February 6, 2010

|The article bellow is republished from the Toronto Sun. It also appears in Sun newspapers across Canada. The columnist, Peter Worthington, founded the Toronto Sun and was its first editor. Although now in his 80’s he has deployed to Afghanistan two times in recent years as a reporter in the field. He was a platoon commander with the Canadian Army and served at the front in the Korean War. He also was the youngest officer in the Royal Canadian Navy in World War Two, serving with the Fleet Air Arm.

Increase in offensive action anticipated this summer

Canadian General to command

US troops in Kandahar region

of Afghanistan

By Peter Worthington

While attention has been riveted on the earthquake in Haiti, significant developments have been underway in Afghanistan.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper agree on mid-2011 for the withdrawal of our forces.

U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal says by then it should be clearer whether the war can be won.

What this implies, is starting this spring, there’ll be heavy fighting with an inevitable rise in casualties, with Canada’s 2,800 soldiers in the thick of it.

What’s unusual — if not unprecedented — in this coming campaign is that in the vital Kandahar sector, American troops will be under the direct command of a Canadian general.

The U.S. is traditionally wary about anyone but Americans commanding Americans. It’s a tribute to our army that they trust our command.

This would never have happened 15 years ago when Canada’s military was geared for peacekeeping, not fighting. Canada’s status has risen as our army’s professionalism has opened the eyes of allies — and potential enemies.

It could be argued the Americans’ trust shows their pragmatic good sense. The Canadians know what they are doing in Afghanistan. They’ve established good relations with the local populace and they’ve kicked the butt of the Taliban in every encounter.

Brig.Gen Daniel Menard, who commands the Canadians, now has up to 3,000 more U.S. troops under his command, and anticipates a season of heavy fighting.

Brigadier General Daniel Menard was appointed commander of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan in November, 2009. Prior to that he was commander of 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, based in Valcartier, Quebec, Canada. As a young captain he served as an exchange officer with the Royal Welch Fusiliers in the United Kingdom and later served two tours of duty in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He also served as a company commander in Haiiti before rising to higher rank and serving in a number of high level command positions. Quoted by Associated Press, Menard sounds strangely like Gen. Bernard Montgomery in the Second World War, using the personal pronoun to describe the goals: “I think everything is going to happen in 2010 ... I believe I can break their (the Taliban’s) back this summer.” Menard is our top field commander at the moment. Where his predecessor could put only 50 troops in a sector, he says he can now put in 1,200. Platoons living in villages provide reassurance and 24-hour protection. By this fall, it may be clear whether the Afghanistan mission will succeed. If the Pakistani military follows through with its war against the Taliban/al-Qaida axis, success may be possible — especially if the unmanned attacks drones continue to be as effective as they seem to have been at killing Taliban leaders. (An unconfirmed Chinese report says Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden were killed in a drone attack).

Cutbacks

The irony of our military’s considerable international reputation these days is that there are signs the Harper government is planning budgetary cutbacks in defence. This should be no surprise. It’s traditional for our governments to cut defence.

Harper was first elected by promising to build up the Canadian Forces, but now seems to feel the country is growing weary of supporting the military. So Harper is backing off. It’s not necessarily personal — it’s just the way Canada is.

Another reality is when we leave Afghanistan, our equipment will be on its last legs.

Afghanistan is brutal on mechanized vehicles. Our military needs replacements - but is unlikely to get them. It’s another reason why the Harper government may switch priorities.

So, 2010 may be the last hurrah for our military in the field, before another drought sets in.

One hopes not, but history is on the side of pessimism.

Links to other organizations

Above article provided courtesy of the Korean War Veteran, koreavetnews@aol.com