bobdina
11-09-2010, 01:43 PM
Canada to remain in Afghanistan past 2011
By ROB GILLIES
The Associated Press
Monday, November 8, 2010; 4:03 PM
TORONTO -- Canada will keep between 900 and 950 troops in Afghanistan in a noncombat training role after Canada's combat mission ends in 2011, a senior government official said Monday.
The official said that 750 military trainers and about 200 support troops will remain and most likely be based in Kabul. They would remain in Afghanistan until no later than 2014.
The official said NATO allies pressured Canada to remain in a combat role but said that is something Canada won't consider. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no authorization was given to speak publicly.
Parliament has mandated that the combat mission end in 2011.
Canada has about 3,000 troops in Afghanistan. More than 150 Canadian soldiers have been killed and more than 1,500 have been wounded since Canada first sent troops to support the U.S.-led invasion after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Canada has suffered the highest per capita casualty rate of any coalition member.
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The U.S. has been hoping for months that Canada would not pull its troops out of Afghanistan. U.S. Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, the commander of NATO's training mission, said earlier Monday that the NATO mission faced a critical shortage of 900 trainers. Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants his nation's police and army to take the lead in protecting and defending their homeland by 2014.
International support for the war is waning, yet Caldwell said he remained hopeful that NATO nations would pledge more trainers, possibly at a meeting of the alliance later this month in Portugal.
Canada had repeatedly insisted that its mission in Afghanistan would be a purely civilian operation after its troops pull out of volatile Kandahar province in 2011. However, Defense Minister Peter MacKay said Sunday that Canada was considering a U.S. request to keep troops in Afghanistan past 2011, but switch them from a combat to training role.
MacKay hosted a variety of foreign politicians, diplomats and military officers at the Halifax International Security Forum over the weekend.
Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, both Senate Armed Services Committee members, urged Canada to keep its troops in Afghanistan past 2011 in a training role at the Saturday forum.
After declining a U.S. request to send troops to Iraq, Canada increased its deployment in Afghanistan. Canadian troops assumed responsibility for Kandahar in 2005 and suffered causalities that alarmed Canadians, who weren't accustomed to seeing their soldiers in combat. Harper has previously said Canada has done its part by serving in Afghanistan's most dangerous province, a Taliban stronghold.
Canadians have long been concerned about the death toll in Afghanistan. The bodies of all Canadian soldiers who die there are flown to Ontario and driven to a Toronto morgue before their bodies are returned to their hometowns. Canadians often line the overpasses of Highway 401 - now known as the "Highway of Heroes" - to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/08/AR2010110804184.html
By ROB GILLIES
The Associated Press
Monday, November 8, 2010; 4:03 PM
TORONTO -- Canada will keep between 900 and 950 troops in Afghanistan in a noncombat training role after Canada's combat mission ends in 2011, a senior government official said Monday.
The official said that 750 military trainers and about 200 support troops will remain and most likely be based in Kabul. They would remain in Afghanistan until no later than 2014.
The official said NATO allies pressured Canada to remain in a combat role but said that is something Canada won't consider. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no authorization was given to speak publicly.
Parliament has mandated that the combat mission end in 2011.
Canada has about 3,000 troops in Afghanistan. More than 150 Canadian soldiers have been killed and more than 1,500 have been wounded since Canada first sent troops to support the U.S.-led invasion after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Canada has suffered the highest per capita casualty rate of any coalition member.
ad_icon
The U.S. has been hoping for months that Canada would not pull its troops out of Afghanistan. U.S. Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, the commander of NATO's training mission, said earlier Monday that the NATO mission faced a critical shortage of 900 trainers. Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants his nation's police and army to take the lead in protecting and defending their homeland by 2014.
International support for the war is waning, yet Caldwell said he remained hopeful that NATO nations would pledge more trainers, possibly at a meeting of the alliance later this month in Portugal.
Canada had repeatedly insisted that its mission in Afghanistan would be a purely civilian operation after its troops pull out of volatile Kandahar province in 2011. However, Defense Minister Peter MacKay said Sunday that Canada was considering a U.S. request to keep troops in Afghanistan past 2011, but switch them from a combat to training role.
MacKay hosted a variety of foreign politicians, diplomats and military officers at the Halifax International Security Forum over the weekend.
Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, both Senate Armed Services Committee members, urged Canada to keep its troops in Afghanistan past 2011 in a training role at the Saturday forum.
After declining a U.S. request to send troops to Iraq, Canada increased its deployment in Afghanistan. Canadian troops assumed responsibility for Kandahar in 2005 and suffered causalities that alarmed Canadians, who weren't accustomed to seeing their soldiers in combat. Harper has previously said Canada has done its part by serving in Afghanistan's most dangerous province, a Taliban stronghold.
Canadians have long been concerned about the death toll in Afghanistan. The bodies of all Canadian soldiers who die there are flown to Ontario and driven to a Toronto morgue before their bodies are returned to their hometowns. Canadians often line the overpasses of Highway 401 - now known as the "Highway of Heroes" - to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/08/AR2010110804184.html