Posted on 08/11/2009 5:21:08 PM PDT by Clive
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Canadian troops have moved into several villages to the southwest of Kandahar City in the past few days to live among the population and be much closer to the heart of the Taliban insurgency.
The move to have troops dwell in small communities, such as Zhalakhan and Baladay, coincides with orders by U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, the new commander of all NATO forces in Afghanistan appointed by President Barack Obama, to focus on populated areas in order to separate the Taliban from the people.
The four-star general's directive to "clear, hold and build" fits with training that the Quebec-based Royal 22nd Regiment Battle Group did in Canada before deploying to Afghanistan this spring.
"The population is the key," said Maj. Stephane Briand, the battle group's chief of operations. "We go into hot spots to render the enemy uncomfortable. When we hold that terrain they must move somewhere else."
The strategy had already reaped some benefits, according to Capt. William Girard, the Van Doos' plans officer.
"When we live with villagers we gain their confidence," he said. "They come, for example, and tell us if the insurgents had come to them in the night."
The latest initiatives in the volatile Zhari District, including an operation that ended Sunday that involved more than 500 Afghan and Canadian forces, are part of a fast operational pace on which Canada's Brig.-Gen. Jon Vance has had the Van Doos and his other troops since before the onset of the searing Afghan summer several months ago. Among items seized from the Taliban in the past few days are suicide vests, material for making bombs and what was described as "a high-quality communications system."
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(Excerpt) Read more at nationalpost.com ...
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I won’t.
DEAR GOD!
0bama’s general is giving orders to the VanDoos!
Je mes souviens...
Perhaps the peacenik at work was right: We really don’t bel9ong in the ASHCAN anymore.
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