CASR

Canadian
American
Strategic
Review

Afghan  Mission  –   New  US  Troops  –   NATO / ISAF  –  May  2009 Arrival  of  New  US  Troops  means  that  the  Afghan  Mission can be redefined for Canadian Forces  –  Security for Civilians The  implications  of  new  US  troops  on  the  CF  Afghan  Mission More  Troops  –  More  Helicopters  –  More  Intelligence  –  in  Every  Sense  of   that  Word Those were the conditions spelled out in the January 2008  Manley Report. It  listed the terms under which Canadian parliamentarians could  (and should)  extend the Afghan Mission until 2011. The report asserted that  Canadian Forces could not continue their mission in Kandahar Province unless more NATO –  and non-NATO  –  troops  were sent to southern Afghanistan where the insurgency is most intense. Positive responses to the urgent requests of  the Canadian government  have come from both Australia and the United Kingdom. However, only the United States has been willing and able to deploy troop levels sufficient  to mount an effective counterinsurgency against the Taliban in the south,  where that  Pashtun - dominated  movement's  indigenous  support  is  greatest. New US troops are arriving at  Kandahar Air  Field  to be deployed  in Southern Afghanistan Throughout the summer of  2009, US troops will be deploying to Kandahar Air Field (KAF) in advance of  an Afghan presidential election to be held on 20 August.  On 15 May,  the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade ( 82nd CAB ) [1]  took over the command of air operations in southern Afghanistan. A more recent arrival  is the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade ( 2d MEB ), currently training at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand Province.  In June, the 2d MEB will begin its counter-insurgency operations [2]  in the southern regions of  Kandahar and Helmand provinces. Then, during July and August,  the US Army's  new  and  fast-moving  5th  Stryker Brigade Combat Team  ( the 5/2 SCBT, a part of  the 2nd Infantry Division) will begin operations in Kandahar Province – focusing on those rural parts of Kandahar familiar to the Canadian Forces. Because of the Afghan presidential election, the month of August is key for all  ISAF troops, and  for personnel of  Afghanistan's own security forces.  In  Kandahar  Province,  over  40% of registered voters are women.  This is  testimony to just how important this election is seen to be for fundamental human rights and the security of  the people of  Afghanistan, especially for Afghan women and children. Now that tens of thousands of  US troops are on their way to Afghanistan, the question that Canadian citizens must turn their attention to is this:  How can Canadian Forces troops,  who are already based  in Kandahar  Province,  be deployed  to their best advantage?  After much discussion among  both military commanders and civilian authorities,  the answer seems to be a strategic move to concentrate the Canadian Forces in a much more limited – but more highly and densely-populated  –  geographical area. That location, of course, is the city of Kandahar. More  Well - Defined  Mission  for  Canadian  Forces  fits  in  with   US  Counterinsurgency This strategic move is consistent with the counterinsurgency doctrine outlined by US General David Petraeus.  He successfully used  this technique in Iraq  –  defending population centres with one task force, while using other,  more highly-specialized forces to take the war-fighting to the insurgents in their isolated  rural strongholds.  In this way, much of the savagery of war can be kept at a safer distance from the densest concentrations of  the local civilian  populace. (As copycats of Tamil Tiger techniques, the Taliban routinely exploit the vulnerability of non- combatants for both tactical advantage and for the propaganda value of  local civilian losses.) Petraeus' approach fits with Canada's emphasis on the  'Responsibility to Protect'  the civilian population. The goal is to keep the majority of  the actual fighting out of  populated areas and to provide the non-combatant civilian population (technically, Taliban insurgents are civilians as well) with a heightened sense of  security. It also allows those skilled at counterinsurgency to get on with their job without being impeded  by constant concerns over civilian casualties. Under this new arrangement, the Canadian Forces will patrol and police Kandahar City and its environs.[3] The city is the area where most of the people of  Kandahar Province live (324,800 of the province's population of  890,000 live in Kandahar City). Providing security for this city and the surrounding areas  is particularly  important,  because this is where the Taliban arose. Kandahar  City  is also close to  Quetta,  a city  just over the border  in western Pakistan.  It is widely  believed  that  the  leaders  and  tacticians of  the  Kandahari Taliban  reside in Quetta. Protecting Civilians  in  Kandahar  More Consistent  with  Canadian Citizens'  View  of  CF Of course the immediate task for the Canadian Forces will be to protect the civilian population during the run-up to the Afghan presidential election. The Taliban have vowed to disrupt this important poll. They, too, know how much is riding on the outcome. The Taliban have already tried to intimidate the people of Kandahar, dissuading many –  especially in rural areas –  from even registering to vote  in the upcoming election. Over a longer time frame – especially if  the Canadian parliament sees fit  to extend the Afghan Mission  –  the Canadian Forces could  provide  the necessary security  for a diverse  range of civilian projects  –  construction and reconstruction projects of  all kinds and sizes, upgrading transportation and communication infrastructure, and  re-establishing  local irrigation systems for more productive and varied types of agriculture. The scope and details of  some of  the most vital civilian reconstruction projects planned for Kandahar Province will be the subject of a future article. [1]  82nd CAB  is the Army Aviation support element  for the famous 82nd Airborne Division. Following that airborne theme,  the Kandahar deployment is part of  Task Force Pegasus. The 82nd CAB relieves the 159th CAB, an element of  the equally famous 101st Airborne Division. [2] The Camp Lejeune-based  2d MEB will also absorb 2,000 or so Marines currently in-theatre with a special air-ground task force. 2d MEB is part of  II MEF (II Marine Expeditionary Force). [3] Policing in Kandahar is performed by the Afghan National Police (in some cases, mentored by Canadian police officers – either CIVPOL (Civilian Police Contingent) or the Military Police.