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See our man in Afghanistan Robert J. Galbraith

2008

Friday 16 May 2008 OTTAWA: AFGHANISTAN CONTINGENT GETS NEW COMMANDER
Gen. Denis Thompson has assumed command of the 2,500-member Canadian contingent in the Afghan province of Kandahar, relieving Gen. Guy Laroche who had been commander for the previous 10 months. Gen. Thompson served in Bosnia in 2001 and had been the commander of an armoured brigade at CFB Petawawa in Ontario.

Sunday 11 May 2008 At least two people were killed and seven others were wounded in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday in clashes between police and demonstrators protesting against civilian deaths at the hands of foreign troops. Several thousand protesters blocked a highway through Nangarhar province linking the capital Kabul with Pakistan. They were demonstrating against the killing of three civilians in the area by foreign forces in an overnight raid. An official for NATO in Kabul said that he was not aware of the raid. The U.S. military said all those killed were militants and the target of its raid was 'a foreign fighter network.'

• - 1365_War_media_RJG_EDIT_Seq_02.avi May 7, 2008 - 6 min Video page

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Sunday 04 May 2008 OTTAWA: AFGHAN INITIATIVE CAUSING DEBATE
The leader of the opposition New Democratic Party, Jack Layton, disagrees with Defence Minister Mr. MacKay over a new initiative by Canadian forces in Afghanistan. On Friday, Mr. MacKay criticized Canadian military leaders who are encouraging talks with Taliban rebels. Mr. MacKay said that such overtures are premature and a step ahead of an international working group that is trying to create a united front against the Taliban insurgency. But Mr. Layton says that it's encouraging that members of the Canadian military are trying to engage in dialogue with insurgents. About 2,500 Canadian forces are deployed in southern Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led force.

Saturday May 3, 2008 It was a bad year for press freedom in the world
7. Afghanistan. A war-torn landm yet journalists are more likely to be targeted for murder than slain in combat.

Friday 02 May 2008 KANDAHAR: PROMINENT AFGHAN BACKS TALKS WITH TALIBAN
Ahmed Wali Karzai, the head of the Kandahar provincial council and half-brother of President Hamid Karzai, has reacted positively to a newspaper report that Canada has shifted its attitude toward the Taliban and now supports contacts with them. The younger Mr. Karzai told the Canadian Press that something must be done to stop "the madness" of the insurgency and that he supports the Canadian decision wholeheartedly. He was reacting to a report in The Globe and Mail newspaper which cites unnamed military and political sources as saying that the Canadians are seeking both local discussions with the adversary and also strategic contacts through the Karzai government. The younger Mr. Karzai says such contacts could persuade many Taliban to return home, adding that last weekend's assassination attempt on the president proves that time for making peace is running out. Among the allies in Afghanistan, only Canada and the U.S. had refused direct efforts to reconcile the insurgents.

Friday 02 May 2008 Minister voices Afghan opium fear
Legalising production of opium in Afghanistan for medical use would fuel the drugs industry, a UK minister says.

Wednesday 23 April 2008 KANDAHAR: CANADIAN MINISTER STANDS BY CONTROVERSIAL GOVERNOR
The Canadian minister responsible for international co-operation, Bev Oda, has completed a three-day visit to Kandahar by praising the province's governor. Mrs. Oda said at a joint news conference with Asadullah Khalid that he appreciates not only Canada's military effort in the province but its development efforts as well. She, he and Canadian ambassador Arif Lalani took part in the inauguration of a Department of Literacy building to which the Canadian International Development Agency contributed $1.4 million. Last week, Canadian Foreign Minister created a diplomatic incident at the end of his own visit to Afghanistan by suggested that Mr. Khalid should be fired because of his involvement with corruption. A prominent Kandahar parliamentarian, Khalid Pashtun, told the Canadian Press that Mr. Khalid was preparing to leave his position as governor when Mr. Bernier made his call for his dismissal which then forced President Hamid Karzai to delay his plan to replace the governor to avoid giving the impression that he was subservient to Canada.

KANDAHAR: GOVERNOR DENOUNCES CONSPIRACY
The governor of the province of Kandahar has denounced an alleged plot to remove him. Asadullah Khalid says the conspiracy has been hatched at Kandahar Air Base and is the latest example of friction between him and his Canadian allies. Last week, Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier suggested that the governor be dismissed for corruption. Mr. Khalid claims there was a move to replace him with a Canadian-Afghan interpreter, a claim which a senior Canadian official ridiculed. The Canadian government eventually retracted Mr. Bernier's comments. In another development, a prominent Kandahar parliamentarian, Khalid Pashtun, has told the Canadian Press that Mr. Khalid was preparing to leave his position as governor when Mr. Bernier made his call for his dismissal which then forced President Hamid Karzai to delay his plan to replace the governor to avoid giving the impression that he was subservient to Canada.

KABUL: THIRD CABINET MINISTER VISITS AFGHANISTAN
Canada's minister for international co-operation, Bev Oda, visited the Afghan capital on Wednesday. She said her mission is to establish new "benchmarks, timelines and objectives" appropriate to international aid goals and fit with Canada's scheduled departure in 2011. Mrs. Oda visited a teachers' college funded with Canadian help, where she was welcomed by administrators and the Afghan education minister, Mohammed Haneef Atmar. Last October in Montreal, he was in Montreal with Mrs. Oda when she announced $60 million in aid to improve schools and teaching, with an emphasis on educating girls. Care International reported on Monday that only 35 per cent of Afghan students are girls. Mrs. Oda's visit follows that of the foreign minister, Mr. Bernier, and Defence Minister Peter MacKay

Tuesday Apr 22, 2008 Afghanistan mission 'stumbling toward failure'
NATO and coalition forces are "stumbling toward failure" in Afghanistan and no amount of military success...
NATO and coalition forces are "stumbling toward failure" in Afghanistan and no amount of military success against the Taliban will bring an end to the war without a fundamental change in political policy, a provocative article written by a serving U.S. army officer says.

Monday Apr 21, 2008 Cost of Afghan war at $1B a year
Afghan Mission. Price tag doubled in ' 06, Defence report says OTTAWA - The annual cost to Canada of the war in Afghanistan doubled in 2006 and is projected to crack the $1-billion mark this year, Canwest News Service has learned.

Thursday 17 April 2008 OTTAWA: ARMY SUFFERING PERSONNEL ATTRITION
Documents obtained by the Canadian Press news agency show that the Canadian Army is having trouble retaining troops as three more years of fighting in Afghanistan loom. The data is contained in briefing materials prepared for Defence Minister Peter MacKay. The papers include a presentation given last fall by Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie which showed the overall number of soldiers declined by 1,846 despite success in recruiting. The number of soldiers who chose to retire or not renew their contracts stood at 13 per cent, almost twice the figure for the army, navy and air force together. Mr. MacKay acknowledges there's a problem but says the government is taking steps to alleviate it.

Thursday Apr 17, 2008 Hillier left lasting impression on troops in Afghanistan
Soldiers spoke yesterday with regret about the impending loss of a leader who gave them a renewed sense...

Bernier needs to control his blunt candour
By all accounts, Kandahar Governor Asadullah Khalid is ill-suited to the job. As the regional political authority in the Afghan province where Canadian soldiers are fighting, he appears to be more part of the problem than part of the solution, having been linked to - though not formally tried and convicted of - both torture of prisoners and corruption on a considerable scale. The first of these led to an embarrassment for Canadian military and civil authorities - we're fighting for this? - and the second is the sort of problem that, though endemic and so not often reported upon, can cripple effective nation-building.

Tuesday 15 April 2008

BERNIER BURNS A DIPLOMATIC BRIDGE
The Globe and the Star lead, while The National and the Citizen front, and CTV News, the Post, and La Presse go inside with Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier’s diplomatic misstep in Afghanistan and the government’s frenetic attempt to correct it. On the last day of his seventy-two-hour tour of the country, Bernier told reporters yesterday that Canada would like to see Afghan President Hamid Karzai replace the current governor of Kandahar, Asadullah Khalid. According to CTV News, Bernier had previously expressed the same sentiment in a meeting with Karzai, suggesting that, in the government’s view, Khalid is corrupt and an obstacle to development in the region. The Globe reports that the Afghan president responded with a promise to appoint a new governor “within weeks.” That agreement seems to have been jeopardized, however, by Bernier’s public statements, which, according to the Star, make it difficult for Karzai to fire Khalid without looking like a puppet of the Canadian government.

Shortly after Bernier expressed his displeasure with Kandahar’s governor—in English and then in French—one of the minister’s more perceptive staffers made a futile attempt to quash the impending diplomatic crisis by explaining to the reporters that Bernier should not have spoken about the issue. The Globe reports that within hours of Bernier’s press scrum, politicians in Kandahar City were demanding a clarification from the Canadian government and voicing dismay that “the Canadian foreign minister is interfering with our affairs,” as one provincial council member said. A written statement was later issued by Bernier, which affirmed, in direct contradiction to his earlier remarks, that “Canada … is not calling for any changes to the Afghan government.” Opposition MPs are quoted across the Big Seven criticizing the minister and calling into question his competence in light of this latest blunder, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said that Bernier “quickly corrected the misimpression that had been left from earlier comments,” and would remain in his post. Meanwhile, despite allegations of corruption and personal involvement in torture, Asadullah Khalid might just get to keep his job, too.

Monday Apr 14, 2008 Giving a voice to the voiceless
Looking at the big picture of her 25-year-old life, Capt. Chelsea Braybrook does not think an extra ...

KABUL: FM 'CLARIFIES' ABGHANISTAN STATEMENT
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier has issued a statement clarifying some remarks about the governor of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. Mr. Bernier was in Kabul on the weekend, and later travelled to Kandahar to visit Canadian forces in the region. During the visit he was quoted as saying that Afghan President Hamid Karzai needed to replace the governor as soon as possible, citing issues of corruption. But Mr. Bernier later issued a statement saying Canada respects Afghanistan's sovereignty and was not trying to tell the Kabul government what to do. He'd also called for new targets for determining Canada's success in training Afghan security forces. Canada currently has 2,500 troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led mission trying to restore stability to the country.

OTTAWA: COMMISSION PERSISTS WITH AFGHAN DETAINEE INQUIRY
The chairman of the federal Military Police Complaints Commission, Peter Tinsley, says he's "surprised and disappointed" that the federal government is trying to shut down its inquiry into the treatment of prisoners taken by Canadian troops and then handed over to the Afghan authorities. Mr. Tinsley says his surprise is due to the fact that the government could have challenged the Commission's jurisdiction a year ago when the inquiry began. On Friday, the justice department filed an application for a judicial review in Federal Court of Canada on the grounds that the Commission lacks jurisdiction in such a case. The inquiry is at the behest of Amnesty International Canada and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association which claim that on at least 18 occasions prisoners were handed over when the soldiers knew there was a possibility that they would be tortured.

Sunday 13 April 2008 Merci France, Bernier says
700-troop promise. Foreign ministers meet on visit to Afghanistan
"I just want to reiterate and to thank my French partner, Bernard Kouchner, for what they just did with the announcement at Bucharest to help us and help the international community with a new battalion in the east," Bernier told a news conference at the foreign ministry in Kabul.

KABUL: FOREIGN MINISTER HOLDS HIGH-LEVEL TALKS IN AFGHANISTAN
Canada's foreign minister on Saturday repeated Canada's commitment to help Afghanistan's government to fight Taliban militants. Maxime Bernier held talks with President Hamid Karzai and with the Afghan foreign minister, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, in Kabul. Mr. Bernier said that Canada is in the country to build a viable state. But he admitted that there were challenges, including the problem of corruption. Canada has around 2,500 troops in southern Afghanistan. Eighty-two Canadian soldiers have been killed since their mission began in 2002. France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also arrived in Kabul. The two foreign ministers were expected to visit the southern city of Kandahar, former stronghold of the hardline Taliban militia.

Friday 11 April 2008 At least eight Afghan civilians were killed in suicide car bomb attack on a NATO convoy Thursday in the southern city of Kandahar. No NATO troops were hurt. Their convoy had just passed when the bomber detonated his explosives. There was no claim of responsibility but the Taliban rebels have promised to step up their war to expel foreign troops and bring down the Western-backed government. Canada is part of the NATO-led military force in Afghanistan and has about 2,500 troops stationed in Kandahar province.

Friday 11 April 2008 DEFINING AGHANISTAN DOWNWARDS
The Globe, the Star, and La Presse (not available online) go inside with the appearance of Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier and Trade Minister David Emerson in front of the House foreign affairs committee. It is Emerson’s oft-vaunted managerial prowess, and not his ministerial file, that is the reason for his presence at a hearing on Afghanistan, as he heads a Cabinet committee-created in response to the Manley report-charged with improving the oversight of Canada’s participation in the NATO occupation and reconstruction effort. These days, the Globe reports, he’s trying to develop some metrics for the progress of the mission, like education and development levels, that go beyond the mounting number of Canadian casualties. Though Emerson is not “under the illusion that Afghanistan is going to be a thriving, prosperous democracy by 2011,” he believes that the best-case scenario is that NATO will leave a “viable state” behind. Hillier, meanwhile, let slip during his testimony that a NATO study conducted back in 2006 identified the need for one thousand extra soldiers in Kandahar province, long before the Manley panel made the same recommendation. With no additional troops forthcoming, the military made the choice to focus resources on a limited number of areas, what the Star calls “strategic pockets,” away from the “persistent trouble spots” along the border with Pakistan, in language reminiscent of a detergent commercial. In the hopes of participating in a more thorough scrubbing of the dangerous Afghan south, Hillier expressed the wish that the US might conduct an Afghanistan troop surge sometime in 2009. “It would be great to see, wouldn’t it?”

Daniel Casey is a Montreal-based MediaScout writer for Maisonneuve Magazine.

Friday Apr 4, 2008 PM won't rule out Afghanistan extension
Canadian troops could stay past 2011. Exit strategy linked to successfully training Afghan forces in Kandahar, Harper says

Wednesday 02 April 2008 KANDAHAR: SENATORS VISIT WAR
Six Canadian senators began on Tuesday a visit to the Afghan province of Kandahar, where 2,500 Canadian troops are deployed against insurgents. The senators are members of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, who are making their first visit to Afghanistan since the House of Commons extended the deployment to 2011. The visitors met representatives Canada's Provincial Reconstruction Team, Canadian soldiers and police and toured a road reconstruction project. Liberal Party Sen. Colin Kenney says he has noted progress since he was last in Afghanistan, particularly in that the military, police, corrections officers, the foreign affairs department and the Canadian International Development Agency are all better collaborating. However, he also says that many of Canada's ultimate objectives remain ill-defined and that therefore it is difficult to measure progress

Sunday 30 March 2008 KUUJJUAK: PM DOWNPLAYS EXPECTATIONS FOR NATO SUMMIT
Prime Minister Stephen Harper appears to be downplaying hopes that Canada will get all the help it wants for the country's Afghanistan mission from its allies at next week's two-day NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania. Mr. Harper says that while he's confident that NATO will come through with 1,000 reinforcements for operations in Kandahar and advanced military equipment, the process may take more than two days. The prime minister says he's sure that there will be additional commitments by some of the allies in the coming weeks. It was widely anticipated that French President Nicolas Sarkozy would commit more French troops to Afghanistan during the Bucharest summit, but he outlined France's intention to do so in his recent visit to Britain. Canada's House of Commons recently voted to extend the country's Afghanistan deployment until 2011 on the condition that NATO offers the reinforcements along with drones and battle helicopters.

Sunday 23 March 2008 Two foreign soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan on Friday when their vehicle struck a landmine planted on a busy road. The soldiers were on a security patrol with Afghan forces. The nationalities of the troops were not reported. About 2,500 Canadian soldiers are part of the NATO force in southern Afghanistan. More than 30 international soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year.

British and French defence ministries are denying reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy plans to announce that one thousand additional French troops will be sent to Afghanistan. The Times of London newspaper cited unnamed senior ministers. The report said that Mr. Sarkozy wants to demonstrate his commitment to the NATO alliance's Afghan mission during a visit to London that begins on Friday. Canada recently pledged to extend its mission in the southern region of Kandahar to 2011 on condition that NATO allies provide an additional one thousand troops in the region. France already has 1,900 soldiers in northern Afghanistan.

Sunday 16 March 2008 ST. JOHN'S: DEMONSTRATIONS HELD AGAINST CANADIAN MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN
Demonstrations were scheduled on Saturday in about 20 Canadian towns and cities to protest against Canada's mission in Afghanistan. More than one thousand people marched through downtown Toronto, and hundreds of protesters waved flags and sang in Montreal. The rallies came two days after the House of Commons voted to extend the Afghan mission by almost three years to the end of 2011. Two opposition parties voted against the extension, but did not have enough votes to defeat the government motion. Peace activists urged the Conservative Party government to withdraw 2,500 Canadian soldiers deployed in southern Afghanistan.

A suicide car bombing near a convoy of international troops in eastern Afghanistan killed an Afghan teenager. One NATO soldier and four Afghan civilians were also killed in the blast in the province of Khost. NATO's International Security Assistance Force did not identify the nationalities of the soldiers. Most troops in Khost province are American.

Thursday 13 March 2008 OTTAWA: AFGHAN PRISONERS DON'T HAVE CHARTER RIGHTS
Federal Court of Canada has ruled that prisoners captured by Canadian soldiers are not protected by Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court has found that the prisoners do have rights under their own country's constitution and international law but not Canada's. Federal Court thus rejected a request by Amnesty International Canada and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association for an injunction to prevent Canadian troops from handing over to the Afghan authorities because of a lack of proof that they wouldn't be tortured. There have been dozens of allegations of torture since 2006 when a Canadian battle group arrived in Kandahar which the Conservative government insisted were unproven or lies by the Taliban insurgents. However, Canadian diplomats did discover one undisputed case. In related news, the chairman of the military police complaints commission has ordered public hearings on the matter. Peter Tinsley says he based his decision on the government's refusal to provide relevant documents.

Wednesday 12 March 2008 MONTREAL: AFGHANISTAN MISSION MORE COSTLY THAN PLANNED
La Presse newspaper reports that the Canadian mission in Afghanistan will have cost $1 billion more than planned for the fiscal year ending on March 31. Figures from defence department documents show that between April 1 and Sept. 30, 2007, $540 million more was spent than budgeted and that the figure will be similar from the period between Sept. 30 and March 31 2008. Canada's participation in the NATO mission in Afghanistan since 2001 has now cost $7.5 billion, $3.5 billion more than planned.

OTTAWA: REINFORCEMENTS FOR KANDAHAR SUPPORTED
Former Liberal Party cabinet minister John Manley defended his recommendation that Canada's NATO allies supply 1,000 more troops to aid the Canadian military effort in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar before the House of Commons foreign affairs committee on Tuesday. Mr. Manley headed an independent panel that made that recommendation, suggesting that the mission be extended until 2011 on that condition. He told the committee that 1,000 was the minimum number Canada should expect from its allies and that his panel based that figure on recommendations by Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of staff, and Gen. Guy LaRoche, who commanded Canadian troops in Afghanistan last fall. Opposition members of the committee question, however, whether 1,000 reinforcements would suffice to help the Canadians troops contain Taliban insurgents.

Wednesday 27 February 2008 PARIS: FRANCE WEIGHS AFGHAN REDEPLOYMENT
Le Monde newspaper reports that the French military is considering repositioning its troops in Afghanistan but not to Kandahar, where Canada is hoping for 1,000 NATO reinforcements. According to the newspaper, the French military is weighing moving them to the east, a move that could enable the Americans now there to redeploy to help Canada. France has 1,900 soldiers in Afghanistan and Canada 2,500. Last week, the Conservative government introduced in the House of Commons a motion extending Canada's mission in Afghanistan to 2011, but only on the condition that reinforcements be dispatched to Kandahar and that Canada receive pilotless aircraft and other advanced equipment. As well, after next February the mission would focus on reconstruction and training rather than combat with insurgents.

Tuesday 26 February 2008 OTTAWA: COMMONS DEBATE ON AFGHANISTAN BEGINS
The House of Commons began on Monday debate on a Conservative government motion regarding the Canadian military deployment in Afghanistan. The text calls for final withdrawal in July 2011, and a shifted focus to reconstruction in Kandahar in one year's time. It also sets a deadline of February 2009 for an end to the military's main role as engaging in combat with Taliban insurgents and conditions Canada's continued presence on the addition of 1,000 NATO reinforcements in the province. The minority government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made the approval of the motion a question of confidence, meaning that if the opposition defeats it, there would be a national election. Opposition Liberal leader Stéphane Dion says his party will back the motion provided some "slight differences" are resolved, a position seeming to indicate that the government will survive the confidence vote next month. Defence Minister Peter MacKay thanked the Liberals for working with the government to achieve a consensus, adding that the NATO mission has already achieved much in freeing Afghanistan from the tyranny of the Taliban. NDP leader Jack Layton, however, denounced the "motion to continue a war," and claimed that there's no guarantee another vote in the House won't extend the deployment. The NDP wants the mission ended immediately.

Saturday 23 February 2008 OTTAWA: GOVT. AMENDS AFGHANISTAN MOTION
Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper has presented a new motion in Parliament to help bridge the gap between his Conservative Party government and the official opposition Liberal Party over the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan. The motion states that all Canadian troops will be out of the volatile Kandahar region by December 2011. That's six months later than the Liberal Party has called for. Mr. Harper also says the Canadian mission in Afghanistan will focus on training and reconstruction, as demanded by the Liberal party. The vote to be held next month will be a vote of confidence. If the motion is not accepted, the government will fall and an election held.

KANDAHAR: AFGHAN ARMY NEEDS SUPPORT INDEFINITELY
Both the incoming and outgoing commanders of Canada's mentoring team with the Afghan army in Kandahar warn that Canadian soldiers will have to accompany the Afghans into combat after 2009 because they're unable to conduct combat missions alone. Col. Stéphane Lafaut, the outgoing commander of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team, has told the Canadian Press that it's impossible to put a timeline on when the Afghan army will be able to operate independently. The Afghan army has two full battalions of 600 men each, with a third on the way. But Col. Lafaut says only one of them is able to carry out almost all elements of combat unassisted. The incoming commander, Col Francois Riffou, assumed his new command on Thursday. He says the Canadians won't lead the Afghans in combat but will be there in support.

Saturday Feb 23, 2008 Afghan compromise is a credit to Parliament
The two biggest parties in Parliament have, we are happy and surprised to note, managed to co-operate and compromise to resolve an important issue in a sensible way.

Saturday 23 February 2008 OTTAWA: CHIEF OF STAFF WANTS CLARITY ON AFGHANISTAN
Chief of staff Gen. Rick Hillier has called on Parliament to give strong support to the current military mission in Afghanistan and furnish it with a clear and robust mandate. Gen. Hillier says soldiers don't ask for much but they do require a clear mandate. He also noted that Taliban insurgents are paying attention to the debate over Afghanistan in Canada and will try to take advantage of any perceived weakness to prevent such a definition. Gen. Hillier says the troops need a mandate that goes beyond self-defence and allows them to hunt down the rebels. Canada's governing Conservative Party and the opposition Liberals have agreed on a resolution that sets 2011 as the end date for the deployment in Afghanistan, with next February as the end of its active combat phase, the mission then focussing on training the Afghan military and reconstruction. The resolution makes the extension past February 2009 conditional on NATO providing 1,000 reinforcement to help Canada in Kandahar province, plus equipment including pilotless aircraft.

Sunday 17 February 2008 OTTAWA: CIVIL SERVANTS TO BE REWARDED FOR AFGHANISTAN SERVICE
The Canadian government will pay risk bonuses of up to $10,000 to its civil servants who agree to work in Afghanistan. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reports that their insurance coverage will be improved and such federal employees will enjoy more vacation days. The government is hoping such incentives will improve recruitment, which has become increasingly difficult. The civil servants fear working in Afghanistan more and more, particularly in the south where fighting against the Taliban is most intense.

Thursday 14 February 2008 THE STRAIGHT GOODS:
The government and the opposition continue to refine their positions on Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan, as they prepare for a possible election. Canada’s amateur athletes are performing better than ever in the lead-up to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Four impressionist paintings, worth a combined $163 million, are stolen at gunpoint from a Swiss art gallery.
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COMING CLOSE TO A MOOT COMPROMISE
The National and the Star lead, while CTV News, the Globe, the Post, and the Citizen go inside with the shrinking chasm between the government’s position on the future of Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan and that of the Official Opposition. During Question Period yesterday, deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff berated the government with a series of questions meant to determine whether 2011—the year to which the Conservatives want to extend the mission in Afghanistan—is meant as a renewal date or a firm deadline for withdrawal from the conflict. Government House leader Peter Van Loan explained that the specified year is not a firm deadline, but provides a set time for the government to re-evaluate Canada’s role in the war. However, Keith Boag reported on The National last night that government insiders told him yesterday that, for what it’s worth, they intend to end the mission in 2011. If that’s so, then the only remaining substantial difference between the Tory and Liberal positions on Afghanistan is that the latter party wants an immediate end to the combat dimension of the mission—an increasingly firm stance that will be outlined in the Liberal amendment to the government’s Afghanistan motion, which, the Globe reports, will probably be made public later today.

Though the difference between government and opposition positions continues to erode, the conflict over the feasibility of a non-combat role in Afghanistan still has the potential to send Canadians to the polls, as the government’s bill to extend the mission is a matter of confidence. However, both a separate article in the Globe and Don Martin in the Post predict that the government will not last until the expected March vote on Afghanistan, but will instead be brought down on the federal budget, which, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced yesterday, will be put forward on February 26. Martin suggests that both the Conservatives and the Liberals believe that they will benefit from an immediate dropping of the writ—the government because they want to capitalize on the perception, currently prevalent, that Liberal leader Stéphane Dion lacks the necessary leadership qualities to be prime minister, while the Grits want either to put an imminent end to “the evil Harper empire,” or take this opportunity to replace their leader.

Thursday 14 February 2008 OTTAWA: PM SEES COMPROMISE WITH OPPOSITION ON AFGHANISTAN
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he sees a possible compromise with the opposition Liberal Party after it presented an amendment to the government's proposed motion concerning Canada's mission in Afghanistan. Mr. Harper says his Conservative government will weigh whether to modify its motion to take account of the concerns expressed in the amendment. The prime minister says that the proposed amendment moves the debate "in the right direction." The Conservative motion would extend the Afghanistan mission to the end of 2011, although that date wouldn't be a definitive deadline. The amendment proposed by Liberal leader Stéphane Dion would change the mission in Kandahar from combating insurgents after February 2009 to reconstruction until 2011, after which there would be a complete military withdrawal. But Mr. Dion said on Tuesday that the reconstruction effort could be protected militarily. The minority government's motion is a confidence matter, meaning that if the opposition defeats it there would be a national election. Mr. Harper says neither his party nor Mr. Dion's wants to fight an election over Afghanistan.

Thursday Feb 14, 2008 Dion does the right thing on Afghan mission
Stephen Harper and Stéphane Dion appear to be well on the way to a compromise on Afghanistan. A federal election, if there is one this spring, now seems likely to be fought on some other issue, probably the budget to be presented Feb. 26.

Wednesday Feb 13, 2008

Compromise might end stalemate over Afghan mission
A potential compromise to avert a federal election over Canada's military mission in Afghanistan was.

Tuesday 12 February 2008 OTTAWA: FRANCE CONSIDERS VARIOUS AFGHAN OPTIONS
The French newspaper Le Figaro reports that the French government is weighing several strategic changes for its army in Afghanistan, only one of which is the reinforcement of Canadian troops in Kandahar. Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay discussed the latter eventuality with his French counterpart last week during a meeting in Lithuania of NATO foreign ministers. The newspaper says the French government is also considering the possibilities of moving its soldiers into Helmand province west of Kandahar, of increasing troops levels around Kabul and of teaming French special forces with American troops. The Canadian government said last week that it wants to prolong the military mission in Afghanistan beyond the February 2009 deadline mandated by Parliament on the condition that NATO provides 1,000 reinforcements in Kandahar and more equipment, including combat helicopters. The minority government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has presented a motion in the House of Commons proposing that and if the question of confidence is defeated, the House will be dissolved and a national election will ensue.

Monday 11 February 2008 OTTAWA: AFGHAN AMBASSADOR SENDS APPEAL
Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada, Omar Samad, on Sunday urged Canada's military to resist local political pressure and remain in Afghanistan. He described NATO's security role in his country as essential for rebuilding the nation's infrastructure and for containing terrorism. Mr. Samad predicted that Afghanistan would suffer drastic results if international forces left too soon.

Sunday Feb 10, 2008 Dion softens on Afghanistan
With momentum for a spring election growing, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion took a softer stance on the...

Saturday 09 February 2008 OTTAWA: AFGHAN MISSION IS CONFIDENCE MATTER
Canada's Conservative Party government introduced a confidence motion in Parliament on Friday to extend Canada's combat mission in southern Afghanistan. The mission is scheduled to end in a year's time. The motion proposes extending it until 2011 but only on condition that Canadian forces receive more equipment and NATO provide 1,000 more soldiers in southern Afghanistan. The opposition Liberal Party is expected to reject the motion when it comes to a vote next month. If the motion is defeated, the minority government would fall and an election be held. But the government could fall earlier if the opposition defeats two other confidence votes on the federal budget and on the government's anti-crime bill.

Saturday Feb 9, 2008 In Kandahar, Canadian troops are divided on prospect of another tour "My men don't want to come back after 2009," the captain said.

VILNIUS: CANADA GIVES NATO CONDITIONS FOR LONGER AFGHANISTAN MISSION
Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay has informed his 25 NATO counterparts of Canada's conditions for prolonging its military deployment in Afghanistan beyond February 2009. The minister told an informal ministerial meeting in Lithuania that the 2,500 Canadian troops deployed in the southern province of Kandahar need 1,000 reinforcements, in addition to helicopters and unmanned surveillance aircraft. Before the closed-door meeting, he said the conditions are non-negotiable. Earlier in the week, opposition Liberal Party leader Stéphane Dion said he had been told by Prime Minister Stephen Harper that a vote at the end of March in the House of Commons on extension of the Afghanistan mission would be a question of confidence for his minority government. A vote against extension by the three opposition parties would therefore bring down the Conservative government and provoke a national election. Mr. MacKay declined comment on that eventuality but did say that "clear signals of support" from allies would be helpful in giving Canadians confidence in NATO's mission in Afghanistan.

Friday 08 February 2008 Not only Jérôme Kerviel is pointing an accusing finger at Société Générale
MIGHT Afghanistan’s “forgotten war” yet defeat the most successful military alliance in history? Last year saw NATO-led troops engage in their deadliest fighting yet in support of the government of Hamid Karzai. The winter snows that blanket Afghanistan’s mountains have for now quietened the frontlines. But roadside bombings and suicide attacks—tactics the Taliban have picked up with increasingly lethal effect from al-Qaeda operatives in Iraq—still take their toll among Western forces and ordinary Afghans.

Thursday 07 February 2008 Next Year’s War Costs Estimated at $170 Billion or More
By DAVID STOUT and THOM SHANKER
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates cautioned that any estimate would be dicey, given the unpredictability of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wednesday Feb 6, 2008 Canada may call Afghanistan confidence vote: media
TORONTO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper may call a confidence vote as early as next week over prolonging Canada's military mission in Afghanistan, according to two Canadian media reports, and defeat for his minority Conservative government would bring an early election.

Harper and Dion fail to find common ground on Afghanistan
Liberal leader Stéphane Dion described his call for an end to the Canadian combat mission in Afghanistan...

Tuesday 05 February 2008 OTTAWA: CANADA LAYS CARDS ON TABLE TO NATO ALLIES
Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay will meet his 25 NATO counterparts at an informal meeting in Lithuania this week to discuss the alliance's manpower needs in southern Afghanistan, where Canada has deployed 2,500 troops. The allies have been at odds over whether to reinforce them. An independent panel headed by former cabinet minister John Manley recommended that the Canadians be withdrawn from Kandahar province unless more troops are deployed and helicopters made available by February 2009. The U.S. has asked Germany to redeploy 1,000 of the 3,200 troops based in northern Afghanistan to the south, a demand which that country rejected. Speaking in Ottawa on Monday, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski promised that two of the eight helicopters which the Poles are flying in Afghanistan would be made available for operations in Kandahar.

Tuesday 05 February 2008 Time Runs Out for an Afghan Held by the U.S.
By CARLOTTA GALL and ANDY WORTHINGTON
The fate of the first detainee to die of natural causes at the U.S. prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, reveals the problem of military tribunals, Afghans say.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Abdul Razzaq Hekmati was regarded here as a war hero, famous for his resistance to the Russian occupation in the 1980s and later for a daring prison break he organized for three opponents of the Taliban government in 1999.
But in 2003, Mr. Hekmati was arrested by American forces in southern Afghanistan when, senior Afghan officials here contend, he was falsely accused by his enemies of being a Taliban commander himself. For the next five years he was held at the American military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where he died of cancer on Dec. 30.

Tuesday Feb 5, 2008

The situation in Afghanistan  is increasingly bleak and it does not appear that NATO will come to reinforce the Canadians, British and other allies.

Monday 04 February 2008 KANDAHAR: CANADIAN GENERAL TAKES COMMAND IN SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN
Canadian Major-General Mark Lessard assumed the top post for international military efforts in southern Afghanistan on Saturday. In a ceremony at Kandahar air field, he took over Regional Command South from British Brigadier General Jacko Page. General Page oversaw military efforts in the six provinces of southern Afghanistan since last May. General Lessard praised his predecessor, but said that it is time for NATO forces to fight harder against Taliban insurgents.

KANDAHAR: AFGHAN GOVERNOR DEFENDS TREATMENT OF DETAINEES
The governor of Afghanistan's Kandahar province, Asadullah Khalid, is rejecting allegations that he was involved in torturing a prisoner, saying that the treatment of detainees is the responsibility of the military. In an interview with the Canadian Press, he said that he visited prisons in Kandahar only once to observe renovation efforts, but was never alone with a prisoner at any time. Canadian government officials who visited Kandahar in November heard a prisoner complain that Mr. Khalid had tortured him. Canada's foreign minister, Peter MacKay, says that he discussed prisoner treatment with Mr. Khalid. Mr. Khalid says that he cannot recall meeting Mr. MacKay. Canadian forces stopped transferring detainees to Afghan authorities in the same month. Allegations of torture by Afghan authorities first became public last Spring. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission last week received information from Canada's military that its soldiers have as many as 20 detainees in custody.

Sunday 03 February 2008 OTTAWA: HILLIER RESPONDS TO LIBERALS' PROPOSAL
Canada's chief of defence staff Friday dismissed suggestions that Canadian forces might remain in southern Afghanistan in a non-combat mode. Gen. Rick Hillier was reacting to a proposal by the opposition Liberal Party. The Liberals proposed recently that after Canada's mission ends as scheduled early next year, its troops could turn to training local soldiers. Speaking in Ottawa, Gen. Hillier said that the Afghan army is still incapable of handling security, adding that any troops in southern Kandahar province would have to be involved in combat. Canada currently has 2,500 troops stationed in Kandahar. On another matter, Gen. Hillier said he was unwilling to accept as fact a published allegation that an Afghan provincial governor took part in torture. The Globe and Mail reported Friday that allegations against Kandahar Governor Asadullah Khalid were reported to senior officials in Ottawa last spring and Canadian diplomats secretly reported them to the International Red Cross and Afghanistan's main human-rights group. Gen. Hillier said that--so far--all that exists is an allegation. At an event in Toronto, Prime Minister Harper refused to answer questions regarding the allegations.

KANDAHAR: RIGHTS GROUP WANTS TO TALK ABOUT ARRESTED INSURGENTS
The Afghan human rights agency charged with investigating the condition of arrested insurgents wants to reopen talks with Canada about turning detainees back over to Afghan authorities. A spokesman for the Afghan Independent Human Rights Agency said Friday the agency was told by Canadian officials that they had stopped transferring detainees to Afghan authorities in November. Farid Hamidi said the agency learned of the policy change from the media last week and only after that were they informed that the Canadians had arrested between 18 to 20 people since that time. He said the assumption is that they are being held at the Kandahar Airfield, but he doesn't know that for certain because his agency was not told. Mr. Hamidi said conditions at Afghan prisons have much improved since th