Afstan update: `We've got to see it through to the end'/Beacons for troops/Taliban threats

1) From the returning commander of Multi-national Brigade South:

Brig.-Gen. David Fraser arrived back on home turf with a smile on his face, relief in his eyes and an admission that he will always be marked by his gruelling nine-month tour in Afghanistan."I might have left Afghanistan, but Afghanistan will always be part of me," he told the Star in an interview yesterday. "The people out there are phenomenal, courageous. "You can't help but leave a part of yourself back there," he said."Men and women, the children who are just trying to eke out a living. ... We've got to see it through to the end," he said.In February, Fraser took over command of the multinational forces in the southern region of Afghanistan as they faced a rebounding insurgency that killed allied troops and thwarted efforts to rebuild.While the mission is proving divisive on the home front, Fraser said Canadians should take pride in the mission...

"United States, Great Britain and other nations are looking towards Canada as a leader," he said. "We stepped up to the plate, we've done everything and more."

Fraser handed over command last week to the Dutch...

Note this about the command in the future:

...[Major General] Ton van Loon's predecessor in the post was Canadian Brigadier General David Fraser, and a British general will succeed him next year. These three countries - the Netherlands, Canada and the UK - will continue to hold command of NATO's operations in the area on a rotating basis for the next few years. At the moment, some 11,000 NATO troops are stationed in this part of Afghanistan, including a large contingent of US forces in the province of Zabul...

2) "Beacons to keep troops safe from friendly fire":

Canada is in negotiations with the U.S. military to purchase a new radio system capable of significantly reducing friendly fire incidents by detailing the exact location of each unit on the battlefield.

Tens of millions of dollars will be spent on the state-of-the art radios, which are expected to be shipped to Afghanistan, defence sources say.

The equipment, called the enhanced position location reporting system, or EPLRS, allows users to mark their locations, as well as those of enemy forces, on an electronic network. Such information is then shared over the network between various allied units and aircraft.

"Everybody will know where everybody else is," said Denny Roberts, vice-president of Raytheon Canada, the company whose parent firm in the U.S. manufactures the system.

"It's a great piece of kit. It will save some lives, we hope."

Mr. Roberts said U.S. A-10 Warthog and F-16 aircraft operating in Afghanistan are capable of linking in to the network and seeing the location of friendly ground units on a cockpit display.

"Not only that, but the Canadians carrying the EPLRS can see the A-10 because he's on the network," added Mr. Roberts, a former CF-18 fighter pilot...

3) "Taliban threatens renewed war against Canadian troops":

A Taliban spokesman Monday pledged to wage a renewed jihad against Canadian troops throughout the winter, saying Canadian forces have broken their promise to redevelop Afghanistan by killing innocent civilians.

"We will pursue our fighting in winter," Qari Mohammad Yousuf Ahmadi said in a telephone interview Monday, shooting down suggestions of a lull in fighting over the winter, when insurgents traditionally hunker down in mountain hideaways. "We will change our tactics according to the situation."

He said if Canadian troops want to avoid casualties "the best way is to stop their operations."..