Stephane Dion is currently in or leaving Afghanistan -- a good place for him to be.
It's time for Canadian politicians to insist on a visit to the UN Security Council. Here is WHY. and if they don't, the Canadian citizen must lead the way.
This is the real news of the day on Afghanistan taken off Crooks and Liars:
Defense officials aren’t calling it a surge, but it sure looks like one. The Pentagon is poised to send more than 3,000 additional troops to Afghanistan — all of them Marines, ABC News learned Wednesday.
The plan is a sign that things are not going well in Afghanistan. Commanders say they simply do not have enough troops to deal with the increased threat.
More violence struck Kabul today.And in case you are too lazy to go look at the links, this is the "meat" of US government's (the Bush Administration) announcments (bearing in mind that ABC is the CIA in action)
The additional forces include a Marine expeditionary unit and Marine battalion -- a total of 3,200 additional troops. The units will include helicopters, combat forces, and trainers to work with the Afghan army. They will go to Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold where coalition forces have been engaged in heavy combat.
*snip*
Defense officials tell ABC News that General McNeill has said he needs a total of 7,500 additional troops in Afghanistan. But with the military stretched thin in Iraq, this is all he can expect to get for now, they said.
The Canadian Vandoo regiment has already been shipped into Afghanistan. This is the Canadian propaganda put out on 3 January ..
Weaker insurgency lets Van Doos focus on roadbuildingThe Canadian Forces will follow through with promises this year to pave roads and build new infrastructure in two volatile Kandahar districts, Brig.-Gen. Guy LaRoche said Wednesday.
Now I may be a "weak, little female" and my coverage of the first line war is incomplete, but it does not take a genius to figure out that the roads are being fixed cuz more tanks, guns, ammo and supplies are needed in fighting the "insurrengency" in Iraq, not much to do with stabilitization of the region. Any effective intelligence efforts would have let them know this. It's a war of .... logistics. So let's look at the Canadian logistical support based on what the US (and the coalition) actually need and contrast that with the current hyperbole and media hype.Take a look at what LaRoche said to the press:
So I wonder -- how many more lost Canadian soldiers is "way too many."
While observing that "seven (lost soldiers) is way too many," LaRoche attributed the drop in fatalities to new equipment, including the metal-detecting Husky vehicle, and a change in strategy toward more foot patrols.
Could the Afghanians actually defend "their own"?
Talking about 3,000 US troops for Afghanistan is meaningless. Other analysts suggest far larger numbers are needed, not to mention the looming requirement of the Afghans to start a draft.
However, even if a draft were started to day, Afghan forces would not meet their current-planned requirements until the end of next year, 2009. Neuman in NYT raised the issue of supporting a draft in Afghanistan. The editorial well outlines some of the challenges NATO has yet to address. This is a start.
Here is what Dion said to the press, via the Globe and Mail:
Shortly before boarding a plane out of Kandahar around 8 p.m. local time, Mr. Dion ended his two-day trip by insisting that the best initiatives in Afghanistan have been ones led by Afghans themselves.
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