War-bound troops train for worst
Taliban insurgents step up attacks in Afghanistan
Terry Pedwell
The Canadian Press
(Printed: Edmonton Journal)
July 7, 2005
OTTAWA - Canadian soldiers heading for Afghanistan are being prepared for direct combat with Taliban fighters as insurgents promise more -- and more sophisticated -- attacks on foreign troops.
The 250-strong provincial reconstruction team, or PRT, being deployed beginning in two weeks, has undergone heightened training, their commanders well aware of the recent increase in the threat of violence against them.
The troops, mainly from Edmonton, will take over patrols in and around Kandahar from a U.S. team that was attacked by a suicide bomber less than a month ago. Four soldiers were injured.
Afghan and U.S. officials warn that such attacks will likely escalate in the coming weeks as the country prepares for elections scheduled for Sept. 18.
"There is an increased (insurgent) activity level in the southern provinces, there's no doubt about that," says Col. Steve Noonan, who will take on the new role of commander of Canada's Joint Task Force Afghanistan in early August.
The military doesn't want troops to be sitting ducks for would-be attackers.
Canada's provincial reconstruction team will be located halfway between Kandahar, a southern city that once was a stronghold of the Taliban, and the region's U.S.-controlled airfield.
"The provincial reconstruction team is smaller in size and it's also split in two locations," explains Noonan.
"So it becomes even smaller when it comes to force-protection issues. As a result, there is more of a tactical level focus on security of both patrols and their own base."
The team is designed as a first real test of Canada's so-called "3-D" foreign policy -- defence, diplomacy, development.
"Prior to the PRT, there was always a
3-D effort in Afghanistan," said Noonan. "But they weren't necessarily coalesced as closely as they will be within the PRT.
"In Kandahar, they're all living in the same compound. This is certainly the first time ... where we see the Canadian strategic outlook of how to deal with failed states being a much more co-
operative effort between the three departments."
There will, in fact, be four government departments involved -- Defence, Foreign Affairs, the Canadian International Development Agency, or CIDA, and the RCMP.
Michael Callan, who will head the CIDA portion of the team, says he's worried about deteriorating security in Kandahar and whether it will hamper his work. "The Taliban seemingly asserting itself of late is definitely a concern."
Security is so tenuous that CIDA isn't making firm commitments to the Afghan government on which development projects can be completed.
"If it deteriorates further, it will certainly hinder our progress," warned Callan. "But I don't think it will halt it altogether. We certainly wouldn't leave the country. Myself, I could draw back to Kabul, or even draw back to Kandahar airfield."
There are fears that Afghan insurgents are trying to mimic tactics used by suicide bombers in Iraq.
One Canadian military official, who didn't want to be identified, said many insurgents have adopted an insidious strategy to kill more soldiers.
"They're planting suspicious vehicles at roadsides, forcing patrols to stop well back and inspect," he explained. "(But) the bombs are being planted back where (the military convoys) stop."
In early June, five U.S. soldiers were killed in three separate attacks in Kandahar. Another suicide bomber blew himself up June 1 in a city mosque, killing 20 people at the funeral of an anti-Taliban cleric.
Should there be a large-scale attack, Canadian soldiers may be forced to directly confront insurgent forces, said the official. "It's not to say they'll be hunting the Taliban. But if they are confronted, they will take deadly action."