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Topic: Manley Report. (Read 2825 times)
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Mike Blais
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PM phones Sarkozy over NATO roles
Feb 05, 2008 01:53 PM
THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA–Prime Minister Stephen Harper telephoned the president of France today as part of his continuing effort to rally NATO support for Canada's combat effort in southern Afghanistan.
Harper thanked President Nicolas Sarkozy for the assistance France gave Canadians trying to leave Chad following violence there, then briefed him on the recently released Manley report on Afghanistan.
Sarkozy is the third foreign leader Harper has spoken to in the past week about the findings and recommendations of the report from a panel led by former Liberal cabinet minister John Manley.
The panel recommended Canada's 2,500-plus troops continue fighting in and around Kandahar province only if NATO allies cough up 1,000 reinforcements and the Canadian military acquires combat helicopters and new unmanned surveillance aircraft.
Canadian troops are scheduled to be pulled out of Afghanistan next February but Harper has resolved to put the mission's future to a parliamentary vote later this spring.
Last week, Harper discussed the issue in separate phone calls with U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Harper and Sarkozy pledged to stay in touch after this week's meeting of NATO defence ministers in Vilnius, Lithuania.
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Mike Blais
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Poland raps NATO members over Afghan commitments
Mon Feb 4, 3:35 PM
By David Ljunggren
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OTTAWA (Reuters) - Poland's foreign minister complained on Monday that some NATO members were not committing enough troops in Afghanistan and said there should be "no room for free-riding" inside the Alliance.
Radoslaw Sikorski said in a speech that the gap between what NATO wanted to achieve in Afghanistan and was in fact able to do "cannot have at its source the unwillingness of some counties to do their fair share."
The issue of troop commitments will be one of the main topics at a NATO leaders' summit in Bucharest in early April. Poland already has 1,200 soldiers in Afghanistan and plans to send 400 more this year.
Many nations with troops in Afghanistan have placed them in quiet areas and added a list of restrictions, or caveats, on what they are allowed to do.
This means most of the fighting against Taliban militants is left to Canada, Britain, the United States and the Netherlands, who all want others to contribute more.
"We will certainly, together with Canada, be arguing very forcefully in the run-up to the Bucharest summit that more needs to be done, that burdens have to be shared more fairly and that there is no room for free-riding," Sikorski told reporters after his speech.
"Who gives without caveats gives twice ... other countries have no troops in Afghanistan at all," he said, without identifying which nations he felt could be doing more.
Canada said last month it would pull its 2,500-strong military mission out of southern Afghanistan on schedule early next year unless NATO sent in an extra 1,000 troops and Ottawa procured helicopters and aerial reconnaissance vehicles.
Sikorski said Poland -- which joined NATO in 1999 -- was militarily stretched and could not provide more troops to the Kandahar region where Canada is based. It would however share the use of two helicopters with Canada, he added.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said last month that the alliance's very future would be in jeopardy if the Afghan mission failed. Sikorski said NATO's efforts needed better co-ordination and that the international community could not expect to leave Afghanistan any time soon.
"We should be under no illusion that progress can somehow be jump-started. We are in for the long haul," he said.
He also said Pakistan had to more do stop the flow of militants and weapons across its mountainous border with southern Afghanistan.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)
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Mike Blais
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NATO facing 'real test' in Afghanistan: Rice
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 | 6:34 PM ET
CBC News
NATO countries are facing a key test in Afghanistan, and countries involved in the mission should understand the fight against the Taliban will be long term, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday.
"I do think the alliance is facing a real test here," said Rice, who was in London for talks with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband about the NATO-led effort in Afghanistan.
"Our populations need to understand this is not a peacekeeping mission," but a long-term fight against extremists, she said during a news conference with Miliband.
Washington is trying to cap a growing rift among NATO allies participating in the mission. Some major European allies failed to send significant number of troops to the southern front lines, leaving troops from the United States, Britain, Canada and the Netherlands to bear the brunt of a resurgence of Taliban violence in the region.
Canada has threatened to end its mission in 2009 unless NATO provides more troops and support.
"There are certain allies that are in more dangerous parts of the country, and we believe very strongly that there ought to be a sharing of that burden throughout the alliance," Rice said.
Continue Article
Gates worries about two-tiered alliance
In Washington, Defence Secretary Robert Gates echoed Rice's sentiments about sharing the burden, saying that he has sent letters to every defence minister in the alliance, urging them to contribute more troops and equipment.
"I worry a great deal about the alliance evolving into a two-tiered alliance in which you have some allies willing to fight and die to protect peoples' security, and others who are not," Gates said during a U.S. Senate hearing.
"And I think that it puts a cloud over the future of the alliance, if this is to endure and perhaps even get worse."
Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and British Minister Gordon Brown also stressed the need for more troops on Wednesday. Brown told his parliament that he will stress as much when NATO leaders hold a summit in Bucharest in April.
Gates noted that Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands are "really out there on the line and fighting," and that he wished others would do the same.
He noted that the U.S. is sending 3,000 more marines to Afghanistan, but he said he's not optimistic that will be enough to get the war back on track.
Taliban not gaining strength, general says
While Gates and Rice shared their concerns for the future of the Afghan mission, a top U.S. general insisted that the Taliban is not gaining ground in Afghanistan, despite reports that suggest otherwise.
Gen. Dan McNeill told reporters at the Pentagon that the the level of insurgency has stayed "about the same" since he took command of U.S. troops in Afghanistan a year ago.
McNeill said the difference is that there are more NATO troops on the ground now — 43,000 compared to 35,000 a year ago — so there's more soldiers to notice and be affected by the violence.
"We exposed ourselves to a lot more things than the force has exposed themselves to in times past," McNeill said. "And that, more than anything, created the increased levels of violence that are so often referred to in the news.
"People fail to realize what caused those. [There] wasn't a resurgent Taliban."
More German troops in north
Earlier Wednesday, Germany confirmed it would send an extra 200 combat soldiers to northern Afghanistan to replace a Norwegian unit. The announcement had been widely expected.
Germany last week rejected a request from U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates to send more troop to southern Afghanistan.
A German newspaper reported that the request was contained within a "stern" letter from Gates to German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung.
Jung said his country already has 3,500 soldiers in the much calmer north.
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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
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Well, it scares me too, the split of Nato will leave the door open for more tragedy and no ending the war against terrorism. And that is what this is, not any kind of peacekeeping, but WAR, and like the past Woeld Wars , it is a war the free peoples of the world MUST win... there is no grey area here whatsoever...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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MacKay set to deliver stern warning to NATO
CAMPBELL CLARK
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
February 7, 2008 at 4:34 AM EST
VILNIUS, LITHUANIA — Canada and other countries bearing the brunt of a counterinsurgency in southern Afghanistan will warn NATO defence ministers today that the future of the alliance is on the line unless other members commit more combat troops.
Canada's Defence Minister, Peter MacKay, who arrived in the Lithuanian capital yesterday, made clear that Ottawa is not prepared to negotiate over its conditions for remaining in Kandahar beyond 2009: another 1,000 NATO combat troops and help obtaining helicopters and unmanned drones.
"I expect blunt talk and a frank discussion about - certainly from our perspective - where we find ourselves and what we'd like to see," he said before leaving Canada.
The blunt talk had already begun yesterday, with U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates warning that the failure of some countries to commit more combat troops "puts a cloud over the future of the alliance."
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The Globe and Mail
He said that only the Canadians, British, Australians, Dutch and Danes "are really out there on the line and fighting" and said he doubts a seven-month deployment of 3,200 U.S. Marines to southern Afghanistan, to begin in March, will be enough.
"I worry a great deal about the alliance evolving into a two-tiered alliance, in which you have some allies willing to fight and die to protect people's security, and others who are not," Mr. Gates said during a Senate hearing in Washington.
He said he has sent letters to every alliance defence minister asking them to contribute more troops and equipment, but hasn't received any replies.
Although he did not identify the other tier, the reluctance of major European countries, such as Germany, Italy and Spain, to commit combat troops to Afghanistan's dangerous south has led to frustration among those who have.
Germany's Defence Minister, Franz Josef Jung, ruled out again yesterday sending troops to the south, even as his country agreed to deploy an additional rapid-reaction force of about 200 to the relatively stable north, where Germany already has about 3,000 soldiers.
In London to discuss Afghanistan strategy with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that NATO faces a turning point.
"The alliance is facing a real test here and it is a test of the alliance's strength," she said at a news conference with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband. "Our populations need to understand this is not a peacekeeping mission. This is a counterinsurgency problem and that's different."
Mr. Brown said NATO needs to share troop and equipment burdens more equitably and called for countries to commit more at an April summit of the alliance's 26 national leaders in Bucharest, Romania.
"What we are looking for, particularly when it comes to the NATO summit a few weeks from now, is a determination on the part of all our allies to ensure the burden-sharing in Afghanistan is fair," he said in the British House of Commons.
While in Vilnius, Mr. MacKay is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Defence Minister Hervé Morin of France - a country that Canada sees as a bright hope for committing troops to Kandahar.
He is also slated to hold bilateral talks with counterparts from countries with troops in southern Afghanistan, including the U.S., Britain and the Netherlands. And tomorrow, he will chair a meeting of ministers from those countries - essentially the group pressuring other countries to do more.
With reports from The Canadian Press, Associated Press and Agence France-Pres
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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
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Mike Blais
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France mulls troops for mission in south
NATO defence ministers meet
Mike Blanchfield and peter O'neil, Canwest News Service Published: Thursday, February 07, 2008
France is seriously considering a military contribution to southern Afghanistan, fuelling optimism NATO won't have to do without Canadian troops in volatile Kandahar.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is said to be giving thought to Canada's position that it would withdraw its 2,500 combat troops from Kandahar next year unless another NATO country can supply an additional 1,000 troops.
Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, spoke to Mr. Sarkozy on Tuesday by telephone and relayed the core demand of the report by the independent panel headed by former Liberal Cabinet minister John Manley: that Canadian troops would not stay in southern Afghanistan past February, 2009, unless the extra troops were found.
In Vilnius, Lithuania, where NATO defence begins two days of meetings, Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is expected to urge the alliance's 26 members to show greater solidarity and end the public finger-pointing.
There are fears the public spat could bury recent good news, from NATO's perspective, such as Belgium's commitment of four fighter jets and an extra 140 soldiers this year.
There is also talk one or two other countries might announce larger contributions to the war effort. "This is a critical week for the alliance," Christopher Langton, an analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told Agence France-Presse.
France and Germany, which have about 4,500 troops between them in less-volatile parts of Afghanistan, are facing increasing pressure within NATO for more troops in Kandahar, where Canada and its British, U.S. and Dutch allies are doing the bulk of the front-line fighting against the Taliban insurgency.
Germany has flatly rejected redeploying any of its 3,200 troops from northern Afghanistan. France, however, is considering adding to its 1,300 deployment, most of which is based in Kabul.
"People are optimistic Canadians will get the troops. The French are the obvious choice," said a well-placed Western official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
But two sources have also stressed they did not expect any announcement of an extra French military contribution to flow from the defence ministers meetings in Vilnius today.
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Mike Blais
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From The Times
February 7, 2008
Nato members likely to ignore pleas to share burden in Afghanistan
British Soldiers on guard duty, look out for insurgency activity while colleagues build a new coalition base in the Upper Gereshk valley, Helmand, Afghanistan.
Michael Evans, Defence Editor and Philip Webster, Political Editor
Nato defence ministers meeting today are not expected to offer any more troops for Afghanistan, despite a plea from military commanders for another 7,500 soldiers, alliance sources said yesterday.
The gloomy prediction on the eve of an informal session of the defence ministers in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, pre-empted appeals yesterday from Gordon Brown and Condoleezza Rice, the American Secretary of State, for other Nato countries to share more of the burden in Afghanistan.
Dr Rice, who met the Prime Minister and David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said: “I do think the alliance is facing a real test here. Our populations need to understand this is not a peacekeeping mission.”
Only a small number of nations had troops in the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan, she said. “We believe very strongly there ought to be a sharing of that burden throughout the alliance.”
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The main Nato players in the south are Britain with 7,800 troops, US (3,100), Canada (2,500), The Netherlands (1,600), Denmark (680), and Romania (500). Australia, not a Nato member, has 1,000 troops there.
Emphasising the focus of Taleban activity in the south, Nato sources said that 70 per cent of the insurgent incidents in Afghanistan took place in 10 per cent of the 398 districts, most of them in the south.
Mr Brown told the Commons: “We have 15 per cent of the troops in Afghanistan. We need a proper burden-sharing not only in terms of personnel but also in terms of helicopters and other equipment.”
Germany confirmed that it would send around 200 extra combat soldiers to northern Afghanistan to replace a Norwegian unit, but said that it would not move the troops to the south.
The appeal caused some anger in an already divided alliance. Nato officials said that the constant highlighting of the rifts in the alliance over troop deployments to Afghanistan was undermining all the achievements made over the past year. “These public rifts and talk of crisis in the alliance are doing the Taleban's work for them,” one official said.
“There were never going to be decisions made in Vilnius about more troops for Afghanistan because it's just an informal meeting, but now it will be seen as a failure because no one is expected to come forward with offers,” another official said. The sense of crisis was made worse by news from Ottawa where the Canadian parliament is split over whether Canada's 2,500 troops in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan should be recalled next year. Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, was reported to be threatening to go to the polls if parliament voted against extending Canada's troop commitment.
Yesterday Britain underlined its commitment in southern Afghanistan by announcing the next two rotations of troops, each to serve in Helmand province in the south for six months: 16 Air Assault Brigade will go out in April, and 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, will follow in October. Each will send about 7,800 troops.
The Ministry of Defence said that the same number of combat troops - as opposed to support units — would be deployed on each rotation. Two Parachute Regiment regular battalions, 2 Para and 3 Para, will form the principal fighting force of 16 Air Assault Brigade. The Parachute Regiment now has only two regular battalions for this type of deployment, because 1 Para has been reassigned and converted into the Special Forces Support Group, to provide back-up to the SAS and Special Boat Service (SBS).
However, the list of units going out in April, released by the MoD yesterday, has underlined the manpower shortages suffered by the main infantry battalions earmarked for Afghanistan. The MoD said that 2 Para and 3 Para were each about 100 men short, and that 60 men from 4 Para which is the Territorial Army support unit, are filling in some of the gaps.
Other units with manpower gaps going out to Helmand province in April include The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, and the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, all of which are 90 men short.
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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
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Well, hang in there Mr McKay, you seem to be going in with the right attitude, hold to it ,and try to find someone who has the ability to snuggle contry leaders up nice and close.. like a Lester Pearson or Winston Churchill... there is one out there with those abilities.. you gotta find him...and yes , let us stop the finger pointing.. we are all in this together, and we will win or die together and the last chance may be these meetings... ranrad
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Mike Blais
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07.02.2008
Germany Rejects US Pressure as NATO's Afghan Rift Deepens
US and British soldiers secure the site of a suicide attack in Kabul
German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung on Thursday, Dec. 7, flatly rejected US criticism that Germany and other NATO countries aren't willing to be full partners in the alliance's mission to Afghanistan.
"In my opinion our contribution is excellent," Jung said in Vilnius, Lithuania, where 25 NATO defense ministers gathered for a two-day meeting on Thursday. "We are the third largest contributor."
German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung gestures during a press conferenceBildunterschrift : Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Jung defended Germany's contribution to the mission
Germany has 3,200 peacekeeping troops deployed in the relatively peaceful northern Afghanistan. The US has 15,000 troops and Britain has 7,000. The NATO-led ISAF force has altogether 43,000 troops in the country.
Germany agreed on Wednesday to deploy about 250 combat soldiers as part of a NATO Quick Reaction Force. The troops would be stationed in the north, but could be called to help in other regions in an emergency.
The US insists, however, that the real concern isn't about troop numbers, but the refusal of some countries to allow troops to be stationed in the more volatile southern Afghanistan. Four NATO member states -- the US, Britain, Canada and the Netherlands -- are doing nearly all of the fighting against Taliban rebels in the south. Those countries want reinforcements from their NATO allies.
Pressure is on
If more countries don't begin sharing the burden of combat in Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned late on Wednesday that NATO could devolve into a "two-tiered alliance" clouding NATO's future.
"My view is you can't have some allies whose sons and daughters die in combat and other allies who are shielded from that kind of a sacrifice," he told the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also kept up pressure on reluctant allies during a trip with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband visiting troops fighting the Taliban.
"Frankly, I hope there will be more troop contributions and there needs to be more Afghan forces," Rice told reporters Thursday.
Canada considering pullout
Kandahar
Canada, which has 2,500 troops in the Kandahar province, has said it might pull out entirely if other countries don't help. Canada's minority government has scheduled a parliamentary vote of confidence in late March on whether to prolong its military mission in Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday.
"What we want to see is more of a one-for-all approach, that includes of course burden sharing in the south," Canada's Defense Minister Peter Mackay said before the meeting in Lithuania.
In particular, the US is applying pressure to Germany, France, Italy and Spain to send troops to southern Afghanistan.
France could send more troops
There's general recognition among NATO defense ministers that there's a shortfall of troops in Afghanistan. But there's no indication that the meeting on Thursday and Friday in Lithuania will produce further commitments.
Soldiers of the French- German Brigade rescue a wounded soldier during the NATO multi-national military exerciseBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: US wants more countries to send troops to South
The talks in Vilnius are "not about getting commitments from ministers to send troops," said NATO spokesman James Apparthurai. But he added that "hopefully we will see nations come forward with further offers as quickly as possible."
In Paris, a spokesman for President Nicolas Sarkozy said France was considering sending more troops to Afghanistan. He did not confirm that 700 paratroopers would be deployed to the south, as was reported by French media.
"These are issues that are being examined," Sarkozy's spokesman David Martinon said of possible new deployments. "To my knowledge no decision has been reached yet."
Mending fences
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer tried to play down talk of a damaging split within the organization.
NATO defense ministers sit at a table in Vilnius, Lithuania, Bildunterschrift: Meeting of the ministers
"I do not see a two-tier alliance, there is one alliance," Scheffer told reporters as he arrived in Vilnius.
He specifically thanked Germany for its contributions to the Afghanistan mission and said that other governments should save discussions of reinforcements for private sessions.
"I believe that Germany is doing a good job. I know the German parliament wants some limits (on where it deploys its troops). I want maximum flexibility in Afghanistan with all allies," Scheffer said.
Dutch Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop said that there was a "healthy tension" over the issue, and that Gates was using his "right to remind the alliance" of the problem.
More than manpower needed
Norwegian soldier stands in front of a military vehicleBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Troops from 40 nations are part of the NATO force in Afghanistan
Besides troops, NATO also lacks heavy transport aircraft, helicopters and unmanned spy aircraft, ministers said on Thursday. Ministers also agreed that NATO is in Afghanistan for the long haul.
While many participants expressed "cautious optimism" over the progress in bringing stability to the country, there was also an agreement that more troops, equipment and training of Afghan military would be necessary before NATO handed over the mission to local security forces.
Analysts at the NATO Defense College issued a report in January -- based on the conclusions of a seminar of NATO officials, military commanders, diplomats and security experts -- which highlighted the high stakes placed on Afghanistan.
"From a US perspective, Afghanistan is a 'make or break issue'," the report said. "A perceived failure would be blamed primarily on insufficient European engagement in the region."
DW staff (th)
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1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
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France may not answer Harper's call
The Canadian Press
February 11, 2008 at 4:55 PM EST
Ottawa — A news report suggests a French offer of more troops for Afghanistan may not be what the Harper government is hoping for.
The French newspaper Le Figaro says France is considering four options, only one of which would be to reinforce Canadian soldiers in the volatile Kandahar region.
France has roughly 2,000 soldiers based in Kabul, and another 200 maintaining six aircraft at Kandahar Air Field.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he will follow the main recommendations of the Manley report and continue the combat mission in Kandahar only if NATO provides 1,000 more troops.
French officials have strongly suggested they won't be able to provide that many soldiers and no one else has come forward.
Mr. Harper has been phoning the leaders of NATO countries over the last week in an attempt to drum up support. He continued his efforts Monday, with a call to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.
A spokeswoman said Mr. Harper outlined the Manley panel recommendations and the confidence motion now before Parliament.
"The chancellor said she understood the debate well and said the panel's report had been worthwhile and useful — not just for Canada," Sandra Buckler said in an e-mail to journalists.
"[The] leaders agreed on the importance of the mission in Afghanistan for NATO and agreed to remain in touch and work together in the weeks leading up to the NATO summit in Bucharest."
Mr. Harper has already spoken to the leaders of the U.S., Britain, France and the Netherlands.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay pushed Canada's military allies for more support at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Vilnius, Lithuania, last week.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion was meeting with his MPs and senators late Monday to discuss the party's Afghanistan strategy as an election looms.
Mr. Dion is set to propose amendments to a Conservative motion which demands that opposition parties agree to extend Canada's combat mission or face an election.
An official in Mr. Dion's office said Monday he doesn't expect French plans for Afghanistan would alter the content of the Liberal motion, which was expected to be unveiled Tuesday.
Despite political rhetoric suggesting the parties are far apart, it appears the Liberal plan could be similar in substance to the Tory motion on continuing Canada's presence in Afghanistan.
The Liberals want to end the combat aspect of the mission, but both parties say they want to speed training of Afghan army and police forces, and refocus aid and reconstruction efforts.
The Conservative motion calls for Canada to "shift to accelerate the training of the Afghan army and police," so the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai can defend itself.
It also calls for a "revamping" of Canada's aid and reconstruction efforts, placing priority on direct, immediate aid.
But it also leaves the door open to further extension of the mission, saying only that Canada's military deployment would be "reviewed" in 2011.
The Conservatives suggest the Liberals are split on Canada's future role in Afghanistan, and maintain they are merely "managing a Liberal mission."
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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
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
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Posts: 3213
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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I cannot help but wonder why it is up to Canada to scrounge up help instead of the leadership of NATO. And why is MacKay et al asking for troops from nations that already have more troops then we do on the ground? Note his first calls, like, sheeeeet, how many nations, who are members, that are doing nothing!
This in not our mission, it is NATO's mission and the secretary general of NATO should got off his useless ass, step up and do his job. Instead of riding on the backs of those who are not gutless and protecting those who are.
Brrrr...
Meanwhile... once again, the onus falls upon us.
Military boosts chopper firepower
Move to send armed helicopters to Afghanistan comes amid heated debate over nature, duration of mission
David Pugliese
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
The Canadian military is looking at sending as many as six Griffon helicopters to Afghanistan to provide additional firepower and surveillance for troops.
Liberal Senator Colin Kenny said he has been told the Griffons will be used in an attack helicopter role and will be equipped with weapons and sensors needed to strike at enemy formations. The deployment of the choppers would be done as soon as possible, he said.
"It can't happen soon enough," said Mr. Kenny, chairman of the Senate defence committee. He has been pushing for the deployment of the Griffons to Afghanistan as a way to further protect Canadian troops and cut down on casualties. Canada does not have its own helicopters in Afghan-istan.
Military officials, however, said a decision on the choppers has yet to be made, but planning on the option is advanced.
The idea of basing a "Griffon six-pack" in Kandahar is being proposed as one option for the Harper government, which has yet to approve the chopper deployment.
In addition, Public Works and Government Services Canada announced that it intends to award a sole-source contract to a U.S. firm for the purchase of three high-speed mini-guns to be installed on helicopters. The electrically-driven Gatling guns can fire up to 3,000 bullets a minute and the purchase includes the equipment to mount the weapons on to helicopters such as the Griffon.
The move comes as the Conservatives and Liberals jostle over the government's confidence motion on Afghanistan, which would not only extend Canada's combat mission to 2011, but provides an option for renewal after that. The Liberals say they won't accept those terms and are calling for an end to the combat mission in February 2009.
Defence Department officials have not responded to several requests over the last 10 days for information on the option to send Griffons to Kandahar. Under a new process, most statements issued by the department to the news media must be approved by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office or the Privy Council Office and any media questions about the Afghanistan mission are considered highly sensitive.
But Defence Department spokeswoman Lt. Isabelle Riché said the minigun purchase is "not connected to deploying Griffons to Afghanistan."
It "is an air force purchase to support the pre-deployment close combat attack training requirement of ground troops," she added in an e-mail
According to the Public Works notice, there is the potential for more Gatling guns to be purchased. The procurement will be used to establish tactics and procedures required so that helicopters can support ground troops.
The capability is in response to lessons learned by the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, the notice added.
The Gatling guns are to be purchased from Dillon Aero Inc. of Arizona and will be sent for testing at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, N.B.
The Harper government announced in the summer of 2006 its intention to buy U.S.-built Chinook helicopters, but discussions are still ongoing on that deal. It is not expected those large transport choppers will be delivered until after 2011. In the meantime, Defence Department officials are trying to convince the U.S. to provide older-model Chinook helicopters for Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
Poland has also indicated it will provide two helicopters and, while defence officials are appreciative of the offer, they note it won't meet all of Canada's chopper transport needs.
Military leaders such as defence chief Gen. Rick Hillier have talked about the need for Chinook transport helicopters to reduce casualties in Afghanistan. Canadian convoys have become frequent targets for both suicide bombers and Taliban ambushes.
Last year in response to Mr. Kenny's suggestion to send the Griffons to Afghanistan, Defence Minister Peter MacKay issued a statement that such an option would not be considered. Army officials, however, have been pushing for the choppers to be sent.
While the Griffons won't be used to carry soldiers, they can use the Gatling guns to attack insurgents on the ground who are threatening Canadian troops.
Details aren't being released on how much taxpayers are spending on the Gatling guns.
But it's not the first time the air force has considered arming the Griffon. In 2002, a military report concluded that outfitting the helicopter with sensors and weapons could be done and would be an effective way to enhance firepower. Weapons that could be fielded on the Griffon include missiles or a high-speed gun near the front of the chopper. The gun concept was considered as most suitable for upgrading the Griffon as an armed reconnaissance aircraft.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
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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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