Posted on 12/26/2007 3:19:45 AM PST by Clive
KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- Canada has challenged the Iranian government over concerns that weapons and bomb-making equipment are slipping across the border to Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Tuesday.
"We're very concerned that weapons are coming in from Iran," MacKay told reporters, while visiting Canadian troops with Gen. Rick Hillier in Kandahar province.
"We're very concerned that these weapons are going to the insurgents and are keeping this issue alive. We've certainly made our views to the Iranian government about this known."
Improvised explosive devices, responsible for the majority of the deaths of the 73 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, were particularly a concern, he said.
"It's so difficult to cut these supply lines when you have people from other countries giving out weapons that are being used against Canadian Forces and troops from other countries."
Mr. MacKay was echoing U.S. concerns that Iran is fuelling the war in Afghanistan by supplying weapons -- particularly parts for roadside bombs -- to insurgents. In April, the U.S. accused Iran of supplying contacts and weapons to the Taliban.
And in September, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said Washington questioned Beijing over Chinese weapons shipments to Iran -- including a 10-tonne weapons cache found in Herat -- turning up in the hands of Afghan insurgents.
But in a June interview, ISAF commander Gen. Dan McNeill said that while Iranian mortars and other weapons have been discovered in Afghanistan, there is no proof Tehran is directly supplying the Taliban.
Insurgents' use of IEDs and other tactics has led to a record number of Canadian deaths in Afghanistan this year. Despite the bloodshed, Canada's soldiers are eager to continue the Afghan mission, said Hillier, Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces.
"The soldiers that I talked to -- and I talked to most of them over the last 24 hours, as you can tell by my voice -- and they believe in the mission," said a hoarse Gen. Hillier.
"And they know it's going to take awhile. And they understand the characteristics of a counter-insurgency.
"And right now I would say the morale of the soldiers that I've spoken to is incredibly strong. They're not asking to come home. They believe in what they're doing."
Gen. Hillier, Mr. MacKay and U.S. ambassador to Canada David Wilkins served a Christmas dinner Tuesday of tourtiere and turkey to hundreds of troops stationed at the Kandahar Air Field. The two-day holiday visit went smoothly, unlike Mr. MacKay's last trip to Afghanistan in November which was marred by a rocket attack.
A rocket was fired later in the night at the sprawling base after the dignitaries left.
Dressed in a Canadian Forces camouflage, Mr. MacKay praised the soldiers, singling out Quebec's Royal 22nd Regiment, which accounts for the bulk of the troops serving on this rotation.
"The 22nd Regiment has distinguished itself again . . . and we in Canada are so very grateful," he said.
In Quebec, public sentiment is largely against having troops in Afghanistan, with a fall poll showing almost seven in 10 Quebecers oppose the Canadian mission.
U.S. ambassador Wilkins hailed Canada's "heavy lifting" in Kandahar as a model for other countries, such as Germany, that have been accused of shirking their duties in Afghanistan.
"It's a great example of what a freedom-loving country can do," Mr. Wilkins said of Canada.
He wouldn't say whether the U.S. is urging Canada to extend its mission in Canada past the country's February 2009 deadline. But Mr. MacKay reiterated his government's support for extending the mission to 2011.
"How confident am I that we're going to continue this progress? Extremely confident," he said of the mission. "The last thing that we want to see is slippage, or falling back, or a return of the Taliban. We do not want to leave work undone. We want to make sure that Afghanistan is a fully functional, secure, self-sustaining country. That's the mission and we want to complete that mission."
Montreal Gazette
It’d be comical if it wasn’t so sad and pathetic what they’re doing to Mark Steyn.
Who’s flying CAP for the whole freaking continent AGAIN, while your fabled strike birds are grounded for the third time in the last few months, HMMM?
Gimme my nickle back, you’re proof that a LITTLE knowledge can be dangerous, as well as the antisocial bent observed.
I can serve up no argument to this statement, the only rebuttal I have is that it is our lefties who perpetuate these pretensions for the most part, however, we are unfortunately chock-a-block full of them.
Canada.
The Newfoundland of the United States.
/Humor
;-)
I liked Peter MacKay in that video.
He looked sincere meeting the soldiers in that line.
Good for him.
I hadn’t realized that the US Ambassador was on that trip too. I really like him. He’s from North Carolina or Georgia, I believe.
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