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Deadly Afghan road project in crucial final phase
Civilian contractors prepare to pave 4.5-kilometre stretch of Route Summit
Brian Hutchinson, National Post, 12 Dec 06
Article Link
Route Summit is a road construction project unlike any other -- with a toll already paid in blood and human lives. Surveyed and shaped by Canadian combat engineers, and aggressively defended by Canadian troops, this 4.5-kilometre strip of dirt and mud must rank as one of the most dangerous infrastructure initiatives on the planet. Route Summit is 30 kilometres west of Kandahar city, right on the edge of Taliban country. It forms a discernible front line in the battle for southern Afghanistan. Hidden inside a maze of walled grape and marijuana fields sit an indeterminate number of insurgents. To the east are Canadian-led coalition forces, trying to help establish stability in the region. For weeks, due to security concerns, work on Route Summit had stopped. Now it's being ramped up again for a last push that will see civilian contractors lay gravel and then pave the road ....
Dig In, Stay Alive
Sixty days between a rock and a hard place
Doug Beazley, Toronto Sun, 12 Dec 06
Article Link
Warrant Officer Dominic Chenard has been 60 days between a rock and a hard place. Stationed in Sperwan Gar, about two hours south of Kandahar Airfield by road, his mission was a simple one. On the one side, the mountain - and a coalition surveillance post. Everywhere else - the Taliban. The mission: dig in, protect the mountain, stay alive. In the field, he's recovered the bodies of 21 coalition soldiers. He's seen and done things he can't talk about - not to anyone outside the body of men he commands. Not even to the people who love him best. "I go home in a few days for Christmas," he said, wincing in the bright afternoon sunlight. "I told my wife, 'We won't talk about it. I'll talk about the funny things, the good times, but I can't talk about the other stuff. Not yet.'" ....
More News on CAN in AFG here
Military barber takes on role of den mother, confidante for Canadian troops
Bill Graveland, Canadian Press, 11 Dec 06
Article Link
Linda Sylvester has cut thousands of heads of hair during her career as a barber. Working for the military since 1988, she has also seen the bodies of 27 Canadian soldiers sent home after ramp ceremonies from Kandahar Airfield and provided a soft shoulder to cry on for countless young recruits. "This is real. It's different. It's scary, but the troops here are making a difference," said Sylvester, a native of Sydney, N.S., who normally works at CFB Gagetown, N.B. Sylvester's son-in-law is stationed at the forward operating base at Mas'um Ghar in Afghanistan's Panjwaii district. Her daughter is a leading seaman and cook in Shiloh, Man., and her son is a captain also back in Canada ....
Karzai, World Leaders Meet Local Officials Amid Violence
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 12 Dec 06
Article Link
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Kandahar today with a large delegation of Afghan and international officials for security talks with local leaders from the country's volatile south. Tribal elders and religious leaders attending the security conference are from the provinces of Zabol, Oruzgan, Kandahar, and Helmand -- areas where Afghan and foreign troops have seen a resurgence of Taliban violence during the past year. Karzai's delegation includes his defense and interior ministers as well as members of parliament. The top NATO commander and senior UN representative in Afghanistan also are attending, along with ambassadors from the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, and Britain ....
Canadian ambassador says Afghanistan peace plan is a 'key step'
Canadian Press, 12 Dec 06
Article Link
In a country rife with human rights abuses, the Afghan government's adoption of a new action plan is an important step forward, said Canada's ambassador in the war-torn country. "A task force will establish how to apply accountability mechanisms to bring those to justice who have committed crimes against humanity, war crimes and gross human rights violations," said Canadian ambassador David Sproule in a phone interview with The Canadian Press from Kabul. While there is stability in the northern half of Afghanistan, the strength of the Taliban in the southern half of the country, primarily Kandahar province, has made the region a dangerous place. Members of the Taliban still instil fear in this part of the country with the use of "night letters" warning of reprisal and the release of DVD's showing the beheadings of Afghans who co-operate with NATO forces ....
Afghanistan: Justice for War Criminals Essential to Peace
Karzai Must Hold Officials Accountable for Past Crimes
Human Rights Watch news release, 12 Dec 06
News release link
President Hamid Karzai should immediately enforce a program to provide truth, reconciliation and accountability for war crimes and major human rights abuses over the past 30 years in Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch said today. The Afghan government should establish a special court to try those responsible, some of whom hold high office, as soon as possible, Human Rights Watch said. The Afghan government approved the Action Plan on Peace, Reconciliation and Justice on December 12, 2005, but delayed implementing it in part because Kabul and its international backers feared that calling for justice would further weaken Afghanistan’s precarious security situation ....
Civilian contractors prepare to pave 4.5-kilometre stretch of Route Summit
Brian Hutchinson, National Post, 12 Dec 06
Article Link
Route Summit is a road construction project unlike any other -- with a toll already paid in blood and human lives. Surveyed and shaped by Canadian combat engineers, and aggressively defended by Canadian troops, this 4.5-kilometre strip of dirt and mud must rank as one of the most dangerous infrastructure initiatives on the planet. Route Summit is 30 kilometres west of Kandahar city, right on the edge of Taliban country. It forms a discernible front line in the battle for southern Afghanistan. Hidden inside a maze of walled grape and marijuana fields sit an indeterminate number of insurgents. To the east are Canadian-led coalition forces, trying to help establish stability in the region. For weeks, due to security concerns, work on Route Summit had stopped. Now it's being ramped up again for a last push that will see civilian contractors lay gravel and then pave the road ....
Dig In, Stay Alive
Sixty days between a rock and a hard place
Doug Beazley, Toronto Sun, 12 Dec 06
Article Link
Warrant Officer Dominic Chenard has been 60 days between a rock and a hard place. Stationed in Sperwan Gar, about two hours south of Kandahar Airfield by road, his mission was a simple one. On the one side, the mountain - and a coalition surveillance post. Everywhere else - the Taliban. The mission: dig in, protect the mountain, stay alive. In the field, he's recovered the bodies of 21 coalition soldiers. He's seen and done things he can't talk about - not to anyone outside the body of men he commands. Not even to the people who love him best. "I go home in a few days for Christmas," he said, wincing in the bright afternoon sunlight. "I told my wife, 'We won't talk about it. I'll talk about the funny things, the good times, but I can't talk about the other stuff. Not yet.'" ....
More News on CAN in AFG here
Military barber takes on role of den mother, confidante for Canadian troops
Bill Graveland, Canadian Press, 11 Dec 06
Article Link
Linda Sylvester has cut thousands of heads of hair during her career as a barber. Working for the military since 1988, she has also seen the bodies of 27 Canadian soldiers sent home after ramp ceremonies from Kandahar Airfield and provided a soft shoulder to cry on for countless young recruits. "This is real. It's different. It's scary, but the troops here are making a difference," said Sylvester, a native of Sydney, N.S., who normally works at CFB Gagetown, N.B. Sylvester's son-in-law is stationed at the forward operating base at Mas'um Ghar in Afghanistan's Panjwaii district. Her daughter is a leading seaman and cook in Shiloh, Man., and her son is a captain also back in Canada ....
Karzai, World Leaders Meet Local Officials Amid Violence
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 12 Dec 06
Article Link
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Kandahar today with a large delegation of Afghan and international officials for security talks with local leaders from the country's volatile south. Tribal elders and religious leaders attending the security conference are from the provinces of Zabol, Oruzgan, Kandahar, and Helmand -- areas where Afghan and foreign troops have seen a resurgence of Taliban violence during the past year. Karzai's delegation includes his defense and interior ministers as well as members of parliament. The top NATO commander and senior UN representative in Afghanistan also are attending, along with ambassadors from the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, and Britain ....
Canadian ambassador says Afghanistan peace plan is a 'key step'
Canadian Press, 12 Dec 06
Article Link
In a country rife with human rights abuses, the Afghan government's adoption of a new action plan is an important step forward, said Canada's ambassador in the war-torn country. "A task force will establish how to apply accountability mechanisms to bring those to justice who have committed crimes against humanity, war crimes and gross human rights violations," said Canadian ambassador David Sproule in a phone interview with The Canadian Press from Kabul. While there is stability in the northern half of Afghanistan, the strength of the Taliban in the southern half of the country, primarily Kandahar province, has made the region a dangerous place. Members of the Taliban still instil fear in this part of the country with the use of "night letters" warning of reprisal and the release of DVD's showing the beheadings of Afghans who co-operate with NATO forces ....
Afghanistan: Justice for War Criminals Essential to Peace
Karzai Must Hold Officials Accountable for Past Crimes
Human Rights Watch news release, 12 Dec 06
News release link
President Hamid Karzai should immediately enforce a program to provide truth, reconciliation and accountability for war crimes and major human rights abuses over the past 30 years in Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch said today. The Afghan government should establish a special court to try those responsible, some of whom hold high office, as soon as possible, Human Rights Watch said. The Afghan government approved the Action Plan on Peace, Reconciliation and Justice on December 12, 2005, but delayed implementing it in part because Kabul and its international backers feared that calling for justice would further weaken Afghanistan’s precarious security situation ....