generalspeaking

Prolongation of International Responsibilities

It would have been unavoidable. In any event, had the Government of Canada not decided to acquiesce to the requests of its allies in NATO to continue an official, military and diplomatic presence in Afghanistan while the process of training and eventual foreign troop withdrawal takes place, it would have resulted in an abrogation of international responsibility. More than that, it would have represented a position not truly reflective of how Canada sees itself.

"It's the right timing. It is exactly what NATO is looking for. I had detected growing level of criticisms about Canada completely walking away from Afghanistan. This will dispel a lot of those concerns and show Canada has a long-term plan for the country. We need to convert some combat troops into trainers to ensure full transition will be realized by 2014... NATO has been quite vocal about nations digging a bit deeper. A country such as Canada, with a proven record in Afghanistan, has exactly the trainers we are looking for." Senior NATO alliance official

Canada has indeed given much of itself. It has sacrificed the lives of 152 Canadian soldiers, one Canadian reporter, one diplomat and two aid workers since the Canadian military deployed to Afghanistan in early 2002. Afghanistan has taken a large proportion of Canadian international aid funding. Canadian deaths have been hugely disproportionate in numbers to those experienced by other NATO member-countries. Despite Canada's appeals to other NATO member-countries to relieve it of some of the burden in Kandahar, none have stepped up to the plate.

"The entirety of 2006 was spent with the United States demanding more troops and equipment from NATO countries, and NATO stalling. In January 2007, at a meeting in Brussels, the United States asked for more troops from NATO countries, especially troops that could be used on the front against the Taliban. Once again, European nations refused to oblige. The Germans and the French, with the largest armies in Europe, were the worst offenders. Both had large troop contingents in safe areas in Afghanistan - the Germans in the north, and the French around Kabul.
"When NATO members met again, in Quebec in April, just as the Taliban summer offensive started, Robert Gates was even blunter about demanding more troops and helicopters. He reminded his European counterparts that at a time when the U.S. military was overstretched because of Iraq, it still had fifteen thousand troops as part of the ISAF-NATO force, plus another eleven thousand troops deployed as part of Operation Enduring Freedom hunting down terrorists. On the other hand, twenty-six NATO countries and eleven other allies were contributing a total of thirty-five thousand troops." Ahmed Rashid, Descent into Chaos

When Britain experienced its bus and subway terror bombings it resolutely continued its presence and determination in Afghanistan. When Spain's jihad carnage occurred, the government fell and the new government decided to pull its troops out of harm's way. In 2007 internal domestic opposition to the war in Afghanistan saw the government of Romano Prodi in Italy fall, and then it was Japan's turn, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his LDP losing government. With the exception of the U.S., Britain, Holland and Canada, most other NATO countries had little interest in putting their troops in harm's way in Afghanistan.

It has long been acknowledged that Canada has distinguished itself in the quality of its forces in Afghanistan, the emphasis on building confidence among the Afghans in provincial reconstruction, defending the villagers and farmers from the Taliban, building schools and medical centres. Canada's commitment to its pledge to aid the country from returning to the stone age mentality that the Taliban had plunged it into after the dreadful civil war following the Soviet invasion was to its credit. Yet Stephane Dion in 2009 insisted that the Harper government honour a February 2009 withdrawal date, backed up by the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois, all demanding an even more immediate withdrawal.

In the end, Parliament reached an agreement that Canada would withdraw its troops from Kandahar by 2011. That withdrawal appeared to be written in stone, even when the Liberals turned themselves around and began to badger the Conservatives whom they had tried to bludgeon into withdrawing to begin with, to linger awhile yet longer.... Suddenly, it was the Liberals now with Michael Ignatieff, who began expressing the bravado of refusing to 'cut and run', that Mr. Harper had originally expressed.

The United States' representatives in government have expressed their admiration for Canada, as have American military who have worked with their Canadian counterparts. "To our Canadian allies, you've hit above your weight. You've got a great military. You've had a lot of casualties. You've got to make a decision about 2011. I hope you'll keep some of your trainers there", mused Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, in a very nice acknowledgement. Canada's huge success in its Provincial Reconstruction Team initiative has also been noted:

The top U.S. diplomat in Afghanistan, Bill Harris, recently claimed "people will write dissertations" in the history of the war in Afghanistan led by NATO-ISAF, highlighting Canada's success as a "wildly successful ... irregular warfare unit." It wasn't always easy, the village loya jurgas didn't quite work out as they were meant to at first, with Canadian troop presence being accepted, and the troops meeting regularly with village elders; during one such incident a young Taliban recruit bashed the skull of Captain Trevor Greene in 2006. "We honestly could not have ... come up to the level of effectiveness we currently perform at (if it had been) with any other country than Canada", said Harris. "General Petraeus loves this PRT."

So, it looks like Canada will agree to prolong its stay in Afghanistan, to provide Afghan security forces with hundreds of its trainers, in fields such as combat arms, intelligence and public affairs. Prime Minister Harper has suggested perhaps as many as one thousand Canadian troops may remain until 2014 when it is assumed that Afghanistan's military and its national police should be in sufficient strength and experience to be able to defend their country.

It can only be hoped, in the interval, that Hamid Karzai can be prevailed upon to defend his peoples' rights with a little more dedication to their humanity, and abstain from making any soul-destroying agreements for shared administration with a reconstructed Taliban.

Labels: Afghanistan, Conflict, Government of Canada, NATO

posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, November 09, 2010