hurt Europe in 7 Oct Anniversary Statement

 

U.N. Data Shows Vote Count Discrepancies - More - Canned U.N. Official Calls Election Big Taliban Victory - Some are Pissed - U.N. Defends Election Role - More - Denies Favourtism

 

USA Eyeing AQ More as New Target in AFG-PAK Fight

 

7 Oct 09

 

CAN TF Commander: "I am convinced that our greatest strategic asset is that smiling Canadian soldier who walks into an Afghan town and shakes hands with an elder and says, 'How can I help you?' "

 

Convoy Attacks a Growing Problem

 

One-Page Summaries of CAN's Progress in AFG (PDF):  Canada's Six Priority Projects - Kandahar Signature Projects

 

CAN Embed Joins US MPs on Patrol in K'Har City - Another Embed Highlights Her Read of K'Har Air Field Atmosphere

 

"Wall art in Taliban prison a chilling reminder of Afghanistan's cruel past "

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  Taliban Alleges "2 tanks of the Canadian invading Forces blown up Kandahar"

 

More Worries about Losing Kandahar? - "The Afghan National Police (ANP) in a cleanup operation on Monday found narcotics and weapons in Taliban strong-hold Helmand province of southern Afghanistan"

 

UK Grenadier Guard Killed in Nad Ali Explosion - Royal Scots Borderers Headed Downrange - Radio Garmsir on the Air in Helmand - Success in Garmsir?

 

Initial Leaks Indicate Voting Problems from Partial Recount - Accusations of Foreign Interference

 

Opinion:  "The question being debated in Washington and elsewhere, but not in Canada is therefore: Okay, what next?" - Cash as "A ‘weapons system’ based on wishful thinking" - "Despite years of failure, pundits still want to bribe Pashtuns" - "It’s not that the Taliban are winning, it’s that the government is losing, says an international aid expert" - "And if the debate is stuck on the strategic merits of counterinsurgency vs. counterterrorism vs. nation building, it could be that those labels are as outdated as "peacekeeping." "

 

AQ Presence Shrinking in AFG? - "Fighting Reinvigorated Taliban Needs Regional Plan"

 

Some USA Officials Leaning Toward Surgical Strikes on Bosses Rather than COIN in AFG?

 

6 Oct 09

 

More Edmonton-Based Troops Headed Downrange - More - Engineers Preparing to Go, Too

 

CAN Chinooks Help Keep Troops Safer

 

"Afghan translators who work for the military and other federal agencies at Camp Nathan Smith are divided about the prospect of fast-track immigration to Canada."

 

Retired CAN General:  Of COURSE You Need More Troops in AFG!

 

CAN Senator Highlights Help Available to the Wounded

 

More Issues With CAN Probe of Treatment of Detainees - Questions in House of Commons - More

 

Ten AFG Troops Killed in Helmand Attack - NLD Defends Helmand Air Strike - Helmand Residents Want Closed Schools Reopened

 

NATO Types Drop By (and Visit North, Not South)

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  Attacks Claimed in K'Har, Helmand & Zabul

 

(Partial) Recount Underway - More - Maybe Results Next Week - New Rules Favour Karzai?

 

USA Def Sec: Withdrawal from Afghanistan Would Embolden Radicals - More

 

5 Oct 09

 

Families of the Fallen Remember in AFG - More

 

The Wounded:  Cpl. Bill Kerr Walks on Pavement with CDS for First Time Since Injury - "Up to 1500 Greater Sudbury residents put aside their personal beliefs on the war in Afghanistan, and hiked Sunday, Oct. 4, for Cpl. Bill Kerr and his family." - Injured Reservist Continues to Recover

 

AFG General:  AFG Army Should be Good to Go by 2013

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  Attacks Alleged in Kandahar City, Helmand - Taliban Web Site Complains of NATO's Human Rights Violations

 

Opinion:  "Not much to cheer about in Kandahar these days"

 

4 Oct 09

"As the U.S. rethinks its strategy on Afghanistan, pressure is mounting on Canada to make a clear decision regarding the future of its hard-fought mission there."

 

UK Army Boss: "Britain was ready to send more troops to Afghanistan if called on to do so in the wake of the revised strategy which has been drawn up by Gen Stanley McChrystal"

 

"Efforts to Curb Helmand Opium Show Promise"

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  Lots of Attacks, Killings Alleged in Helmand

 

Bounced UN Official:  "The election was a foreseeable train wreck." - More Complaints About UN's Neutrality in Election Work

 

Blog Watch:  "Taxing International Aid to Help Afghan Gov’t?"

 

Opinion:  NY Times on "10 Steps to Victory in Afghanistan"

 

3 Oct 09

CAN Troops Fire on Motorcycle Trying to Break Into Shura Cordon - More - more - more - more - "Militaires canadiens ont tué par balle deux hommes qui roulaient à vive allure sur une motocyclette. Ils étaient postés dans la région de Panjwayi."

 

"Je ne savais pas trop comment écrire cet article sur la mission de notre détachement à Kandahar, attaché avec la Compagnie A du Groupement tactique du 2e Bataillon du Royal 22e Régiment (GT 2 R22eR) du mois avril à novembre 2009."

 

"Afghan war zone presents career 'highlight' for Canadian soldiers going home"

 

How CAN Chinooks are Making a Difference

 

Ronald Kevin Megeney, R.I.P.:  "Matthew Wilcox will likely be out on day parole even before an appeal is heard in his conviction in the death of a comrade in Afghanistan." - "The military has launched an investigation into the handling of firearms by a reserve unit sent to Afghanistan to handle security at the Canadian base in Kandahar."

 

"Two pages of logs showing that Canadian military police investigated whether Afghan prisoners risked torture are the latest point of dispute between the federal government and a public inquiry into Canada's handling of Afghan detainees."

 

K'Har Bad Boy Nabbed - YouTube video: "Afghan farmers find an alternative to growing poppies at a wheat distribution center in Helmand Province."

 

AUS Soldier Injured in Uruzgan - More - NLD Troops "Almost Certainly" GTFO'ing - US Marines Find MRAPS Not As Handy as Thought for COIN Fight?

 

USA National Defence University paper:  Special Ops Forces Causing Most Civvy Casualties, So Time to Retask Spec Ops as COIN Fighters, not Terrorist Boss Killers? (PDF)

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  Attacks Alleged in Helmand, Uruzgan & Zabul

 

"Several analysts and opposition figures in Afghanistan say the UN's decision to fire Peter Galbraith for urging a harder line on election fraud affirms popular fears that it is the international community calling the shots on who wins."

 

"Task force created to combat al Qaida in Afghan prisons"

 

Opinion:  "There's a political price to be paid for altering course on the long road home from Afghanistan" - " 'Afghanisers' pin their hopes on a bolstered national security force. First you need soldiers with patriotic, not ethnic loyalties"

 

2 Oct 09 

Jonathan Couturier, R.I.P.:  Laid to Rest

 

CAN TF Commander Joins AFG-CAN-USA Patrol

 

The Torch:  CAN Troops Support UK's Black Watch in Zhari District - More

 

"Canadian bomb experts mentor Afghan soldiers on safely dealing with IEDs"

 

"The Canadian Forces is investigating allegations of misuse of firearms that first surfaced in videos entered as evidence during the recent court martial of a young Nova Scotia soldier" - Cape Breton Post article - PDF  permalink to Cape Breton Post article

 

"A public hearing into what the Canadian army may have known about the alleged torture of Taliban prisoners in Kandahar, has been postponed" - More

 

CAN PM During Question Period:  "The military mission in Afghanistan will end in 2011." - CAN Foreign Affairs Mininster During Question Period:  "We are putting an end to our military combat mission by 2011"

 

"The U.S., Britain and other NATO countries are waiting for Canada to decide precisely what kind of role it can play in Afghanistan once the current mission ends in 2011, says a high-level diplomatic source." - Author/Blogger on What Canada Needs to Say to Afghanistan - Army.ca and MILNEWS.ca Blog on Deciding Next Steps - MILNEWS.ca Blog:   Any Training Mission Can Only be a "Combat" Mission

 

US Looking Into Possible Civilian Deaths in Nad Ali Bombing Run - More - more - NLD Says One of their Planes Did It

 

Brit RAF Soldier Killed in Helmand

 

Talkin' to the Taliban:  Author/Blogger Tells NDP Taliban Wants to Kill Them, Not Talk

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  Attacks Claimed Across K'Har, Helmand

 

McChrystal: "The war in Afghanistan can be won if forces there change the way they fight"

 

1 Oct 09

 

AFG Troops Leaving K'Har over Pay Dispute?

 

CAN Chief of Defence Staff:  "The influx of American troops into the Kandahar region over the past few months has enabled Canada to concentrate its efforts, both military and civilian, on a smaller area of responsibility. It has allowed Canadians and Afghans to stabilize a region of the province and establish the conditions necessary for development and governance, and it is yielding small, but important results."

 

DND Seeking Electronic Solution to CF Troops Talking to Afghans Without Interpreters

 

One of Canada's War Wounded "Overwhelmed" By Community Support - PDF version of story - homeforahero.ca

 

Ronald Kevin Megeney, R.I.P.:  Sentenced to Four Years - CF Statement - More - more - more - more - "Caporal Wilcox est condamné au terme de son procès devant la cour martiale"

 

Former-OMLT'eer Blogger on Dealing with Afghan Child Exploitation and the Possibility of a "Manley 2" Commission - Toronto Star Likes Idea of Manley 2, Too

 

Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Asks About Mission in Question Period - More - 18 Mar 08 Motion in House of Commons - Canada-Afghanistan Blog:  "Combat vs. Non-Combat" Mission

 

MILNEWS.ca Blog:  Who REALLY Needs Anger Management in AFG - Covering Development and Infrastructure Not Good Enough for Embed Reporter?

 

Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for Afghanistan Pissed at Taliban Bombing Buses in South

 

UK Looking Into Leaflet Drop that Killed Helmand Girl

 

Taliban Propaganda Watch (links to non-terrorist web page):  September 2009 Summary of Attacks on Canadian Troops Claimed by Taliban - Multiple Attacks Alleged Against UK Troops in Helmand

 

USA Says Taliban Bosses in PAK - Taliban Bad Boy Says Taliban Bosses are in AFG, Not PAK - Someone ELSE Saying Taliban Bosses Not in PAK



 

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