A brief but clear description of the factions being faced in Afghanistan in today's briefing by top NATO fella for that country, US Gen. James L. Jones [Ed,: no, no, no...Darth Vader is James Earl Jones]:
Jones said it is unclear how quickly the Taliban dead will be replaced with fresh fighters. He stressed that he was not counting casual, short-term recruits. "They bring along a lot of other weekend warriors if they can pay for them. [They] say, 'Do you want to make 200 euros or $200?' Actually, they pay dollars." Nor are Taliban forces the only problem, he added. "There's also the al-Qaeda remnant, which is considerably less. Then there's the [opium] cartels with their own armies for security of their convoys, and this is a problem. Then you have the corruption, the criminal elements, the tribal fighting that goes on. So it's a lot of disparate groups."Add to that the information from CNN's interview of Afghan president Karzai noted by Darcey, it starts to provide a picture of the complexity that the Canadian forces are facing in the region and from its neighbour.
Comments
Darcey - September 20, 2006 6:03 PM
I was pretty enlightened by the CNN special last night called Afghanistan the forgotten war. I was surprised by how much does not get reported by our own media.
Budd Campbell - October 1, 2006 2:15 PM
Tories have complained for years that the CF were chronically underfunded and inadequately equipped. How then are the able to take on a full war-fighting role in Afghanistan. The answer is that they can't without accepting undue risk, and that's why Jack Layton and the NDP have called for their withdrawal.
The use of ridicule by people like Rick Mercer, whose business is entertainment not public policy, does nothing to undermine the wisdom of Layton's position. Negotiations involving all the factions, including the Govt of Pakistan and the Taliban, as well as the far from democratic or civilized Northern Alliance forces that Karzai and the Americans represent, are needed in order to get an agreement that can be enforced.
cm - October 2, 2006 8:40 AM
The Moose is loose in Kandahar.