bobdina
09-10-2009, 10:34 PM
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Canada's task force in Kandahar is to grow by nearly 1,000 soldiers this month as U.S. troops pour into the provincial capital to work alongside Canadians mentoring Afghan police there.
The move was confirmed by Canadian and American civilian officials based in the violence-plagued southern province. It is part of what may be the first overseas civilian-military co-operation agreement signed between Canada and the U.S. since the Second World War.
"Our ration of security personnel, Afghans and coalition, has got much better," Ken Lewis, Canada's top diplomat in Kandahar, said in welcoming the new arrangements. "Last summer, we had one very busy, lonely battle group doing operations all over the province from Helmand to the Pakistan border and north Uruzgan."
The original plan, announced a few weeks ago by a senior RCMP representative in Kabul, was to add a company of some 100 U.S. military police to Canadian Brig.-Gen. Jon Vance's Task Force Kandahar. It has since been decided to send an entire battalion of military police to team up with Canadian military and civilian police mentors in Afghanistan's second largest city, Lewis said.
The latest addition of U.S. forces in Kandahar City is a clear signal that the precarious security situation in the south has become a major source of concern of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, in command of the more than 100,000 NATO forces in Afghanistan.
With the arrival of the U.S. army police mentors, Vance's task force will swell to nearly 4,500 troops. It already includes a U.S. army infantry battalion since last summer.
Three battalions of a U.S. Army Stryker Brigade were also added in Kandahar this summer. They remain under U.S. command, having taken over areas in the northeast and far west of Kandahar, areas previously a Canadian responsibility.
The Afghan National Army, which has been receiving training from Canadian and U.S. troops, has also increased its presence in Kandahar to six kandaks, or battalions recently.
At the same time, the civilian component of Canada's effort in Kandahar has increased over the past year to about 100. Many of the Canadian newcomers are police officers who are mentoring Afghan police.
Despite a recent slew of grim assessments of how NATO's war is going in Afghanistan, Lewis said "from my narrow perspective, which is the Kandahar agenda, we are still making progress. I would ask people who are considering just the last few months and the elections to take a broader view."
Referring to a spectacular truck bombing in Kandahar City five days after presidential elections last month, Lewis said: "We cannot be distracted by assymetrics because that is what the enemy wants. But they take risks with that. We know the citizens of Kandahar are angry with them for Aug. 25."
The Strykers' presence in Kandahar has permitted Canada to focus its military effort closer to Kandahar City. Part of the plan is for Canadian forces to "clear, hold and build" in more villages based on what they have learned leading a widely praised Canadian pilot project in Deh-E-Bagh, Dand District, southwest of the capital.
""We didn't have a chance to learn before because we were so spread out and harried," Lewis said. "We could not get past 'clear' to 'hold and build.'"
Referring to the model village, which began to receive special attention from Canadian agencies such as CIDA in the spring, Lewis said, "the civilian effort is very solid in Dand."
Another encouraging development was that UNAMA, the UN agency responsible for Afghanistan, has decided that the security situation in Dand was now good enough that for the first time in years it will send some of its people there, he said.
As Canada retains responsibility for development across all of Kandahar, a Canadian diplomat has been based as a liaison officer with the Stryker brigade. As well, two U.S. diplomats and several other American government officials, including an agricultural expert, are attached to the Canadian-led provincial reconstruction team, which has its headquarters in Kandahar City.
The U.S. will bring tens of millions of dollars of fresh funding to Kandahar, according to a U.S. background briefing. Washington was particularly interested in supporting infrastructure projects involving roads, electricity and water.
To help "deconflict" Canadian and American aid efforts, a synchronization board with officials from both countries has been established.
One of Canada's six signature projects in Afghanistan the rebuilding of the Dahla Dam. The project, at a cost of more than $50 million, is proceeding under Canadian direction in Arghandab, although the district is now patrolled by U.S. troops.
Patience is required to achieve success in Kandahar, said Lewis, who is soon to become Canada's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
"You win in this situation by small steps, and learning all the time, whether you are the army or civilians," he said. "There is micro-credit financing, help for co-operatives. We have a good plan with the Americans for Arghandab. It is not just the Dahla Dam, but other agricultural projects.
"A lot of this is small stuff that doesn't get noticed. What we do is pretty much grunt work. It is like good police work in a Canadian city. The every-day life of a good cop on the beat never gets covered."
The move was confirmed by Canadian and American civilian officials based in the violence-plagued southern province. It is part of what may be the first overseas civilian-military co-operation agreement signed between Canada and the U.S. since the Second World War.
"Our ration of security personnel, Afghans and coalition, has got much better," Ken Lewis, Canada's top diplomat in Kandahar, said in welcoming the new arrangements. "Last summer, we had one very busy, lonely battle group doing operations all over the province from Helmand to the Pakistan border and north Uruzgan."
The original plan, announced a few weeks ago by a senior RCMP representative in Kabul, was to add a company of some 100 U.S. military police to Canadian Brig.-Gen. Jon Vance's Task Force Kandahar. It has since been decided to send an entire battalion of military police to team up with Canadian military and civilian police mentors in Afghanistan's second largest city, Lewis said.
The latest addition of U.S. forces in Kandahar City is a clear signal that the precarious security situation in the south has become a major source of concern of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, in command of the more than 100,000 NATO forces in Afghanistan.
With the arrival of the U.S. army police mentors, Vance's task force will swell to nearly 4,500 troops. It already includes a U.S. army infantry battalion since last summer.
Three battalions of a U.S. Army Stryker Brigade were also added in Kandahar this summer. They remain under U.S. command, having taken over areas in the northeast and far west of Kandahar, areas previously a Canadian responsibility.
The Afghan National Army, which has been receiving training from Canadian and U.S. troops, has also increased its presence in Kandahar to six kandaks, or battalions recently.
At the same time, the civilian component of Canada's effort in Kandahar has increased over the past year to about 100. Many of the Canadian newcomers are police officers who are mentoring Afghan police.
Despite a recent slew of grim assessments of how NATO's war is going in Afghanistan, Lewis said "from my narrow perspective, which is the Kandahar agenda, we are still making progress. I would ask people who are considering just the last few months and the elections to take a broader view."
Referring to a spectacular truck bombing in Kandahar City five days after presidential elections last month, Lewis said: "We cannot be distracted by assymetrics because that is what the enemy wants. But they take risks with that. We know the citizens of Kandahar are angry with them for Aug. 25."
The Strykers' presence in Kandahar has permitted Canada to focus its military effort closer to Kandahar City. Part of the plan is for Canadian forces to "clear, hold and build" in more villages based on what they have learned leading a widely praised Canadian pilot project in Deh-E-Bagh, Dand District, southwest of the capital.
""We didn't have a chance to learn before because we were so spread out and harried," Lewis said. "We could not get past 'clear' to 'hold and build.'"
Referring to the model village, which began to receive special attention from Canadian agencies such as CIDA in the spring, Lewis said, "the civilian effort is very solid in Dand."
Another encouraging development was that UNAMA, the UN agency responsible for Afghanistan, has decided that the security situation in Dand was now good enough that for the first time in years it will send some of its people there, he said.
As Canada retains responsibility for development across all of Kandahar, a Canadian diplomat has been based as a liaison officer with the Stryker brigade. As well, two U.S. diplomats and several other American government officials, including an agricultural expert, are attached to the Canadian-led provincial reconstruction team, which has its headquarters in Kandahar City.
The U.S. will bring tens of millions of dollars of fresh funding to Kandahar, according to a U.S. background briefing. Washington was particularly interested in supporting infrastructure projects involving roads, electricity and water.
To help "deconflict" Canadian and American aid efforts, a synchronization board with officials from both countries has been established.
One of Canada's six signature projects in Afghanistan the rebuilding of the Dahla Dam. The project, at a cost of more than $50 million, is proceeding under Canadian direction in Arghandab, although the district is now patrolled by U.S. troops.
Patience is required to achieve success in Kandahar, said Lewis, who is soon to become Canada's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
"You win in this situation by small steps, and learning all the time, whether you are the army or civilians," he said. "There is micro-credit financing, help for co-operatives. We have a good plan with the Americans for Arghandab. It is not just the Dahla Dam, but other agricultural projects.
"A lot of this is small stuff that doesn't get noticed. What we do is pretty much grunt work. It is like good police work in a Canadian city. The every-day life of a good cop on the beat never gets covered."