Leopard II tanks from Edmonton's Lord Strathcona regiment are stationed at the foot of a hill near the Ma'sum Ghar base in Afghanistan on Sunday March 29, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrice Bergeron
Posted on 03/31/2009 6:58:02 AM PDT by Clive
MA'SUM GHAR - Canadian soldiers on the front lines in Afghanistan have welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement that more American reinforcements will be on the way.
At the Ma'sum Ghar military base - an outpost in western Kandahar where Canadian soldiers are managing development projects in an area with a heavy Taliban presence - news about an additional 21,000 U.S. troops was gladly received.
Obama's announcement on Friday of the dispatch of 4,000 new troops came on the heels of an earlier planned deployment of 17,000 U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan.
"We need more troops," Master Seaman Lee Bickerstaffe of Victoria said Sunday.
The Canadian Forces have declined official comment on Washington's white paper report, but after a long day under a hot Afghan sun, individual soldiers stationed at Ma'sum Ghar were ready to talk.
As the troops relaxed in the base's common room - a plywood and sheet metal extension of the canvas tents where they have their living quarters - watching flat-screen TVs, playing video games and surfing the Internet, they were also counting down the days until the fresh troops arrived.
The new U.S. troops "will definitely help us, especially with mentoring," said Cpl. Peter Mitchell. He noted that the Afghan security forces who have undergone training are far more disciplined than their untrained counterparts.
The latest promised dispatch of fresh U.S. troops will focus on training the country's military and police force - a task that's close to the heart of many Canadian soldiers.
"Mentoring, like the Canadian soldiers do, is one way of winning," said Bickerstaffe.
"It allows the Afghans to be self-sufficient enough to take charge of their country's security ... When they can defend themselves we'll see better results."
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(Excerpt) Read more at cnews.canoe.ca ...
Leopard II tanks from Edmonton's Lord Strathcona regiment are stationed at the foot of a hill near the Ma'sum Ghar base in Afghanistan on Sunday March 29, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrice Bergeron
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The correct name of the regiment is Lord Strathcons's Horse (Royal Canadians)
I thought we have been training Afghans troops and police from the beginning of this war. Have we quit so that Obama can begin??
Our Canadian neighbors are about the best friends (this may not include Quebec & most of BC & parts o Ontario) you can have especially when their prime minister is a conversvative.
Steven Harper faced a post election power grab by a coalition including the left and he smacked em down hard.
Le Royal 22e Régiment (the Vandoos) is one of the three senior Canadian infantry regiments rotating as the core of battle groups into Kandahar. This is the senior francophone infantry regiment, of which the Québécois are justly proud.
All battle groups have their numbers buttressed with volunteers from local reserve regiments from towns and cities throughout Canada, including Québec, BC and Ontario.
Agreed.
Americans tend to take Canada for granted, but they’ve been with us from the start.
...not as much as we welcome Canada’s steadfast support and loyalty.
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