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Topic: Afghanistan - 3rd Battalion, The Royal 22nd Regiment. 07-08 (Read 5694 times)
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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I think we, as a nation, should wake up and smell the roses. NATO is a paper tiger, composed of sponge nations who are to gutless to commit and, as always, are looking for us to bail them out with our blood.
And lets be serious. We were in engaged with the enemy at the time when the call for assistance was issued. The largest combat operation in NATO's history was unfolding with the brave lads of The Royal Canadian Regiment leading the charge, by God, and FOUR nations refused to COME TO OUR AIDE!
IMO, this is inexcuseable. Are we a nation of simpletons? Suckers? Is this what the cons believe in, screw the troops over over while they score political points browbeating Canadians to support an alliance that is not supporting us?
That DID NOT support us when we were engaged in combat?
Pathetic.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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And still it goes on. Cannot agree with you more Mike, and that is what it is , politics, being even more fouled by groups such as the TriLateral Commission, which is prported to be in place to better the lot of ALL peoples of the world... but this group is made up of all the most powerful, and often wealthiest people in our world, from all walks of life.. but only at the ELITE level... in other words the masses NEVER even see these people, let alone meet or mingle with them.. and of course one can say, welll, maybe what they aim to do is a good thing.. but watchdog groups , which also confound the issues, are very wary of their REAL intentions. And then there is the " proof of the pudding".. ie, is the lot of people actually getting better?? And of course these outside groups, and i do not blame just the TriLateral, there are apparently two more groups,i havent yet found info on, are NOT elected as representaives of the people, just elected in and by themselves.. therefore they do interfere with the democratic processes of democratic countries....and of course they are fully involved with all aspectsof life , including the UN and Nato...so tehre is another problem..and of course, you and i and all the other [ majority ] pions of the world know nothing of what they are doing until long after they do things...often to the detriment of many....so, is there a solution?/ well, the o nly one i can see is democratically elected governments have to get rid of these groups... now there is a real problem... nigh on impossible...so there we are.......ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
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elsewhere...
October 18, 2007
9 coalition soldiers wounded in Taliban ambush
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KABUL, Afghanistan - Nine U.S.-led coalition troops were wounded Thursday after the Taliban used heavy machine guns and rocket propelled grenades to ambush a patrol in southern Afghanistan.
A coalition statement says the attack took place near Kandahar city on Wednesday.
The patrol was able to repel the attack using small arms fire.
The statement says none of the injuries are serious and there were no insurgent casualties.
A Canadian military spokesman in Kandahar says it's not believed any Canadian troops were among the wounded.
In the east, police say a roadside bomb on a police vehicle close to the Pakistani border killed an officer and wounded three others.
Taliban attacks against police have increased this year, with over 600 killed in militant attacks.
More than 5,200 people have died this year as a result of fighting, according to an Associated Press count based on official figures, the deadliest year since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
There are currently 2,300 Canadian troops serving in southern Afghanistan, mostly based in Kandahar.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Mike Blais
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Bon Fete.... Attention News/Assignment Editors: The Vandoos celebrate their 93rd anniversary in their founding city SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU, QC, Oct. 18 /CNW Telbec/ - On Saturday, October 20, at 11:00 a.m., current and former members of the Royal 22e Régiment (R22eR), the Vandoos, will attend a ceremony at the Saint-Jean Campus to commemorate the 93rd anniversary of the Regiment's founding. Presided over by General (Ret) Maurice Baril, Colonel of the Regiment, this colourful ceremony will present some 50 members of 1 Battalion R22eR who have recently returned from a nine-month mission in Afghanistan. The famous Royal 22e Régiment Band will be on hand to honour several veterans from the Saint Jean and Montreal area. The ceremony will also be highlighted by the firing of three blank-round salutes. To round out the festivities, an all-ranks dinner with an Afghan theme will be held at the Dextraze Pavilion, St-Jean Campus, where more than 500 members will gather for the unveiling of the Regiment's official 100th- anniversary logo. There will also be an opportunity to communicate with a few of the 700 members of R22eR currently deployed in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), whose goal is to improve security and reconstruction in that country. For many families in Quebec, R22eR symbolizes a rich military heritage. Everyone knows someone who once joined the ranks of the Vandoos! The regiment was founded in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu on October 21, 1914, as an exclusively French-Canadian unit to serve in World War I. Since then, R22eR members have served with distinction in the two World Wars, as well as in Korea, on several peacekeeping missions, and in Afghanistan since 2004. With the deployment of Joint Task Force 3-07 to Afghanistan, these ceremonies take on an even greater meaning. For further information on the program of events celebrating the Regiment's 93rd anniversary, please contact Major Jean-François Lacombe at 418-694-2800, extension 2909, or visit www.r22er.com |
1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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I don't know if this is encouraging or not. 51 percent nationally but, down in Khandahar, where we are, the local population support is a mere 31 % support. Then again, sixty percent like us and the rest consider us infidels...
51% of Afghans feeling good about country's direction: poll
Last Updated: Thursday, October 18, 2007 | 6:05 PM ET
CBC News
A new poll of nearly 1,600 Afghans shows the majority feel safer than they did five years ago, and approve of the direction their country is taking, thanks to the presence of international security forces from countries such as Canada.
Results from the Environics Research poll, conducted in partnership with the CBC, show 60 per cent of Afghans surveyed believe the presence of foreign troops has been good for their country.
As well, 51 per cent said they feel their country is headed in the right direction, compared to 28 per cent who responded that it's headed in the wrong direction. The remaining interviewees saw no change or didn't know.
Most Afghans said they believe their lives are better than they were five years ago, citing increased security, as well as better roads and schools because of reconstruction efforts. Those who feel they are worse off say they don't feel safe in the face of continuing violence.
"There's no consensus. It's not everyone [who] has a positive view," said Keith Neuman of Environics. "But more often than not, people feel that things are better than they were."
The Ottawa-based research company oversaw the Sept. 17-24 survey of 1,578 Afghans, whom pollsters from the Afghan Centre for Social and Opinion Research interviewed in their homes throughout the country's 34 provinces.
The results have a margin of error of 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20, except in Kandahar, where the smaller sample size leads to a 5.9 per cent margin of error.
Support for troops to stay
Among the poll's other results:
* Forty-three per cent of all Afghans surveyed say that foreign troops should stay as long as it takes to get the job done. Only about 15 per cent of all Afghans surveyed want foreign troops to leave their country immediately, and the rest want time limits.
* In the troubled southern province of Kandahar, where the former Taliban government has its roots and where the vast majority of Canadian troops are based, only 31 per cent of respondents want to see foreign troops stick around until stability is restored. In comparison, 32 per cent of those asked would like to see the troops gone within a year, and many had no opinion at all.
* A full 60 per cent of those surveyed in Kandahar have a somewhat or very positive attitude toward Canada's soldiers. Those with a negative opinion cite civilian casualties and the fact that they see the soldiers as infidels.
Janice Stein is director of the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto, another of the poll's sponsors. She sees grounds for optimism in the results.
"I think Afghans are asking for continued assistance," she said. "They are asking for a continued foreign presence in the short term. They are asking for help in order to avoid a return of the Taliban to Afghanistan. These are the fundamental messages that come out of this poll."
U.S. cited as chief source of troops
When asked who is responsible for fighting the Taliban, an overwhelming majority named the United States. Even in the south of the country, where Canadian forces have lost most of the 71 soldiers who have died in the country so far, 90 per cent of Afghans polled believe it is the United States that is trying to protect them.
A vendor with a balloon cart in a Kabul marketplace. A vendor with a balloon cart in a Kabul marketplace.
(David Common/CBC)
On the bright side, when it comes to reconstruction, Afghans named Canada as one of the top countries trying to help rebuild Kandahar.
"Here are the Canadians in Afghanistan, seen as the people building civil society, helping reconstruction, helping to train, helping to build a democracy so that some day we can leave," says Michael Adams of Environics.
"It's interesting — even our military are seen in that role there, rather than in the role of fighting the Taliban."
Some NATO countries, such as the Netherlands and Germany, have been debating whether to pull their troops out of Afghanistan. But despite political opposition within Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made his position clear: He wants Canadian troops to stay in the country until at least 2011.
High marks for Karzai
On another front, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his government received approval ratings other world leaders can only dream of.
More than 70 per cent of Afghans surveyed said they think Karzai is doing a good job. In his home province of Kandahar, the positive reviews jump to 77 per cent.
That's significant because Karzai is often seen from the outside as a weak leader who, among other criticisms, hasn't managed to clean up corruption in his own governmental ranks.
"I think what people forget is there is a lot of challenges in this country," Arif Lalani, Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan, pointed out in an interview. "But there's a lot of progress [too], and the Afghans that I see, see the change and he's the face of the Afghan government. So it wouldn't surprise me that they still have faith in him."
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Well, i am all for us staying, getting it done, seeing it thru, for the true benefit of the Afghan people...BUT, ONLY if we can get the sharp point troop level up to the 20,000 + mark in oreder to be able to compleytely oust the Taliban and Al Quaida and others....if no increase to that level i would like to see us pull out.. as i do not believe the job can be completed with the present manning levels...retaking objectives with repeat losses of soldiers is not on.. its a dumb way to wage war....ranrad  |
RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Kandahar conundrum
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NATO source: Canucks are replaceable at front, but `it might not be easy'
Oct 20, 2007 04:30 AM
Mitch Potter
EUROPE BUREAU
BRUSSELS–Important, yes. Irreplaceable, no. That is NATO's candid assessment of Canada's role in the controversial effort to stabilize Afghanistan.
In a surprise admission from NATO headquarters in Brussels, a senior military source estimates the cohesion of the Afghan alliance now is sufficiently stable to withstand a Canadian withdrawal.
"It would be a disaster if Canada withdrew its forces and was not replaced. But would that be the case? Almost certainly not," the NATO source told the Toronto Star on condition of anonymity.
"If Canada needs to withdraw from Kandahar, we will find a way of replacing those capabilities. It might not be easy, but we will find a way. I'm fairly confident we could."
Officials in Brussels point to a 20 per cent increase in the size of the NATO-led international military coalition in the past year as evidence that the "challenge of force generation is being met." The addition of those 7,000 soldiers gives at least some of the military thinkers in Brussels a more buoyant sense of international commitment to the mission.
That confidence, however, is not shared by the alliance's chief spokesperson, James Appathurai, who cautioned that NATO's primary role in the mobilization of resources is "limited to a technical discussion. The real discussion is the political one, which happens between capitals.
"It's nice to know some of our people are sanguine about what would happen if the Canadians were to leave Kandahar province. I'm not," said Appathurai. "I don't think anyone can really predict which of the different scenarios might unfold."
Appathurai, 39. a Toronto native, speaks about Canada's role from an awkward position, wearing the hat of NATO but the heart of a Canadian. He acknowledges that never before in his nine years with NATO has he seen Canada command so much respect among its allies as it does today. Regardless of what Ottawa ultimately decides, "Nobody is ever going to say Canada didn't contribute to Afghanistan, or even punch above its weight.
"Everyone here recognizes how much Canada has contributed to this mission – including the 71 Canadian casualties, which is disproportionately high to what other nations have suffered," he said.
"It matters to the big players here. Your blood is worth a great deal. The price you pay on the ground translates into a seat at the table, because the voices that carry weight here are the voices that carry the can."
Thus far, none of the 37 nations contributing militarily to the NATO-led mission has announced any intention to leave. Insiders in Brussels say Canada is highly unlikely to become the first unless Ottawa first engineers a side deal that would see the arrival of replacement troops from other countries to assume the difficult task of securing Kandahar. In effect, the length of Canada's continued deployment will depend almost entirely on the skill the Harper government applies to persuading others to take its place.
"I do think that if – and it is a big if – Canadians were to leave Kandahar and nobody else steps in, the results would be extremely damaging. For the Afghan people foremost, it would be an absolute tragedy," said Appathurai.
"The biggest reason the Afghans don't throw as much support as they could behind the government in Kabul, and the international coalition, is that they hear the Taliban telling them, `Just you wait. They are going to leave and we will still be here. And then you are going to pay.'
"So what is the answer to that? In the end, it is a decision Ottawa has to make and no one questions that."
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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I think OUR government, Ron, Ie Harper, should have stood up for the troops the moment the NATO refused to assist us when were engaged in combat.
Four times relief was requested, four times denied. Still pisses me off, specially when the outcome was half the taliban escaping to retake the land the moment, without sufficient tropps to hold the land, we withdrew.
Just where was the neocancons then, eh?
Sweeping it under the carpet while our lads were dying?
Telling Canadians how united NATO is?
Lying through their teeth?
I tell you one thing, I believe that if Canadians knew that, under combat, we asked NATO for help and four nations refused, this anti-wat crowd would equate to a vast majority of the population.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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I have to say i did not know about these requests and denials for help....that really gets my dander up....how dare Nato pump their chests and do something like that???We are in a dilemma , and more so our own brothers , who want to stay the course and get the job done...although i agree with them and understand them wanting this , the practcality of it is , not enough trained combat soldiers on the ground...one has to really admire their committment and guts, as they know this more than anyone in the world, and yet , want to stay....well, as i thought before ,the countries that have their good troops at the sharp end , could likely come up with the other 20,000 troops and fling egg in Natos face after they get the job done...but why should a few countries carry the major load???Well, because we may not have a real other choice....we should not abandon this great effort.....ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
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If the mission extends, will soldiers stay on?
DENE MOORE
Canadian Press
October 21, 2007 at 12:45 PM EDT
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Parliament is poised for a great deal of debate in the coming months over Canada's role in the war in Afghanistan, but on the dusty battlefields of this central Asian country there is not much doubt over one central question.
Canadian soldiers, who regularly travel the mined roads of Taliban country and sleep with flak vests ready in case a mortar shell whistles in, seem to overwhelmingly believe that Afghanistan will not be ready for them to leave in February 2009.
What is less clear is how many of them would be willing to come back if the mission is extended.
Ankle-deep in the dust of one of Canada's forward operating bases in Kandahar province, a 17-year veteran of the Canadian Forces says he'll leave the army first.
It's not the insufferable heat, the time away from his family back at home or even the danger that has convinced him.
“Things won't change,” says the soldier who has served previously in Bosnia and Haiti. He does not want to be identified.
Citing the corruption in government and the Afghan national police, and the fierce tribal rivalries that divide the country, he believes Afghanistan will fall back into chaos and civil war whether Canada leaves in 18 months, four years or a decade from now.
“I won't come back here,” he says.
His words are echoed at another base on another day by another soldier. This soldier is on his second tour in Afghanistan, having served in Kabul in 2004. With 14 years in the Forces, he, too, served in Bosnia and Haiti.
“It's hard to see the progress,” he says.
He's pleased to hear that fewer women wear the burka in Kabul these days, a marked change from his time there three years ago. But it is not enough.
“It will take generations for things to change here,” he says.
But there is no consensus on Afghanistan even among soldiers.
“I love it,” says Warrant Officer Nicolas Cote of his work with the Civil-Military Co-operation Team.
His CIMIC team in Panjwaii meets once a week with district leaders under the watchful eyes of up to 20 armed infantrymen.
The four members, along with their force-protection team, stay outside the secure perimeter of the nearby forward operating base at a house rented from locals in the village of Bazaar-E.
February 2009? “It's impossible,” he says.
But there's not even a hint of doubt from him that Afghans will one day stand on their own.
“We were in Croatia in 1991 and now they're here with us,” says Cote, a reservist who served in Bosnia in 1999 in the regular Forces.
Canada has lost 71 soldiers and one diplomat in Afghanistan. Public opinion about the mission is divided. Parliament is divided.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government wants Canadian military involvement in Afghanistan until at least 2011. The throne speech tied the eventual exit to the training of Afghan national security forces, including the army and police.
“This will not be completed by February 2009, but our government believes this objective should be achievable by 2011,” said the speech.
Mr. Harper has appointed a five-person panel to examine options for the future of the mission, including continued Canadian training of the Afghan army and police, leaving the volatile southern province of Kandahar for a quieter sector or withdrawing altogether.
The Liberals and the Bloc Québécois have called for an end to the combat mission when the current mandate ends in February 2009. The NDP wants an immediate pullout of combat troops.
Teams of Canadian military police and infantry recently began a mentoring program for Afghan National Police. They have a massive task ahead of them in bringing the notoriously ill-trained and corrupt police force up to an acceptable standard.
Canadian soldiers joined the five-year-old mentoring program for the Afghan army about a year ago.
Despite many difficulties and setbacks, there is a great deal of determination among those who have taken on these tasks: They are not ready yet but they will be.
“We haven't had time to do what we wanted to do. It would be better to continue,” says a young soldier the main base at Kandahar Airfield.
Without hesitation he says he would come back for another tour — and he is not alone.
Many say that this combat role on the front line in Afghanistan is the life they chose when they joined the Forces.
“This is what we trained for,” says one soldier who will serve his entire six-month tour at one of the rough forward operating bases scattered throughout the dangerous Zhari and Panjwaii districts of Kandahar. “This is the real thing.”
A U.S. marine making a pit stop at a Canadian base brings a totally different perspective.
“The problem with the Canadians is that they always have to be worried about what people think at home,” he says.
“When the Canadians are attacked, they worry about civilian casualties. When we're attacked, we hunt them down and kill them.”
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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Afghan coalition an unequal burden
FINBARR O'REILLY / REUTERS
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan–There are some things that are just so Canadian that even a hot desert sun and being 11,000 kilometres away from home can't diminish it.
About 70 soldiers from a variety of NATO countries serving in Afghanistan joined the Terry Fox Run at Kandahar Air Field yesterday, raising money for cancer research and to honour the memory of Fox, who attempted to run across Canada in his Marathon of Hope in 1979 after losing most of his right leg to cancer two years earlier.
Heavy military vehicles rumbled down gravel roads, churning up choking clouds of dust, as the participants ran along the 11-kilometre route.
"It takes you back to being in Canada again because it is the Terry Fox Run," said Master Petty Officer Matt O'Hara, 52, (in photo at right) who has been in the service for 30 years and is originally from Edmonton. "It's something truly Canadian. Terry Fox was a Canadian hero."
The run is something extremely personal for O'Hara.
"I was diagnosed two years ago with pancreatic cancer and due to cancer research that's why I'm alive today," he revealed. "When I first saw the numbers, it was a 98 per cent mortality rate and I was in the 2 per cent cure rate. Today, due to research, the cure rate is about 10 per cent."
The Terry Fox Run is now held in 60 countries and it's the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research.
A line of Canadian flags marked both the beginning and end of the run, but it wasn't a Canadian runner who crossed the line first, second or even third. That honour went to a trio of British soldiers.
Warrant Officer Tarquin Kitchen crossed the line in second place and wasn't surprised his Canadian cousins were lagging far behind.
"Of course not. You can't win your own competitions, can you?" he said with a laugh.
But at least Kitchen was aware of who Terry Fox was.
"This is my third run," he said. "I did a couple in Damascus. This is the harder one. The other ones were much cooler."
Canadian Press
Sharing load tough when `every country wants to feel its troops are doing a noble thing'
Oct 22, 2007 04:30 AM
Olivia Ward
FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER
Canadians may think of our soldiers in Afghanistan as lone rangers, galloping over the Himalayan hills to single-handedly hold off bomb-wielding renegades.
But Canada provides about 2,500 of 41,000 troops from 37 nations in the International Security Assistance Force – a NATO-based coalition struggling for stability in an increasingly unstable landscape.
The bad news is that it's mostly a coalition of the unwilling. Countries have drawn a line in the sand, but keep to the safe side of the sandbags.
Those on the front lines of combat, like Canada, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands, call in vain for reinforcements. Those in the rear may boost their numbers, but only in areas where it's less likely their troops will be killed.
The disconnect worries not only Canadians, but military strategists who say that if Afghanistan is to avoid sliding back to failed statehood, all of its supporters must be marching to the same tune.
"What has to be done is a rethinking of national caveats, and getting more troops in who can actually do something," says Sibylle Scheipers, director of studies at the Changing Character of War program at the University of Oxford.
But, she warns, "bumping up troop levels won't work by itself. A coherent strategy is what's needed, and so far that is lacking."
Countries from Albania to Ukraine are contributing to the peace effort in Afghanistan, some to please more powerful allies, others to fulfill an obligation to NATO or to detour the killing fields of Iraq.
But their troops come with strings attached – enough to keep them tethered to low-risk posts.
"We would like to see no restrictions on what troops can do," says James Appathurai, a spokesperson at NATO's Brussels headquarters. "But there are some factors that make that difficult."
NATO doesn't publicize its contributors' rules of engagement, but some of the known prohibitions are hard to surmount. One country, for example, hasn't trained or equipped its soldiers to fight in snow. Another has transport aircraft unable to fly safely at night.
Technical restrictions account for a small percentage of contributors' caveats. Most are concerned with the political risk of sending troops on combat, rather than "peacekeeping," missions.
Politicians also worry about overstretching forces and upgrading rundown equipment. And threats and kidnappings by the Taliban and Al Qaeda have raised fears that contributing countries will be targeted.
However, Appathurai points out, countries such as France and Germany, with a majority of troops posted in safer areas, do send some special forces to fight in dangerous parts of the country.
In the volatile south, Canadian and American forces are joined by Dutch, Danish, Australian, Romanian and Estonian troops. Poland has upped its numbers of soldiers fighting with the British in perilous eastern Afghanistan.
But going toe to toe with the Taliban isn't the only important contribution, Appathurai points out.
"It's true that the west and north of Afghanistan are much more stable than the east and the south, where the Canadians are," he points out. "But the Taliban is being squeezed like toothpaste in a tube in those areas. You can't just leave the north and west, or they will fall."
Recently violence has spread to the north, threatening stability there too. "The Taliban is trying to move to an area where they don't get so much grief," says Appathurai. "It's a major motivation for them. And there is also a link between the Taliban and narcotics. They are increasingly like the (Colombian drug-running guerrillas) FARC. They are criminals who move to accommodate economic factors."
That could make it difficult for politicians in troop-contributing countries to maintain their forces even in the less turbulent regions.
Tuning in to national debates makes it clear how thorny an issue Afghanistan has become.
"Every country wants to feel its troops are doing a noble thing," says Scheipers, co-author of the paper Coalition Warfare in Afghanistan: Burden-sharing or Disunity? "In Germany, there's a very strong anti-militarist public, so all the operations are sold as peacekeeping. The debate is heading in the direction that every shot fired is making things worse for Afghans."
At the other end of the spectrum, most U.S. politicians see Afghanistan as crucial to the war on terror, and back America's front-line role. Britain, which has seen fierce debates over its Iraq mission, has few questions about Afghanistan.
Australia's main political parties are also solidly behind that nation's Afghan combat mission. In the middle is Poland, with the opposition recently breaking from a previous accord, and opposing an increase in combat forces.
France's Nicolas Sarkozy agreed to boost troop levels to Afghanistan. But after Taliban militants kidnapped five aid workers and demanded the French withdraw, he has leaned toward a training program for Afghan soldiers who will eventually take over security.
Turkey has little domestic opposition to its role in administration and reconstruction, including training the Afghan army. But in Japan, which has a pacifist constitution, even a supporting role – allowing its ships to refuel coalition jets and naval vessels for operations in Afghanistan – helped to bring down former prime minister Shinzo Abe, when his bid to extend the mission failed.
"There are two contradictory tendencies," said Janice Stein, co-author with Eugene Lang of The Unexpected War: Canada in Kandahar. "On one hand are the countries like Canada, in the south. Then there are others who still talk about Afghanistan as primarily a stabilization mission, and don't even use the word `insurgency.'"
That goes to the heart of the Afghan mission's problems, says Timo Noetzel, a visiting fellow at the London-based think-tank Chatham House, and co-author with Scheipers of the paper on burden sharing.
"Basically, NATO has never before tackled counter-insurgency. It's not a popular concept. Counter-insurgency operations are not lost on the field – they're lost at home, in domestic politics."
But unless the Cold War military organization's members get together on a new strategy, he warns, they risk losing Afghanistan six years after the ouster of the Taliban.
At best, he says, the international forces in Afghanistan have had limited success in pushing back the resurgent Taliban and Al Qaeda. Without a "coherent strategy" that combines counter-insurgency, counterterrorism and stability and reconstruction operations, the fragile state could still fail.
But from balancing mission risks to setting standards for the treatment of detainees, the NATO countries have squabbled and split. The unity of the alliance that faced off with the Soviet Union in the 20th century has shattered on the 21st century's jagged Afghan terrain.
"Commanders on the ground will tell you they expect NATO to make decisions that will change the course of the operation," says Noetzel. "That includes manpower, equipment, balance of risk and an overall strategy. The longer the situation drags on, the more it's slowly deteriorating."
One way of getting around some countries' reluctance to deploy to danger zones would be to make radical changes in the financing of the Afghan mission, Noetzel says.
"If you want to escape from the trap of no one wanting to provide expensive equipment, members could pay into a common budget to finance the supply."
It could start with helicopters, he adds: Without them, countries like Canada have had to move troops along routes where they are exposed to attack.
On Wednesday, NATO's defence ministers, including Peter MacKay, will meet in Noordwijk, in the Netherlands, to thrash out some of the issues that are undermining the Afghan mission, and the confidence that Afghanistan's people have in the international forces.
But, says Scheipers, Afghanistan is the most serious test of NATO's resolve since the Cold War. And how it rises to the test will affect the future of the country and the volatile region.
"So far there has been a deadlock on the most important discussions," she says. "It's important to rebuild consensus now, starting with the European countries. In Afghanistan, NATO is fighting a new kind of war. But its mindset is still in the last one."
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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