DART team headed for Pakistan
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Paracowboy, I do understand what you are saying, and I wanted to take it that way for myself on the initial read.
I believed though that as written the inference or connotation of the raison d'etre comment can be taken the opposite way.
Meaning that our DS commentator appeared concerned that the stature of peacekeeping could be affected (knocked of it's pedestal) in the publics eyes. Even if he had highlighted "for the public" or perhaps placed in italics for himself I would still unfortunately take it the same way.
The bottom line we are all on the same sheet of music, and I was fairly certain of that to begin with. Clarity is everything.
I will now get off my anti peacekeeping (anti UN) pedestal.
AIRBORNE-CHIMO-UBIQUE
I believed though that as written the inference or connotation of the raison d'etre comment can be taken the opposite way.
Meaning that our DS commentator appeared concerned that the stature of peacekeeping could be affected (knocked of it's pedestal) in the publics eyes. Even if he had highlighted "for the public" or perhaps placed in italics for himself I would still unfortunately take it the same way.
The bottom line we are all on the same sheet of music, and I was fairly certain of that to begin with. Clarity is everything.
I will now get off my anti peacekeeping (anti UN) pedestal.
AIRBORNE-CHIMO-UBIQUE
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no no! Stay right here! Plenty of room on this pedestal for everybody.old fart said:
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Petawawa soldier leads medical team
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (CP) - Villagers of a remote mountain community in quake-struck Pakistan were either alarmed or amused as a thin silver needle was administered to some who may have come in contact with a diphtheria patient.
"Most of them had never had an immunization or a needle before in their life, so it was quite an interesting draw for the whole village," said Warrant Officer Christine Styles, who led a small Canadian Forces medical team to the village of Bucchasyaedan, high in the Pakistan region of Kashmir.
Styles, a Whitby, Ont., native based at CFB Petawawa, led a four-person contingent of the Canadian Forces' Disaster Assistance Response Team - DART - to vaccinate a group of people Tuesday who had close contact with a diphtheria patient. The communicable disease can be fatal if not treated.
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
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The possibility exists that the Canadian Government may again send the DART team to Pakistan. When I read a Canadian Public Civil Servant saying this, all I can say is....WTF ?
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
Keep Taliban out of Pakistan aid calculations, says Pakistan's top diplomat in Canada
By Norma Greenaway, Postmedia News
August 16, 2010
LINK
OTTAWA — Fears the Taliban and other extremist groups will exploit gaps in international and domestic aid efforts in Pakistan to gain a stronger foothold in the flood-ravaged country are unfounded, says the country's high commissioner to Canada.
Akbar Zeb said current and future international aid commitments, plus a generous outpouring of help from "moderate" Islamic groups within Pakistan will not leave a void for extremist organizations to exploit.
"I'm not really concerned the Taliban will be filling a vacuum," Zed said Monday in an interview with Postmedia News.
"What people need to do is distinguish really between the so-called moderate forces and the really hardliners. The Taliban constitute a very minute portion of Pakistan."
He also said the government of Pakistan is "fully focused and able to reach out to its own people."
Members of the 300,000-strong Pakistani diaspora in Canada said they worry the generosity of the Conservative government and individual Canadians could be affected by the political situation in Pakistan, including questions about the government's will to curb the presence and influence of the Taliban along the border with Afghanistan.
They said they are particularly disappointed the federal government, which has announced $33 million in emergency assistance to Pakistan, has not offered to match dollars donated by individual Canadians — something it quickly offered to do earlier this year when Haiti was hit with a horrific earthquake.
Farrukh Alam, president of the Canada Pakistan Association, says he's disheartened by talk about how the Taliban might play into the crisis, and why people should think twice about donating because the money could be siphoned off by the Taliban and distributed in its own name.
"Forget the Taliban. Forget the political calculations," Alam said in an interview from Vancouver. "When people are in trouble you go help."
Zeb described Canada's commitment to provide $33 million in emergency aid as "very, very generous," and said he expects the Conservative government will add to the pot if necessary.
"The message we get is that they will continue to assess our needs," Zeb said, noting discussions are ongoing between the two governments on if and when to deploy Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART).
The government reiterated Monday it has no plans to establish a matching fund "at this time" to respond to the disaster, which has left an estimated 20 million people homeless and possibly thousands dead.
The Canadian International Development Agency, the lead organization on the file, says the current response is "appropriate," and that a "matching fund" is only one of many tools in Canada's response kit.
Farooq Chaudhry, president of the Pakistani Canadian Cultural Society, said he hasn't given up hope the government will agree eventually to match private donations.
Chaudhry said the slower response on Pakistan is understandable. The needs in Haiti were urgent and captured in heartbreaking detail by cameras, he said.
By contrast, the flooding of huge swaths of land in far-flung Pakistan is a slower-moving tragedy that will have devastating consequences for years and decades, but which might not have had the same initial impact on donors.
© Copyright (c) Postmedia News
===================================================================
I wonder if these guys have been living under a rock and looking at life through rose coloured glasses. The thoughts of the Taliban cashing in on the generosity of the West, and then turning around and attacking the West when the floods recede, have been heavy on the back of my mind. Reports have already been coming out of Pakistan of the Taliban cashing in on the inability of the Pakistan Government to get relief to outlying areas, and providing aid to locals where the Government couldn't.
I, frankly, am quite suspicious of how aid and aid monies will be distributed to those who need it. I worry that all the people arriving to provide aid, from Western nations and militaries will soon become targets of Taliban insurgents. I see no reason why these fears should be dismissed as unfounded.
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.
Keep Taliban out of Pakistan aid calculations, says Pakistan's top diplomat in Canada
By Norma Greenaway, Postmedia News
August 16, 2010
LINK
OTTAWA — Fears the Taliban and other extremist groups will exploit gaps in international and domestic aid efforts in Pakistan to gain a stronger foothold in the flood-ravaged country are unfounded, says the country's high commissioner to Canada.
Akbar Zeb said current and future international aid commitments, plus a generous outpouring of help from "moderate" Islamic groups within Pakistan will not leave a void for extremist organizations to exploit.
"I'm not really concerned the Taliban will be filling a vacuum," Zed said Monday in an interview with Postmedia News.
"What people need to do is distinguish really between the so-called moderate forces and the really hardliners. The Taliban constitute a very minute portion of Pakistan."
He also said the government of Pakistan is "fully focused and able to reach out to its own people."
Members of the 300,000-strong Pakistani diaspora in Canada said they worry the generosity of the Conservative government and individual Canadians could be affected by the political situation in Pakistan, including questions about the government's will to curb the presence and influence of the Taliban along the border with Afghanistan.
They said they are particularly disappointed the federal government, which has announced $33 million in emergency assistance to Pakistan, has not offered to match dollars donated by individual Canadians — something it quickly offered to do earlier this year when Haiti was hit with a horrific earthquake.
Farrukh Alam, president of the Canada Pakistan Association, says he's disheartened by talk about how the Taliban might play into the crisis, and why people should think twice about donating because the money could be siphoned off by the Taliban and distributed in its own name.
"Forget the Taliban. Forget the political calculations," Alam said in an interview from Vancouver. "When people are in trouble you go help."
Zeb described Canada's commitment to provide $33 million in emergency aid as "very, very generous," and said he expects the Conservative government will add to the pot if necessary.
"The message we get is that they will continue to assess our needs," Zeb said, noting discussions are ongoing between the two governments on if and when to deploy Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART).
The government reiterated Monday it has no plans to establish a matching fund "at this time" to respond to the disaster, which has left an estimated 20 million people homeless and possibly thousands dead.
The Canadian International Development Agency, the lead organization on the file, says the current response is "appropriate," and that a "matching fund" is only one of many tools in Canada's response kit.
Farooq Chaudhry, president of the Pakistani Canadian Cultural Society, said he hasn't given up hope the government will agree eventually to match private donations.
Chaudhry said the slower response on Pakistan is understandable. The needs in Haiti were urgent and captured in heartbreaking detail by cameras, he said.
By contrast, the flooding of huge swaths of land in far-flung Pakistan is a slower-moving tragedy that will have devastating consequences for years and decades, but which might not have had the same initial impact on donors.
© Copyright (c) Postmedia News
===================================================================
I wonder if these guys have been living under a rock and looking at life through rose coloured glasses. The thoughts of the Taliban cashing in on the generosity of the West, and then turning around and attacking the West when the floods recede, have been heavy on the back of my mind. Reports have already been coming out of Pakistan of the Taliban cashing in on the inability of the Pakistan Government to get relief to outlying areas, and providing aid to locals where the Government couldn't.
I, frankly, am quite suspicious of how aid and aid monies will be distributed to those who need it. I worry that all the people arriving to provide aid, from Western nations and militaries will soon become targets of Taliban insurgents. I see no reason why these fears should be dismissed as unfounded.
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[tangent] DART stands for "Disaster Assistance Response Team", so what exactly is a DART Team? Is it Disaster Assistance Response Team Team? [/tangent]
Anyway, CIDA states in the article that the current response is appropriate.
Anyway, CIDA states in the article that the current response is appropriate.
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Generally, it's four old guys who throw pointy things at Legion walls between drinksTechnoviking said:
[out tangenting your tangent
]
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Having read :
Three Cups of Tea
One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
http://www.threecupsoftea.com/
I think there is solid reason to worry that the Taliban will come in and fill part of the vacuum created by the lack of NGO and or Pakistan government response.
In his book Mortenson speaks of this happening during the previous flood.
He also mentions the US military response and what a great improver of the American image this help was among the Pakistan people in the flood damaged areas. Sort of a form of COIN.
Three Cups of Tea
One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
http://www.threecupsoftea.com/
I think there is solid reason to worry that the Taliban will come in and fill part of the vacuum created by the lack of NGO and or Pakistan government response.
In his book Mortenson speaks of this happening during the previous flood.
He also mentions the US military response and what a great improver of the American image this help was among the Pakistan people in the flood damaged areas. Sort of a form of COIN.
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
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PPCLI Guy said:
Damn. My bad........Again.
Must NOT read articles too quickly.
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Baden Guy said:
I I think you are correct. I have read and heard reports saying that "it has emerged that a charity connected to a group with alleged al-Qaeda links has been providing flood relief."
The charity is question is the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation which is, apparently, linked to (part of?) Jamaat-ud-Dawa which is, in most countries, including Canada, I think, deemed to be a terrorist organization.
It appears, to me, that the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation is a legitimate charity, but it is one with shady supporters and, like e.g. USAID, its humanitarian and development work is done in pursuit of an identifiable political agenda.
Edit: typo
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Jamaat-ud-Dawa is a feeder group of Lashkar-e-Taiba (Righteous Army), a Pakistan-based, fun-loving bunch of suicide bombers with a history of attacks on civilians, government officials, and Indian security forces.E.R. Campbell said:
According to Public Safety Canada's website, they've been listed as a terrorist organization in Canada since 2003.
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
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It doesn't stay out of the news for long.
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act:
Pakistan to request DART help
26/08/2010 3:19:49 PM
CBC News
LINK
The Pakistani government will soon ask Canada to deploy its rapid disaster response team to flood-ravaged areas in the country, a spokesman at Pakistan's embassy in Ottawa says.
Muhammad Saleem, the embassy's deputy high commissioner, told CBC News on Thursday that his country is looking forward to receiving the Disaster Assistance Response Team, also known as DART, to augment relief efforts.
"It may happen today; it may happen tomorrow," Saleem said of the pending request.
DART is made up of about 200 Canadian Forces personnel and is designed to fly quickly into disaster areas around the world. The primary goal of the team is to provide emergency services, such as drinking water and medical treatment, until long-term aid arrives.
The Canadian government makes the decision to send DART after it receives a request from an individual country or the United Nations.
Canada has not yet received an official request for the services of DART from the Pakistani government in Ottawa or Islamabad, Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Catherine Loubier said Thursday.
Loubier said Canadian officials are in daily contact with the Pakistani government on the best way for Canada to continue helping in relief efforts.
Saleem said the disaster stretches from the north to the south of the country.
The UN estimates that more than 17 million people have been affected by the floods, which began almost a month ago with hammering monsoon rains in the country's northwest. About 1.2 million homes have been destroyed, leaving five million people homeless.
Most of the more than 1,500 deaths occurred early in the flooding, but officials say the crisis is still growing.
With files from The Associated Press
=====================================================================
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act:
Pakistan to request DART help
26/08/2010 3:19:49 PM
CBC News
LINK
The Pakistani government will soon ask Canada to deploy its rapid disaster response team to flood-ravaged areas in the country, a spokesman at Pakistan's embassy in Ottawa says.
Muhammad Saleem, the embassy's deputy high commissioner, told CBC News on Thursday that his country is looking forward to receiving the Disaster Assistance Response Team, also known as DART, to augment relief efforts.
"It may happen today; it may happen tomorrow," Saleem said of the pending request.
DART is made up of about 200 Canadian Forces personnel and is designed to fly quickly into disaster areas around the world. The primary goal of the team is to provide emergency services, such as drinking water and medical treatment, until long-term aid arrives.
The Canadian government makes the decision to send DART after it receives a request from an individual country or the United Nations.
Canada has not yet received an official request for the services of DART from the Pakistani government in Ottawa or Islamabad, Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Catherine Loubier said Thursday.
Loubier said Canadian officials are in daily contact with the Pakistani government on the best way for Canada to continue helping in relief efforts.
Saleem said the disaster stretches from the north to the south of the country.
The UN estimates that more than 17 million people have been affected by the floods, which began almost a month ago with hammering monsoon rains in the country's northwest. About 1.2 million homes have been destroyed, leaving five million people homeless.
Most of the more than 1,500 deaths occurred early in the flooding, but officials say the crisis is still growing.
With files from The Associated Press
=====================================================================
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Will it actually be DART this time, or will 5 Bde take over?
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I don't think French is the language of choice in Pakistan, and the HLTA plan isn't acceptable either.
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Or you can turn a Coy sized deployment into a BG(+) with HLTA replacements
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