Canada is in the thick of the Afghanistan war on insurgents for the past 8 1/2 years. two US Generals are stating the obvious.
One says this :Afghan war to get tougher: Petraeus
Gen. David Petraeus of the U.S. Central Command told a defence conference Thursday that an enormous amount of difficult work as well as tough fighting lie ahead in the 8-year-old war in Afghanistan, and that it will get harder before it gets easier.
As was the case in Iraq, the reality in Afghanistan is that everything is hard, and it's hard all the time, he said.
The security of Afghanistan deteriorated in recent years as the Taliban and other extremist elements regrouped to wage violence against coalition forces.
Petraeus delivered a speech to the Conference of Defence Associations lobby group that was by turns a pep rally for the coalition effort in the troubled country and a congratulatory note to the Canadian military.
He told the Ottawa audience that the coalition in Afghanistan has put in place everything it needs to mount an effective campaign against a tough, adaptive and brutal enemy.
And he stressed the importance of improving security for Afghans and improving conditions to the point where local forces can take on those tasks. He noted the high illiteracy rate in Afghanistan, saying there are police officers who can't read the laws they're supposed to enforce.
Traditional local structures long used to solve disputes will be a crucial part of the country's future. The number of civilian deaths caused by coalition forces is dropping, he said.
The general praised Canadian soldiers and civilians in Kandahar for striving to maintain the goodwill of the Afghan people.
Indeed, a number of your troopers have now made multiple deployments to the same districts, and this has been invaluable in the efforts there, he said. Canadians have borne a considerable burden and made tremendous sacrifices in some very tough areas.
The United States, which has 75,000 troops on the ground, is bolstering its presence in Afghanistan as Canada prepares to end its combat role. Canada plans to pull out its 2,800-strong contingent by the end of next year. Canada has lost 140 soldiers in Afghanistan.
After his speech, Petraeus said he wasn't trying to twist Canada's arm into staying. I'm not up here trying to encourage Canada to do anything, he told a news conference.
He also declined to suggest avenues for Canada's civilian-led efforts to assist Afghanistan once its military mission ends. But he expressed support for Canadian civilian-led initiatives to date.
I think Canada can do it all it does do it all. Which elements of 'all' it chooses are a national decision at the end of the day. Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/03/04/petraeus-afghan-war.html#ixzz0hLYsyGDs
General McChrystal states:
NATO's commander in Afghanistan says foreign troops can no longer conduct nighttime military operations unless Afghan security forces are present. U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), gave the directive earlier this year, but the directive remained classified until NATO released excerpts Friday.
McChrystal said that night raids can be productive in the fight against Taliban insurgents, but they can also turn civilians against the foreign forces if handled improperly. Despite their effectiveness and operational value, night raids come at a steep cost in terms of the perceptions of the Afghan people, he said.
The myths, distortions and propaganda arising out of night raids often have little to do with the reality few Afghans have been directly affected by night raids, but nearly every Afghan I talk to mentions them as the single greatest irritant.
Under the directive, Afghan forces must be present during all nighttime operations and must take the lead when conducting home searches. As well, allied forces must keep a detailed account of any items seized during the course of a raid.
Afghan authorities must also take an active role in planning and executing any nighttime raids, the directive states. No change needed for Canadian Forces
Col. Simon Hetherington, acting commander of Canada's Task Force Kandahar, said the Canadian military has already been doing what McChrystal is now asking of other coalition troops. Its to standardize and really heighten awareness across all the NATO troops here that respecting the population is the way that were going to achieve the effect of protecting the population and gaining their respect, he said.
Hetherington said a poorly planned operation is likely to offend the Afghan population whether it's during the day or at night. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been calling for an end to nighttime raids on homes. We believe that the war on terror is not in the Afghan villages and homes, Karzai told a security conference in Munich last month.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/03/05/afghan-nighttime-raids.html#ixzz0hLZpx1Ql
Both of the preceeding stories certainly emphasise the difficulties that Canadian Troops and their allies are facing.
It behooves our opposition parliamentarians in Ottawa, to forget about stirring up the issue of Afghan detainees. Canada has enough problems without worrying over a group of killers that have absolutely no morale values whatsoever. Let the Afghan Government apply their own laws to these captured. Culturally these fanatics will never change, and their methods of killing both Afghan civilians and NATO forces , human shields , suicide bombings, ied's and other forms of terrorism. The time has come to cease pussy footing and insure that this parasitic enemy is defeated once and for all.
Monday 08 March is International Womens day, I wonder how Afghan women will be able to celebrate it?
Upcoming Events for International Women's Day
March 8, 2010 marks the 99th anniversary of International Women's Day [IWD].
This day rose out of a process of critical debates, struggles and claims in response to oppression of women. In 1910, Clara Zetkin proposed the idea of globally recognizing one day a year in order to assert the rights of all women. The proposal was met with unanimous approval and the result was the creation of International Women's Day. Since this time we have seen many significant changes in women's equality. In many countries, women attend university, some women have been elected Presidents and some have even walked on the moon. However, women continue to be underrepresented in politics and business, they are not equally paid to men and globally the health and violence risks they face are far worse than those of men. IWD recognizes and celebrates the social, political and economic achievements of women and also serves as a reminder of our collective responsibility to continue to promote women's equality in political, economic and cultural spheres of life. This year thousands of events will be held ranging from theatric performances to political rallies and more. Also, this year's International Women's Day coincides with the launch of the World March of Women (WMW)*. CESO encourages you to partake in events in your community. To see a list of activities in English please click here. To see a list of activities in French please click here. *For more information regarding the World March of Women 2010 click here.
Programmation venir pour la Journe internationale de la femme
Le 8 mars 2010 marque le 99e anniversaire de la Journe internationale de la femme [JIF].
Cette journe symbolise un large processus de luttes, de revendications et de dbats en rponse l'oppression des femmes. En 1910, Clara Zetkin a propos la cration d'une journe dans l'anne afin de reconnatre les droits des femmes. Cette proposition a men la cration de la Journe internationale de la femme. Depuis, nous avons observ des changements considrables en matire d'galit des femmes. De plus en plus de femmes vont l'universit, certaines femmes ont t lues en tant que Prsidentes et quelques femmes ont mme march sur la lune. Cependant, les femmes sont toujours sous-reprsentes en politique et en affaires, elles ne sont pas payes au mme titre que les hommes, elles font face des risques beaucoup plus levs que les hommes en matire de sant et sont plus souvent victimes de violence que ces derniers. La JIF est une journe de reconnaissance qui clbre les ralisations sociales, politiques et conomiques accomplies par les femmes. Cette journe permet galement de rappeler la ncessit de continuer promouvoir l'galit des femmes dans les sphres politique, conomique et culturelle afin d'assurer la pleine participation des femmes la socit. Cette anne, une srie d'activits et d'vnements commmoratifs sera organise afin de clbrer la JIF, en passant par la prsentation de pices de thtre jusqu' l'organisation de rassemblements politiques et plus encore. De plus, cette anne la Journe internationale de la femme concide avec le lancement de la troisime anne d'actions internationales de la Marche mondiale des femmes*. SACO vous encourage participer aux vnements et aux activits prvues dans votre communaut. Pour accder une liste d'activits en franais veuillez cliquer ici. Pour accder une liste d'activits en anglais veuillez cliquer ici. *Pour plus d'informations sur la Marche mondiale des femmes 2010, veuillez cliquer ici.
Please show support for our troops. Wherever they may serve.
Nil Sine Labore
Robby
