CASR

Canadian
American
Strategic
Review

Afghan Mission  –   New US Troops  –  Stryker Brigade  –  NATO~ISAF  –  November 2009 Stryker  Brigade   –    New  US  Troops  under  CF  Command  in Kandahar  –  Canada  can  now  stick  with  its  Afghan  Mission Edited  excerpts  from  article  published  by  Canwest  News  –  27  November  2009    [1] The US Army is about to put another 2,500 US troops [ from Stryker Brigade ] under Canadian command, [expanding the force] to about 6,500 soldiers.  This new [ deployment ] would leave Canada  responsible  for  Kandahar  City.  [ The creation of  this  new  hybrid  brigade ]  might be a  not-so-subtle  way for  Washington to try to convince Ottawa [ not ] to pull out  in  2011. In an interview with Canwest in Kandahar last week, Lt.-Gen. Marc Lessard, who commands all Canadian Forces overseas, asserted:  "We, the Canadian Forces,  get  population-centred counter-insurgency. "  [ He was  referring  to  the  counterinsurgency  strategy  outlined  by General  Stanley  McChrystal,  US  Commander  of  ISAF  troops  in  Afghanistan.] About 1200 US troops were already assigned to Canada's brigade 15 months ago. With this next influx of US forces, 3700 Americans and 2800 Canadians, including combat troops from the  Alberta - based   Princess  Patricia's   Canadian  Light  Infantry  [ PPCLI ]  battle  group, will operate under the tactical control of  Canadian  commander,  Brig.-Gen. Daniel  Menard. The US is especially interested in Canada retaining a key role in Afghanistan.  Canada is the only ally,  in Afghanistan,  to whom the Americans have been willing to entrust their troops. Not  one  American,  for  example,  is  under  British  command  in  neighbouring  Helmand, even  though  the  British  have  far  more  troops  there  than  Canada  has  in  Kandahar. Although  Canadian  and  US  troops  are  not  mixed  within  the  companies  or  battalions  in Afghanistan, ... they  have often  operated  in  close support of  each  other  on  joint  combat missions.  In  order  to  plan  and  coordinate  the  coming  battles ... a  team of  US  officers  is already  jammed  into  [ Canadian Forces' ]  small,  high-tech,  war-room  at  Kandahar  Airfield. Gen. Tremblay  said  that  Gen.  McChrystal's  "main  priority  is  the  south".  The intent was to  use  population-centric  tactics  there.  "You  have  to  choke  the  approaches  to the city of  Kandahar in order to separate the population from insurgents,"  NATO's  spokesman  said. "For  that  you  need a clear  delineation  of  command.  You  need  it  under  one  commander. You  also  need  the  right  number  of  manoeuvre  forces  to  protect  the  civil  population." Edited  excerpts  from  a  related  article  published  by  the   Wall  Street  Journal      [2]  The  ' Kandahar  Campaign '  will be an early, large-scale test of  General Stanley McChrystal's plan of  refocusing allied military,  political, and economic efforts on population centers and away  from sparsely peopled rural areas. [ The plan is ] to mass troops  in the thousands  (now scattered  around the south)  and  pack  them into a tight cordon around the outskirts of Kandahar City.  Commanders  in Afghanistan say that they will  [ immediately ]  begin  to secure  the country's  troubled  south.  [ Forces ]  will  especially target  the volatile city of  Kandahar  –  the  Taliban's  main power base.  [ By  01 December  2009 ]  US officers expect  to order  the fast-moving,  armored  Stryker  Brigade  to devote  itself full time to securing  roads plagued by hidden explosives. The Stryker Brigade will have road engineers and intelligence teams on board, and will likely use high-tech surveillance equipment to try to ensure that insurgents don't plant explosives. There is a Canadian [ Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) ] inside the city and a 150-man US military-police company. Gen. Carter plans to boost that with another small MP unit to bolster the Afghan National Police. The coalition also plans to provide Kandahar and its environs with economic aid  –  a $50 million Canadian irrigation system, a US farm-and-jobs project, and a new electrical-distribution network, expected to cost some $20 million. For  security  reasons,  allied  officers  do  not  want  to  publicize  how  many  soldiers  will be  involved  in  the  Kandahar  operation.  They  say  that  their  plan  will  boost  the  troops encircling  Kandahar  by  about  50  percent,  while  reducing  by   90  percent  the  total  area that  those  troops  have  to  cover,  making  the  cordon  harder  for  insurgents  to  penetrate.   [1]   Article written by  Matthew  Fisher  for Canwest News,  published  27  November  2009.   [2]   Article written by  Michael  M.  Phillips  ( with  contributions  by  Jonathan  Weisman )          published  on  25  November  2009,   in  the  Wall  Street  Journal.