PUBLICATION:

The Daily Gleaner (Fredericton)

DATE:

2007.05.10

SECTION:

News

PAGE:

A6

BYLINE:

MICHAEL STAPLES

COPYRIGHT:

© 2007 The Daily Gleaner (Fredericton)

Expert says Canadian troops are making a difference in Kandahar

The efforts of Canadian soldiers in the Kandahar area of Afghanistan are not being wasted, an expert on the topic said Wednesday.

Lee Windsor, the deputy director of the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society at the University of New Brunswick, has recently returned from a three-week stint in the troubled region.

Progress is being made, Windsor said in an interview.

"The key message is that things have changed fundamentally in Kandahar province over the past six months," he said.

For one thing, he said, there's no large massing of Taliban troops that have to be dealt with yet this spring, as was the case last year.

That has opened up a number of opportunities to reach out and help ordinary Afghans, he said.

"Essentially, our battle group and the Afghan national army has created a secure bubble around Kandahar City and the agricultural areas just outside the city," Windsor said. "The drug gangs and Taliban are kind of held on that perimeter. The battle group is creating a shield around what is called the Kandahar City-Afghan development zone.

"This has created conditions whereby the provincial reconstruction team can actually do its job."

Canada has 2,500 troops in Afghanistan - with 1,150 falling under control of The Second Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (2RCR) battle group from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown.

Windsor said debate in Canada on whether the Afghan mission should continue is based on information that's four-to-six months old.

"Anybody who is trying to make up their minds as to whether we should stay or go should make that decision knowing that we're now in the position to deliver real, serious support and aid," Windsor said.

The idea is for the Kandahar region to have the same success as has been achieved in the north and west of the country, he said.

Establishing security in Kandahar is critical, Windsor said, because it's probably the most important road junction in south Asia - serving as a hub for four continents.

For years traffic has been stifled by various conflicts, but now the highways are full of trucks carrying potatoes, wheat, pomegranates, almonds and other agricultural products, he said.

With a lack of Taliban, farmers are returning to the land and growing things other than poppies and marijuana.

Windsor, who was in the country when eight battle-group soldiers died in less than a week, said Canadian troops have done a magnificent job in the area.

The biggest concern for soldiers following the deaths was that people back in Canada would think nothing was being accomplished and would want to end the mission just when success was being achieved, Windsor said.

Windsor will be delivering a public lecture on Afghanistan today at 7:30 p.m. at the Wu Conference Centre.

In the meantime, Windsor, along with military historian David Charters and Brent Wilson, also of the Gregg Centre, are in the process of writing a book on the mission.