SACEUR praises Canadian performance in Afstan

General James L. Jones' title seems rather anachronistic, given where the action is. Apparently our troops were target one in an effort to crack the home front. Time will tell.

The Taliban specifically targeted Canadian forces in southern Afghanistan this year in an attempt to weaken NATO's political resolve, but the strategy backfired badly on the Islamic extremists, the often outspoken U.S. marine who commands the transatlantic alliance said yesterday.

"I think the Canadian leadership in the south is the answer to what was a clearly open question in some communities: Would NATO fight if tested?" General James Jones said in an interview at SHAPE, NATO's military headquarters in southern Belgium.

"They chose to test Canada, and Canada responded magnificently. ... The enemy was soundly defeated."..

Dire commentaries recently, particularly in the British media, about how badly the war has been going in Afghanistan were wrong, Jones said.

"With due respect to many people who feel qualified to talk about Afghanistan, if you have not been on the ground and seen the people, you cannot fully understand," Jones said.

"Afghanistan is not Iraq. It is a completely different problem, and it is not lost in my view."..

..."I think that in Afghanistan the exit strategy is very clear. It is not, in fact, a military problem. It turns on the proper harnessing, funding and focusing of the funding for the reconstruction effort.

"If I had a preference for any nation, it would be to focus on what your country can do for reconstruction, don't just think militarily. This is the path to success. If you asked me if I wanted 5,000 more troops or $50 million more to build schools and roads, carry out judicial reforms and move against corruption and crime, I'd take the money."

The NATO commander on the spot (SACAF?) is speaking along the same lines:

THE British general commanding all 31,000 Nato troops in Afghanistan has pledged to focus his winter campaign on development projects rather than killing Taleban fighters.

Lieutenant-General David Richards conceded that significant improvements were needed over the next few months to persuade Afghans to “keep the faith” with the Nato mission.

In an interview with The Times, General Richards said that he aimed to switch all the efforts of his 37-nation force towards protecting and enabling “visible” reconstruction projects. He was ready to “put a security cloak” around rebuilding programmes that would make an immediate difference to the people...