Articles found 11 November 2006
Canadian soldier receives Star of Military Valour
Updated Fri. Nov. 10 2006 11:00 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061110/remembranceday_tower_061111/20
061110?hub=TopStories
Sgt. Patrick Tower has become the first ever Canadian to receive the Star of Military
Valour. The courageous soldier saved at least four comrades in a brutal Afghanistan
firefight.
Although Tower survived to continue fighting, his best friend Sgt. Vaughn Ingram died in
the violence.
"I asked him what were the ranks of the soldiers that were killed and he told me," said
Tower's father, retired captain Bob Tower, who spoke with his son shortly after the attack.
"I said, 'Who was the sergeant?' and he said Ingram. I said, 'Oh Pat, I'm sorry.'"
The honour is one of the highest military decorations for valour in Canada, second only to
the Victoria Cross. Both of those awards, along with the Medal of Military Valour, were
created for the Canadian Forces in 1993.
Tower received the honour for his valiant act on Aug. 3, in which he risked his life to
save troops pinned down by rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fire.
The platoon was trying to secure a school in the volatile Pashmul region. Along with
Ingram, two other Canadian soldiers were killed in the attack: Pte. Kevin Dallaire and Cpl.
Bryce Jeffrey Keller.
Another soldier, Cpl. Christopher Reid, died earlier in the day from a roadside bomb. All
four soldiers were from the Edmonton-based Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
It was one of the worst days of casualties suffered by the military since the Afghanistan
mission began in 2002.
"Not a day goes by when I don't think about Sgt. Ingram, or the 3rd of August, or what
happened that day," Tower told CTV News.
Tower, born in Victoria, B.C., gathered together another soldier and the platoon medic, and
took them through 150 metres of open terrain -- without any place to hide or find cover --
while grenades and bullets rained down on the small group.
"I just told Tom (the other soldier) and the medic, we've got to go up there," Tower
recalled. "I thought there was a lot of fire before, but as soon as we started running,
they really picked it up."
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Remembrance Day held across Canada, and online
Updated Sat. Nov. 11 2006 7:13 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061110/remembranceday_2006_061111/20061111?hub=TopStories
Canadians will be gathering at legislatures, cenotaphs, city halls and community centres across Canada Saturday to observe a moment of silence in memory of Canadians who gave their lives protecting our country.
CTV Newsnet will be carrying live coverage of events on Parliament Hill and from Afghanistan throughout the day.
A wreath laying and Ceremony of Remembrance is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.
Royal Canadian Legion branches across Canada have scheduled events to mark the day, as have local groups and municipalities.
Canadians who haven't already chosen an event to attend can tune in to their local CTV News broadcast for locations of events in their city, or browse the activities listed below to find activities to attend.
Veterans Affairs of Canada has posted an extensive list of Remembrance Day events on its website, ranging from ceremonies at the Red Deer Arena in Red Deer Alta., to a parade and dinner that starts at the Pine Beach Park Cenotaph in Dorval, Que.
The City of Toronto has posted a list of locations for city-organized ceremonies at city hall and community centres, along with a list of other ceremonies at such locations as Royal Canadian Legions, Historic Fort York, and the Toronto Zoo.
Entry to the Canadian War Museum at 1 Vimy Place in Ottawa will be free, and the museum has posted a list of scheduled events that begin with a Remembrance Ceremony in the Memorial Hall at 10:45 a.m. Get there early to attend the ceremony, as the doors will be closed for it between 10:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
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Afghanistan brings poignancy to Remembrance Day
Updated Fri. Nov. 10 2006 Phil Hahn with files from The Canadian Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061108/remembrance_feature_061108/200
61110/
For Sally and Tim Goddard, every day is about remembering their beloved daughter, who
earlier this year became the highest ranking Canadian soldier to die in combat in
Afghanistan.
Capt. Nichola Goddard died May 17 at the age of 26. She was caught in a Taliban ambush
while she was directing artillery fire at enemy positions. With her infectious smile, her
compassion and leadership qualities that helped her rise to position of combat soldier, the
captain known as Care Bear came to symbolize the sacrifice of soldiers in Afghanistan.
With relatives that have fought in both world wars, the Goddard family has always
participated in Remembrance Day ceremonies. This year, the day carries heartbreaking
poignancy for them, as they prepare to lay down a wreath in Nichola's honour.
"We're taking things one day at a time, sometimes an hour at a time," Sally Goddard told
CTV Calgary. "Every day is a remembering of some kind."
In line with Nichola's famous ability to take on life's challenges with a smile, Tim
Goddard said he'll be doing more than just honouring his daughter's memory during the
moment of silence on Nov. 11.
"I'll be remembering this vibrant young woman who we've lost and, in a joking way, telling
her off for getting herself killed -- and making us go through all this," he said with a grin.
PRINCESS PATS
Goddard was a member of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, based in Shilo, Man.
As part of Task Force Afghanistan, Goddard was serving with the Princess Patricia's
Canadian Light Infantry - the backbone of Canada's battle group during the summer's fierce
battles with insurgents in Kandahar.
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McGuinty presents plaques for fallen soldiers
CTV.ca News Staff
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20061110/mcguinty_troops_plaques_061011/2006
1110?hub=TorontoHome
Premier Dalton McGuinty presented the first "Tribute to the Fallen" plaques at a special
ceremony Friday to commemorate the 17 Ontario soldiers who have died in the line of duty
since 2002.
Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of Canada's defence staff, and Major-General Richard Rohmer are
joining McGuinty at Queen's Park.
The soldiers' families will accept the plaques, which commemorate the heroism and sacrifice
of not just fallen military personnel, but also firefighters and police officers.
"We are going to remember their footprint in the sand, their legacy that they have left
us," Hillier told the families.
"We thank them for that, and our commitment is they'll never be forgotten.
"To the families, your courage and your dignity have inspired us all through what I know
are the most difficult days of your lives."
McGuinty said those who died in Afghanistan paid the "the ultimate sacrifice."
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4th Brigade Combat Team Task Force Deploys to Afghanistan
By 4th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Nov 10, 2006, 13:08
http://www.blackanthem.com/News/military200610_2089.shtml
Blackanthem Military News, FORT POLK, La. - The 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain
Division deployed about 150 Soldiers in the early morning hours Nov.7 to Afghanistan as
part of an advanced party that will lay the foundation in theater for Task Force Boar,
which consists of about 1,000 deploying Soldiers.
The majority of Soldiers, a reinforced battalion-sized element from 2nd Battalion, 30th
Infantry Regiment, named Task Force Boar, will deploy later this month and will assume
duties in Afghanistan as part of the U.S. contribution to the NATO International Security
Assistance Force.
Several 4th BCT elements from 5th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment; 94th Brigade
Support Battalion; 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment and Brigade Special Troops Battalion
will augment Task Force Boar.
Members of Task Force Boar have been preparing for almost two years for deployment such as
this, and Lt. Col. Ronald Metternich, 2-30 Inf. and Task Force Boar commander, assured
family members and friends the task force Soldiers are fully trained and prepared to
undertake the mission ahead. These deploying 4th BCT units have completed
activation-related tasks and are fully equipped for conducting operations around the world,
he said.
The 4th BCT Soldiers accomplished this level of readiness through outstanding leadership at
all levels of the organization, said Metternich. The 2-30 Inf. Infantry battalion has some
of the finest leaders Metternich has had the privilege of working with in 20 years of
service, he said.
"More importantly, we achieved this (because) of the tremendous dedication, sweat and
sacrifice of the Soldiers of this task force," said Metternich. "I am also confident
because I believe we all share a common goal - once deployed, successfully accomplish our
mission and get back here to our families and friends.
"I am sincerely proud to be a part of this unit of the men and women that are standing
before us that made that decision to make a stand for what they believe in.; men and woman
of action," continued Metternich. "I'm not talking about some haphazard action but
deliberate, measured and, when required, intensely focused action.
Not one of these Soldiers wants to go into harm's way and risk it all, but rather than
sitting at home and talking about what needs to be done to make this a safer place to live,
these Soldiers have stepped up to do their part in providing that blanket of security for
this country."
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Support for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan to be part of remarks at annual Mountain
Remembrance Day service tomorrow at Legion
Mark Newman, Mountain Nov 10, 2006
http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/hmn/news/news_655652.html
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
The Act of Remembrance, from the poem For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon
Canadian troops in Afghanistan will be included in Remembrance Day remarks tomorrow (Nov.
11) at the Mount Hamilton branch 163 of the Royal Canadian Legion by guest speaker Reverend
Alan McPherson.
Rev. McPherson is the Presbyterian representative and current chair of the Interfaith
Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy that meets regularly in Ottawa. He is also the
former padre of the Hamilton-based Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada.
"I want to talk about the care of the troops who are there (in Afghanistan)," Rev McPherson
said. "I don't want to get into the justification of why we're there, that's not the
purpose of Remembrance Day."
As a Member of the interfaith committee Rev. McPherson said he is in frequent contact with
chaplains who are serving with Canadian forces at home and abroad.
Rev. McPherson noted chaplains are currently providing moral and spiritual support and
encouragement for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.
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Loss of 15 Ontario soldiers in Afghanistan not in vain, Hillier says
November 10, 2006 - 17:12 By: CHINTA PUXLEY
http://www.680news.com/news/national/article.jsp?content=n111055A
TORONTO (CP) - Fifteen Ontario soldiers did not die in vain in Afghanistan, but rather for
the sake of a noble mission to rebuild a country that has been "brutalized and beaten for
some 25 years," the country's top soldier said Friday as he paid tribute to the province's
war dead.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier told the province's first "Tribute to the Fallen"
ceremony at the Ontario legislature that Canada's resolve in Afghanistan has not been
shaken by the sacrifice made by the country's fallen soldiers.
"The loss that took place there has not been in vain," Hillier told a sombre ceremony
inside the legislature's cavernous front foyer.
"We seek to help a country that desperately needs help, that has been brutalized and beaten
for some 25 years, with families broken apart and thousands and thousands of deaths. We
seek to continue to help that country rebuild itself."
Hillier acknowledged the price Ontario has paid in Afghanistan - of the 17 Ontario soldiers
who have died since 2002, 15 of them died in Afghanistan.
The 16th, Cpl. Trevor McDavid, died when a Cormorant rescue helicopter crashed into the
ocean during a midnight training exercise off Canso, N.S., in July.
The 17th, Maj. Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, died while serving with the United Nations in
Lebanon. All but two of Ontario's 17 fallen soldiers died this year.
Hillier said he's used to Remembrance Day sending a chill down his spine. "But this week,
the chill down my spine and the emotion that I and all of us feel across this country is
greater than it has ever been."
This Remembrance Day will be different for the families who lost their sons, husbands and
fathers in 2006. Cynthia Hess-von Kruedener has attended services all her life, but she
said this year, she understands profoundly what the word 'sacrifice' means.
Her husband, who was serving as a UN observer, was killed in July during an Israeli
airstrike in Lebanon.
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PREVIEW-Afghanistan shows challenges for more global NATO
10 Nov 2006 17:16:53 GMT Source: Reuters By Arshad Mohammed
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N09351523.htm
WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The United States is pushing NATO to shoulder more global
burdens but the alliance's Afghan deployment illustrates the challenges of getting the
26-nation group to project its power beyond its borders.
Ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Nov. 28-29 summit in Riga, U.S. officials
are making the case that Afghanistan is a model for the Western alliance to take on more
security challenges around the world.
But analysts argue, and U.S. officials acknowledge, that NATO has had trouble getting some
members to send troops to the south of Afghanistan, where British, Dutch and Canadian
forces are fighting a revived Taliban insurgency.
NATO's top commander called on Sept. 7 for 2,000 to 2,500 more troops to go to Afghanistan.
Most members of the alliance -- which has about 32,500 troops in the country, including
about 11,800 U.S. forces -- have not jumped to fill the gap, although Poland has committed
to provide about 1,000 soldiers.
"Only a handful of NATO members are prepared to go to the south and east and to go robustly
-- mainly the U.S., UK, Canada, the Netherlands, Romania, Australia and Denmark," the
International Crisis Group said in a report issued this month.
"Hard questions need to be asked of those such as Germany, Spain, France, Turkey and Italy
who are not," it added.
"Obviously, there is some concern in capitals that there is, in fact, a shooting war going
on," said a U.S. official who asked not to be named given the sensitivity of the issue.
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Italy wants review of international strategy in Afghanistan
The Associated Press
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/10/europe/EU_GEN_Italy_Afghanistan.php
Italy wants a review of international policy in Afghanistan, saying the time is ripe for
new choices in world affairs following the U.S. midterm elections, the foreign minister
said.
In two interviews published Friday, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema also called on
the United States to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
D'Alema made the comments on the eve of a trip to Afghanistan, where he will hold talks
Saturday with President Hamid Karzai as well as with U.N. and EU envoys. He said he would
press Afghan and international officials to hold a global conference on the future of the
country.
"The strategy of military intervention that has been followed so far unfortunately has
turned out to be ineffective," D'Alema told the Rome-based daily La Repubblica.
"Italy is working to organize an international conference on Afghanistan. We want to start
a review and a relaunch of multilateral strategies, starting with this area," D'Alema was
quoted as saying. "If we don't do this, the military mission is bound to fail."
"We need to sit at a table and start a plan
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Mood Sours in AfghanistanNovember 10, 2006 Prepared by: Lionel Beehner
http://www.cfr.org/publication/11984/mood_sours_in_afghanistan.html?breadcrumb=%2Fpublicati
on%2Fpublication_list%3Ftype%3Ddaily_analysis
In the mid-1990s a fledgling group of Islamic students emerged from Kandahar. So-called
Talibs, they lived ascetic lifestyles and promised a crackdown against Afghanistan’s
criminal warlords. “They preached for a reborn alliance of Islamic piety and Pashtun
might,” writes Steve Coll in Ghost Wars. Interestingly, their brand of Islam was not deemed
a threat by Washington, unlike Iran’s Shiite evangelism. But after 1996, when al-Qaeda
began to wage global jihad against the “far enemy,” the Taliban harbored terrorists like
Osama bin Laden and his ilk.
Fast-forward a decade and the Taliban, ousted by a U.S.-led campaign in October 2001, have
replanted themselves from Pakistan to the deserts of the Kandahar region, again vowing to
rout out warlordism and fill a power vacuum in the region. They continue to rely on
resentment of the central government among locals and sustain themselves with opium
profits. These militants also reportedly benefit from the largesse of Pakistan and its
intelligence apparatus, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). As a madrassa leader told
the New York Times Magazine’s Elizabeth Rubin, “The heart of [the Pakistani] government is
with the Taliban. The tongue is not.”
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force has launched a series of sweeps
against Taliban militants in the region—the most recent of which killed twenty-two—but has
failed to quash the insurgency. In a new report, the International Crisis Group (ICG) calls
for more troops, more diplomatic pressure on Pakistan, and more political will by Hamid
Karzai’s government in Kabul. “The desire for a quick, cheap war followed by a quick, cheap
peace is what has brought Afghanistan to the present, increasingly dangerous situation,”
says the ICG. Dialogue or deal making with the Taliban will not work, the report concludes,
but “meeting the legitimate grievances of the population” will.
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Deaths in Afghanistan bring new poignancy to Remembrance Day
John Ward Canadian Press Friday, November 10, 2006
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=1cfcd9c0-eda1-490f-a9e2-1ede0f5a5d
2c&k=27627
OTTAWA (CP) - Remembrance Day ceremonies have a new poignancy with the fresh memories of
combat deaths in Afghanistan.
But the harsh impact of those deaths over the last four years - reflected in questioning
editorials, anti-war demonstrations and increasing concern over the direction of the
mission - might suggest that Canadians have largely forgotten a military history that
embraces more than 100,000 war dead over the last century.
Opinion polls seem to see-saw every time a flag-draped coffin comes home. Historians say
Canadians raised on the "myth" of Canada as a nation of peacemakers, not warrior, are
disturbed at the very notion of deaths in combat.
And the country is divided on the wisdom of the Afghan mission.
There have been 42 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2002. There have been
several days in which four soldiers were killed.
Though any death is tragic, the losses in Afghanistan are low by historical standards.
Even the Boer War, an almost forgotten conflict more than 100 years ago, cost 277 Canadian
lives.
The worst casualty days for the Afghanistan mission would have been routine, or seen as
even good days for Canadians in past wars.
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Dutch general says Canadian troops have done good work
Last Updated: Friday, November 10, 2006 | 12:51 PM ET CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/11/10/afghanistan-general.html
NATO's new commander in southern Afghanistan said Friday that Canadian troops have made it
easier for him to focus on reconstruction work in the volatile region.
Dutch Maj.-Gen. Ton Van Loon took charge last week, which means he oversees a NATO
coalition force of about 9,500 troops in six southern provinces of Afghanistan. It is
mostly composed of Canadian, British and Dutch soldiers.
Van Loon, who replaced Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, told CBC News that priorities have
already begun to shift in southern Afghanistan. Fraser was in charge of the troops for
eight months.
"I think when the Canadians came in, they encountered a really difficult situation, they
were challenged very hard, and the Canadians really did a great job," he said from
Kandahar.
"Because they did such a great job, because David Fraser did such a great job, my chances
are really much greater in going for the reconstruction part."
Canada has more than 2,000 troops in Afghanistan, with the majority stationed in the south.
Forty-two Canadian soldiers have died since Canada first sent troops to the country in
early 2002.
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UN urged to act over Afghanistan
Matt Prodger BBC News, Kabul
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6135596.stm
Human Rights Watch has urged the United Nations to address the situation in Afghanistan
where more than 3,000 people have died in fighting this year.
At least 1,000 civilians were killed in the country's south alone, HRW said in a letter to
a Security Council fact-finding team.
Fighting and drought had displaced 80,000 people in the region, it said.
The New York-based group also said urgent action was needed to address corruption and
abuses by warlords.
It blames not only the Taleban-led insurgents for the violence, but also regional warlords
- some of them operating with the blessing of the Afghan government - and Nato-led forces.
HRW says that many gains made by women since the fall of the Taleban have been reversed and
that teachers, schools and students had been attacked by insurgents.
It also complained of corruption, illegal land grabs, ethnic violence and the intimidation
of journalists.
The UN team is due in Kabul on Saturday
End
AFGHANISTAN: Lethal floods strike the east
10 Nov 2006 13:26:31 GMT Source: IRIN
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/f37b07f8ebed29153e5353b74138c6b2.htm
KABUL, 10 November (IRIN) - At least four people have been killed and five others are
missing after flash floods, triggered by torrential rains, hit the eastern Afghan province
of Nangarhar, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Friday.
"Early this morning in the Behsoud district of Nangarhar province, severe flooding occurred
and we can confirm that four people were killed as a result and five are currently missing,
many others have been injured," Dan McNorton, a public information officer with UNAMA, told
IRIN in Kabul.
"Our initial reports indicate that over 1,000 houses have been destroyed either partially
or totally," McNorton asserted.
Meanwhile, local authorities in Nangarhar province have called for further urgent
assistance to thousands of flood-affected people.
"Hundreds of families have been badly affected and are in urgent need of tents, blankets
and food,"Ajmal Pardis, head of health department of Nangarhar province, told IRIN, from
Jalalabad, the provincial capital.
Pardis said women and children were also among the dead and their medical teams have
treated some 30 injured people in the flood-affected area.
East and southeastern Afghanistan has seen several episodes of flooding this year.
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Tim Goddard urges dialogue on Afghanistan
Updated Fri. Nov. 10 2006 8:17 AM ET Canadian Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061110/afghan_goddard_061110/20061110
?hub=Canada
CALGARY -- The father of Canada's only female soldier killed in Afghanistan says
Remembrance Day is a time to celebrate the freedoms his daughter died defending.
But Tim Goddard also wants Canadians to get more involved in the debate over the Afghan
mission which Canada is committed to until 2009.
Last May Captain Nichola Goddard became the 16th of 42 Canadian soldiers to die in
Afghanistan.
She was killed in a Taliban ambush while directing artillery fire at enemy positions.
Nichola come to symbolize Canada's sacrifice, and her father has emerged as an eloquent
spokesman for other families grappling with both grief and pride.
Tim Goddard has chastised Prime Minister Harper for restricting media access to grieving
families, and expressed hope for an end to the Afghan conflict so that Nichola will not
have died in vain.
He also says Canadians have a duty to be better informed about the war and the political
process involved.
End
EU mulls security reform aid for Afghanistan
dpa German Press Agency Published: Friday November 10, 2006
http://rawstory.com/news/2006/EU_mulls_security_reform_aid_for_Af_11102006.html
Brussels- European Union governments are studying plans for assistance to reform
Afghanistan's security sector, including training for Afghan police forces, the bloc's
diplomats said Friday. EU foreign and defence ministers are set to discuss increased EU aid
for Afghanistan, including assistance for the so-called "rule of law" sector - security
services, police forces and judges - at a meeting in Brussels on Monday.
Any EU decision on the issue will be coordinated with NATO and the World Bank, said EU
diplomats.
"There are plenty of ideas around" on reinforcing the government of President Hamid Karzai
in its fight against drug trafficking and criminality, said an EU diplomat, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
EU governments, including Germany, Spain and Italy, are already working on national police
training and other schemes in Afghanistan.
Ministers will discuss whether converting these operations into a larger project under an
EU banner would provide any "added value," said the diplomat.
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Afghanistan takes tough measures to counter narcotics: official
November 10, 2006
http://english.people.com.cn/200611/10/eng20061110_320368.html
The Afghan government is taking various tough measures including the sacking of governors,
possible ground chemical spraying, to prevent the rocketing poppy cultivation in this
country, a senior Afghan officer said Friday.
"If governors and district chiefs are not able to reduce poppy cultivation, at least they
will lose their jobs," Said Mohammad Azam, director of Public Relation and Public
Information of Afghan Counter Narcotics Ministry, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.
District and police chiefs of Daryam in the northeastern Badakhshan province had been
sacked for incapability in fighting drug, he added.
Azam said an eight-member anti-narcotics committee, grouping district and police chiefs,
has been established in 108 districts of 11 provinces where poppy cultivation is rife.
The committee would supervise poppy crops closely and find ways to reduce it, he added.
In 2006, poppy cultivation in Afghanistan reached a record 165, 000 hectares, up 59 percent
from last year, according to a report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime issued in
September.
Opium production reached 6,100 tons, witnessing a 49 percent rise over 2005 and accounting
for 92 percent of the world's total supply, the report said.
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Civilian deaths in Afghanistan, challenge for NATO power
11/11/2006 8:30:00 AM GMT
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=12311
Five years after the U.S. invaders entered Afghanistan to “liberate” it and end the rule of the Taliban regime in Kabul, peace remains a distant dream for Afghans with occupation forces’ attacks killing more civilians than militants, poverty on the rise, and widespread corruption.
Numerous editorials and anti-war demonstrators stepped up recently criticism over the devastating impact of the NATO failure to handle the country and protect civilian lives.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had only 4,500 members in 2002, with the majority of the troops concentrated in Kabul. The alliance now commands 31,000 troops, backed by 10,000 troops from the U.S.-led occupation forces.
ISAF's chief, British General David Richards attributed the failure of the NATO mission in Afghanistan to the lack of forces sufficient to counter violence that has effectively doubled since 2004.
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Two US Tanks Destroyed, US Invaders Annihilated in Afghanistan
Publication time: Today at 08:46 Djokhar time
http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2006/11/11/6364.shtml
A number of US invaders were annihilated in a clash with the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate in southern Afghanistan.
Talking to Radio Tehran, a Taliban spokesman, Qari Muhammad Yousuf said that the clash followed a Taliban attack on a US military convoy in Char Chino district of Uruzgan province Tuesday, destroying two tanks and killing an unknown number of US troops.
Giving further details of the fighting in the province, the spokesman said that an army camp was attacked by the Taliban Monday night, killing five puppet soldiers.
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Canadian soldier receives Star of Military Valour
Updated Fri. Nov. 10 2006 11:00 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061110/remembranceday_tower_061111/20
061110?hub=TopStories
Sgt. Patrick Tower has become the first ever Canadian to receive the Star of Military
Valour. The courageous soldier saved at least four comrades in a brutal Afghanistan
firefight.
Although Tower survived to continue fighting, his best friend Sgt. Vaughn Ingram died in
the violence.
"I asked him what were the ranks of the soldiers that were killed and he told me," said
Tower's father, retired captain Bob Tower, who spoke with his son shortly after the attack.
"I said, 'Who was the sergeant?' and he said Ingram. I said, 'Oh Pat, I'm sorry.'"
The honour is one of the highest military decorations for valour in Canada, second only to
the Victoria Cross. Both of those awards, along with the Medal of Military Valour, were
created for the Canadian Forces in 1993.
Tower received the honour for his valiant act on Aug. 3, in which he risked his life to
save troops pinned down by rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fire.
The platoon was trying to secure a school in the volatile Pashmul region. Along with
Ingram, two other Canadian soldiers were killed in the attack: Pte. Kevin Dallaire and Cpl.
Bryce Jeffrey Keller.
Another soldier, Cpl. Christopher Reid, died earlier in the day from a roadside bomb. All
four soldiers were from the Edmonton-based Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
It was one of the worst days of casualties suffered by the military since the Afghanistan
mission began in 2002.
"Not a day goes by when I don't think about Sgt. Ingram, or the 3rd of August, or what
happened that day," Tower told CTV News.
Tower, born in Victoria, B.C., gathered together another soldier and the platoon medic, and
took them through 150 metres of open terrain -- without any place to hide or find cover --
while grenades and bullets rained down on the small group.
"I just told Tom (the other soldier) and the medic, we've got to go up there," Tower
recalled. "I thought there was a lot of fire before, but as soon as we started running,
they really picked it up."
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Remembrance Day held across Canada, and online
Updated Sat. Nov. 11 2006 7:13 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061110/remembranceday_2006_061111/20061111?hub=TopStories
Canadians will be gathering at legislatures, cenotaphs, city halls and community centres across Canada Saturday to observe a moment of silence in memory of Canadians who gave their lives protecting our country.
CTV Newsnet will be carrying live coverage of events on Parliament Hill and from Afghanistan throughout the day.
A wreath laying and Ceremony of Remembrance is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.
Royal Canadian Legion branches across Canada have scheduled events to mark the day, as have local groups and municipalities.
Canadians who haven't already chosen an event to attend can tune in to their local CTV News broadcast for locations of events in their city, or browse the activities listed below to find activities to attend.
Veterans Affairs of Canada has posted an extensive list of Remembrance Day events on its website, ranging from ceremonies at the Red Deer Arena in Red Deer Alta., to a parade and dinner that starts at the Pine Beach Park Cenotaph in Dorval, Que.
The City of Toronto has posted a list of locations for city-organized ceremonies at city hall and community centres, along with a list of other ceremonies at such locations as Royal Canadian Legions, Historic Fort York, and the Toronto Zoo.
Entry to the Canadian War Museum at 1 Vimy Place in Ottawa will be free, and the museum has posted a list of scheduled events that begin with a Remembrance Ceremony in the Memorial Hall at 10:45 a.m. Get there early to attend the ceremony, as the doors will be closed for it between 10:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
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Afghanistan brings poignancy to Remembrance Day
Updated Fri. Nov. 10 2006 Phil Hahn with files from The Canadian Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061108/remembrance_feature_061108/200
61110/
For Sally and Tim Goddard, every day is about remembering their beloved daughter, who
earlier this year became the highest ranking Canadian soldier to die in combat in
Afghanistan.
Capt. Nichola Goddard died May 17 at the age of 26. She was caught in a Taliban ambush
while she was directing artillery fire at enemy positions. With her infectious smile, her
compassion and leadership qualities that helped her rise to position of combat soldier, the
captain known as Care Bear came to symbolize the sacrifice of soldiers in Afghanistan.
With relatives that have fought in both world wars, the Goddard family has always
participated in Remembrance Day ceremonies. This year, the day carries heartbreaking
poignancy for them, as they prepare to lay down a wreath in Nichola's honour.
"We're taking things one day at a time, sometimes an hour at a time," Sally Goddard told
CTV Calgary. "Every day is a remembering of some kind."
In line with Nichola's famous ability to take on life's challenges with a smile, Tim
Goddard said he'll be doing more than just honouring his daughter's memory during the
moment of silence on Nov. 11.
"I'll be remembering this vibrant young woman who we've lost and, in a joking way, telling
her off for getting herself killed -- and making us go through all this," he said with a grin.
PRINCESS PATS
Goddard was a member of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, based in Shilo, Man.
As part of Task Force Afghanistan, Goddard was serving with the Princess Patricia's
Canadian Light Infantry - the backbone of Canada's battle group during the summer's fierce
battles with insurgents in Kandahar.
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McGuinty presents plaques for fallen soldiers
CTV.ca News Staff
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20061110/mcguinty_troops_plaques_061011/2006
1110?hub=TorontoHome
Premier Dalton McGuinty presented the first "Tribute to the Fallen" plaques at a special
ceremony Friday to commemorate the 17 Ontario soldiers who have died in the line of duty
since 2002.
Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of Canada's defence staff, and Major-General Richard Rohmer are
joining McGuinty at Queen's Park.
The soldiers' families will accept the plaques, which commemorate the heroism and sacrifice
of not just fallen military personnel, but also firefighters and police officers.
"We are going to remember their footprint in the sand, their legacy that they have left
us," Hillier told the families.
"We thank them for that, and our commitment is they'll never be forgotten.
"To the families, your courage and your dignity have inspired us all through what I know
are the most difficult days of your lives."
McGuinty said those who died in Afghanistan paid the "the ultimate sacrifice."
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4th Brigade Combat Team Task Force Deploys to Afghanistan
By 4th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Nov 10, 2006, 13:08
http://www.blackanthem.com/News/military200610_2089.shtml
Blackanthem Military News, FORT POLK, La. - The 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain
Division deployed about 150 Soldiers in the early morning hours Nov.7 to Afghanistan as
part of an advanced party that will lay the foundation in theater for Task Force Boar,
which consists of about 1,000 deploying Soldiers.
The majority of Soldiers, a reinforced battalion-sized element from 2nd Battalion, 30th
Infantry Regiment, named Task Force Boar, will deploy later this month and will assume
duties in Afghanistan as part of the U.S. contribution to the NATO International Security
Assistance Force.
Several 4th BCT elements from 5th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment; 94th Brigade
Support Battalion; 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment and Brigade Special Troops Battalion
will augment Task Force Boar.
Members of Task Force Boar have been preparing for almost two years for deployment such as
this, and Lt. Col. Ronald Metternich, 2-30 Inf. and Task Force Boar commander, assured
family members and friends the task force Soldiers are fully trained and prepared to
undertake the mission ahead. These deploying 4th BCT units have completed
activation-related tasks and are fully equipped for conducting operations around the world,
he said.
The 4th BCT Soldiers accomplished this level of readiness through outstanding leadership at
all levels of the organization, said Metternich. The 2-30 Inf. Infantry battalion has some
of the finest leaders Metternich has had the privilege of working with in 20 years of
service, he said.
"More importantly, we achieved this (because) of the tremendous dedication, sweat and
sacrifice of the Soldiers of this task force," said Metternich. "I am also confident
because I believe we all share a common goal - once deployed, successfully accomplish our
mission and get back here to our families and friends.
"I am sincerely proud to be a part of this unit of the men and women that are standing
before us that made that decision to make a stand for what they believe in.; men and woman
of action," continued Metternich. "I'm not talking about some haphazard action but
deliberate, measured and, when required, intensely focused action.
Not one of these Soldiers wants to go into harm's way and risk it all, but rather than
sitting at home and talking about what needs to be done to make this a safer place to live,
these Soldiers have stepped up to do their part in providing that blanket of security for
this country."
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Support for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan to be part of remarks at annual Mountain
Remembrance Day service tomorrow at Legion
Mark Newman, Mountain Nov 10, 2006
http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/hmn/news/news_655652.html
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
The Act of Remembrance, from the poem For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon
Canadian troops in Afghanistan will be included in Remembrance Day remarks tomorrow (Nov.
11) at the Mount Hamilton branch 163 of the Royal Canadian Legion by guest speaker Reverend
Alan McPherson.
Rev. McPherson is the Presbyterian representative and current chair of the Interfaith
Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy that meets regularly in Ottawa. He is also the
former padre of the Hamilton-based Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada.
"I want to talk about the care of the troops who are there (in Afghanistan)," Rev McPherson
said. "I don't want to get into the justification of why we're there, that's not the
purpose of Remembrance Day."
As a Member of the interfaith committee Rev. McPherson said he is in frequent contact with
chaplains who are serving with Canadian forces at home and abroad.
Rev. McPherson noted chaplains are currently providing moral and spiritual support and
encouragement for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.
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Loss of 15 Ontario soldiers in Afghanistan not in vain, Hillier says
November 10, 2006 - 17:12 By: CHINTA PUXLEY
http://www.680news.com/news/national/article.jsp?content=n111055A
TORONTO (CP) - Fifteen Ontario soldiers did not die in vain in Afghanistan, but rather for
the sake of a noble mission to rebuild a country that has been "brutalized and beaten for
some 25 years," the country's top soldier said Friday as he paid tribute to the province's
war dead.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier told the province's first "Tribute to the Fallen"
ceremony at the Ontario legislature that Canada's resolve in Afghanistan has not been
shaken by the sacrifice made by the country's fallen soldiers.
"The loss that took place there has not been in vain," Hillier told a sombre ceremony
inside the legislature's cavernous front foyer.
"We seek to help a country that desperately needs help, that has been brutalized and beaten
for some 25 years, with families broken apart and thousands and thousands of deaths. We
seek to continue to help that country rebuild itself."
Hillier acknowledged the price Ontario has paid in Afghanistan - of the 17 Ontario soldiers
who have died since 2002, 15 of them died in Afghanistan.
The 16th, Cpl. Trevor McDavid, died when a Cormorant rescue helicopter crashed into the
ocean during a midnight training exercise off Canso, N.S., in July.
The 17th, Maj. Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, died while serving with the United Nations in
Lebanon. All but two of Ontario's 17 fallen soldiers died this year.
Hillier said he's used to Remembrance Day sending a chill down his spine. "But this week,
the chill down my spine and the emotion that I and all of us feel across this country is
greater than it has ever been."
This Remembrance Day will be different for the families who lost their sons, husbands and
fathers in 2006. Cynthia Hess-von Kruedener has attended services all her life, but she
said this year, she understands profoundly what the word 'sacrifice' means.
Her husband, who was serving as a UN observer, was killed in July during an Israeli
airstrike in Lebanon.
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PREVIEW-Afghanistan shows challenges for more global NATO
10 Nov 2006 17:16:53 GMT Source: Reuters By Arshad Mohammed
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N09351523.htm
WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The United States is pushing NATO to shoulder more global
burdens but the alliance's Afghan deployment illustrates the challenges of getting the
26-nation group to project its power beyond its borders.
Ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Nov. 28-29 summit in Riga, U.S. officials
are making the case that Afghanistan is a model for the Western alliance to take on more
security challenges around the world.
But analysts argue, and U.S. officials acknowledge, that NATO has had trouble getting some
members to send troops to the south of Afghanistan, where British, Dutch and Canadian
forces are fighting a revived Taliban insurgency.
NATO's top commander called on Sept. 7 for 2,000 to 2,500 more troops to go to Afghanistan.
Most members of the alliance -- which has about 32,500 troops in the country, including
about 11,800 U.S. forces -- have not jumped to fill the gap, although Poland has committed
to provide about 1,000 soldiers.
"Only a handful of NATO members are prepared to go to the south and east and to go robustly
-- mainly the U.S., UK, Canada, the Netherlands, Romania, Australia and Denmark," the
International Crisis Group said in a report issued this month.
"Hard questions need to be asked of those such as Germany, Spain, France, Turkey and Italy
who are not," it added.
"Obviously, there is some concern in capitals that there is, in fact, a shooting war going
on," said a U.S. official who asked not to be named given the sensitivity of the issue.
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Italy wants review of international strategy in Afghanistan
The Associated Press
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/10/europe/EU_GEN_Italy_Afghanistan.php
Italy wants a review of international policy in Afghanistan, saying the time is ripe for
new choices in world affairs following the U.S. midterm elections, the foreign minister
said.
In two interviews published Friday, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema also called on
the United States to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
D'Alema made the comments on the eve of a trip to Afghanistan, where he will hold talks
Saturday with President Hamid Karzai as well as with U.N. and EU envoys. He said he would
press Afghan and international officials to hold a global conference on the future of the
country.
"The strategy of military intervention that has been followed so far unfortunately has
turned out to be ineffective," D'Alema told the Rome-based daily La Repubblica.
"Italy is working to organize an international conference on Afghanistan. We want to start
a review and a relaunch of multilateral strategies, starting with this area," D'Alema was
quoted as saying. "If we don't do this, the military mission is bound to fail."
"We need to sit at a table and start a plan
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Mood Sours in AfghanistanNovember 10, 2006 Prepared by: Lionel Beehner
http://www.cfr.org/publication/11984/mood_sours_in_afghanistan.html?breadcrumb=%2Fpublicati
on%2Fpublication_list%3Ftype%3Ddaily_analysis
In the mid-1990s a fledgling group of Islamic students emerged from Kandahar. So-called
Talibs, they lived ascetic lifestyles and promised a crackdown against Afghanistan’s
criminal warlords. “They preached for a reborn alliance of Islamic piety and Pashtun
might,” writes Steve Coll in Ghost Wars. Interestingly, their brand of Islam was not deemed
a threat by Washington, unlike Iran’s Shiite evangelism. But after 1996, when al-Qaeda
began to wage global jihad against the “far enemy,” the Taliban harbored terrorists like
Osama bin Laden and his ilk.
Fast-forward a decade and the Taliban, ousted by a U.S.-led campaign in October 2001, have
replanted themselves from Pakistan to the deserts of the Kandahar region, again vowing to
rout out warlordism and fill a power vacuum in the region. They continue to rely on
resentment of the central government among locals and sustain themselves with opium
profits. These militants also reportedly benefit from the largesse of Pakistan and its
intelligence apparatus, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). As a madrassa leader told
the New York Times Magazine’s Elizabeth Rubin, “The heart of [the Pakistani] government is
with the Taliban. The tongue is not.”
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force has launched a series of sweeps
against Taliban militants in the region—the most recent of which killed twenty-two—but has
failed to quash the insurgency. In a new report, the International Crisis Group (ICG) calls
for more troops, more diplomatic pressure on Pakistan, and more political will by Hamid
Karzai’s government in Kabul. “The desire for a quick, cheap war followed by a quick, cheap
peace is what has brought Afghanistan to the present, increasingly dangerous situation,”
says the ICG. Dialogue or deal making with the Taliban will not work, the report concludes,
but “meeting the legitimate grievances of the population” will.
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Deaths in Afghanistan bring new poignancy to Remembrance Day
John Ward Canadian Press Friday, November 10, 2006
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=1cfcd9c0-eda1-490f-a9e2-1ede0f5a5d
2c&k=27627
OTTAWA (CP) - Remembrance Day ceremonies have a new poignancy with the fresh memories of
combat deaths in Afghanistan.
But the harsh impact of those deaths over the last four years - reflected in questioning
editorials, anti-war demonstrations and increasing concern over the direction of the
mission - might suggest that Canadians have largely forgotten a military history that
embraces more than 100,000 war dead over the last century.
Opinion polls seem to see-saw every time a flag-draped coffin comes home. Historians say
Canadians raised on the "myth" of Canada as a nation of peacemakers, not warrior, are
disturbed at the very notion of deaths in combat.
And the country is divided on the wisdom of the Afghan mission.
There have been 42 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2002. There have been
several days in which four soldiers were killed.
Though any death is tragic, the losses in Afghanistan are low by historical standards.
Even the Boer War, an almost forgotten conflict more than 100 years ago, cost 277 Canadian
lives.
The worst casualty days for the Afghanistan mission would have been routine, or seen as
even good days for Canadians in past wars.
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Dutch general says Canadian troops have done good work
Last Updated: Friday, November 10, 2006 | 12:51 PM ET CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/11/10/afghanistan-general.html
NATO's new commander in southern Afghanistan said Friday that Canadian troops have made it
easier for him to focus on reconstruction work in the volatile region.
Dutch Maj.-Gen. Ton Van Loon took charge last week, which means he oversees a NATO
coalition force of about 9,500 troops in six southern provinces of Afghanistan. It is
mostly composed of Canadian, British and Dutch soldiers.
Van Loon, who replaced Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, told CBC News that priorities have
already begun to shift in southern Afghanistan. Fraser was in charge of the troops for
eight months.
"I think when the Canadians came in, they encountered a really difficult situation, they
were challenged very hard, and the Canadians really did a great job," he said from
Kandahar.
"Because they did such a great job, because David Fraser did such a great job, my chances
are really much greater in going for the reconstruction part."
Canada has more than 2,000 troops in Afghanistan, with the majority stationed in the south.
Forty-two Canadian soldiers have died since Canada first sent troops to the country in
early 2002.
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UN urged to act over Afghanistan
Matt Prodger BBC News, Kabul
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6135596.stm
Human Rights Watch has urged the United Nations to address the situation in Afghanistan
where more than 3,000 people have died in fighting this year.
At least 1,000 civilians were killed in the country's south alone, HRW said in a letter to
a Security Council fact-finding team.
Fighting and drought had displaced 80,000 people in the region, it said.
The New York-based group also said urgent action was needed to address corruption and
abuses by warlords.
It blames not only the Taleban-led insurgents for the violence, but also regional warlords
- some of them operating with the blessing of the Afghan government - and Nato-led forces.
HRW says that many gains made by women since the fall of the Taleban have been reversed and
that teachers, schools and students had been attacked by insurgents.
It also complained of corruption, illegal land grabs, ethnic violence and the intimidation
of journalists.
The UN team is due in Kabul on Saturday
End
AFGHANISTAN: Lethal floods strike the east
10 Nov 2006 13:26:31 GMT Source: IRIN
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/f37b07f8ebed29153e5353b74138c6b2.htm
KABUL, 10 November (IRIN) - At least four people have been killed and five others are
missing after flash floods, triggered by torrential rains, hit the eastern Afghan province
of Nangarhar, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Friday.
"Early this morning in the Behsoud district of Nangarhar province, severe flooding occurred
and we can confirm that four people were killed as a result and five are currently missing,
many others have been injured," Dan McNorton, a public information officer with UNAMA, told
IRIN in Kabul.
"Our initial reports indicate that over 1,000 houses have been destroyed either partially
or totally," McNorton asserted.
Meanwhile, local authorities in Nangarhar province have called for further urgent
assistance to thousands of flood-affected people.
"Hundreds of families have been badly affected and are in urgent need of tents, blankets
and food,"Ajmal Pardis, head of health department of Nangarhar province, told IRIN, from
Jalalabad, the provincial capital.
Pardis said women and children were also among the dead and their medical teams have
treated some 30 injured people in the flood-affected area.
East and southeastern Afghanistan has seen several episodes of flooding this year.
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Tim Goddard urges dialogue on Afghanistan
Updated Fri. Nov. 10 2006 8:17 AM ET Canadian Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061110/afghan_goddard_061110/20061110
?hub=Canada
CALGARY -- The father of Canada's only female soldier killed in Afghanistan says
Remembrance Day is a time to celebrate the freedoms his daughter died defending.
But Tim Goddard also wants Canadians to get more involved in the debate over the Afghan
mission which Canada is committed to until 2009.
Last May Captain Nichola Goddard became the 16th of 42 Canadian soldiers to die in
Afghanistan.
She was killed in a Taliban ambush while directing artillery fire at enemy positions.
Nichola come to symbolize Canada's sacrifice, and her father has emerged as an eloquent
spokesman for other families grappling with both grief and pride.
Tim Goddard has chastised Prime Minister Harper for restricting media access to grieving
families, and expressed hope for an end to the Afghan conflict so that Nichola will not
have died in vain.
He also says Canadians have a duty to be better informed about the war and the political
process involved.
End
EU mulls security reform aid for Afghanistan
dpa German Press Agency Published: Friday November 10, 2006
http://rawstory.com/news/2006/EU_mulls_security_reform_aid_for_Af_11102006.html
Brussels- European Union governments are studying plans for assistance to reform
Afghanistan's security sector, including training for Afghan police forces, the bloc's
diplomats said Friday. EU foreign and defence ministers are set to discuss increased EU aid
for Afghanistan, including assistance for the so-called "rule of law" sector - security
services, police forces and judges - at a meeting in Brussels on Monday.
Any EU decision on the issue will be coordinated with NATO and the World Bank, said EU
diplomats.
"There are plenty of ideas around" on reinforcing the government of President Hamid Karzai
in its fight against drug trafficking and criminality, said an EU diplomat, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
EU governments, including Germany, Spain and Italy, are already working on national police
training and other schemes in Afghanistan.
Ministers will discuss whether converting these operations into a larger project under an
EU banner would provide any "added value," said the diplomat.
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Afghanistan takes tough measures to counter narcotics: official
November 10, 2006
http://english.people.com.cn/200611/10/eng20061110_320368.html
The Afghan government is taking various tough measures including the sacking of governors,
possible ground chemical spraying, to prevent the rocketing poppy cultivation in this
country, a senior Afghan officer said Friday.
"If governors and district chiefs are not able to reduce poppy cultivation, at least they
will lose their jobs," Said Mohammad Azam, director of Public Relation and Public
Information of Afghan Counter Narcotics Ministry, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.
District and police chiefs of Daryam in the northeastern Badakhshan province had been
sacked for incapability in fighting drug, he added.
Azam said an eight-member anti-narcotics committee, grouping district and police chiefs,
has been established in 108 districts of 11 provinces where poppy cultivation is rife.
The committee would supervise poppy crops closely and find ways to reduce it, he added.
In 2006, poppy cultivation in Afghanistan reached a record 165, 000 hectares, up 59 percent
from last year, according to a report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime issued in
September.
Opium production reached 6,100 tons, witnessing a 49 percent rise over 2005 and accounting
for 92 percent of the world's total supply, the report said.
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Civilian deaths in Afghanistan, challenge for NATO power
11/11/2006 8:30:00 AM GMT
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=12311
Five years after the U.S. invaders entered Afghanistan to “liberate” it and end the rule of the Taliban regime in Kabul, peace remains a distant dream for Afghans with occupation forces’ attacks killing more civilians than militants, poverty on the rise, and widespread corruption.
Numerous editorials and anti-war demonstrators stepped up recently criticism over the devastating impact of the NATO failure to handle the country and protect civilian lives.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had only 4,500 members in 2002, with the majority of the troops concentrated in Kabul. The alliance now commands 31,000 troops, backed by 10,000 troops from the U.S.-led occupation forces.
ISAF's chief, British General David Richards attributed the failure of the NATO mission in Afghanistan to the lack of forces sufficient to counter violence that has effectively doubled since 2004.
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Two US Tanks Destroyed, US Invaders Annihilated in Afghanistan
Publication time: Today at 08:46 Djokhar time
http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2006/11/11/6364.shtml
A number of US invaders were annihilated in a clash with the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate in southern Afghanistan.
Talking to Radio Tehran, a Taliban spokesman, Qari Muhammad Yousuf said that the clash followed a Taliban attack on a US military convoy in Char Chino district of Uruzgan province Tuesday, destroying two tanks and killing an unknown number of US troops.
Giving further details of the fighting in the province, the spokesman said that an army camp was attacked by the Taliban Monday night, killing five puppet soldiers.
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