Afstan: More on the current NATO offensive

My inference from early reporting is that Canadians will have largely a support role.

Canadian troops will play a "major role" in a massive push against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan now being assembled in the dangerous Panjwayi district, the top NATO commander in the south said yesterday.

During a surprise visit to the Canadian forward operating base here at Ma'sum Ghar, Maj.-Gen. Ton Van Loon, head of Regional Command South for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, described the broad outlines of Operation Baaz Tsuka, a plan to push the Taliban out of the region and secure it for Afghan forces.

"Canada is already playing a major role by being in this position now, and will also make some other movements into the area [emphasis added]," he said...

Although Baaz Tsuka - an Afghan phrase meaning "falcon's summit" - is a coalition operation, Van Loon stressed that unlike last fall's Operation Medusa, it will include a significant contribution from the Afghan National Army and police.

"We've got a substantial amount of Afghans here already, as you see," Van Loon said, pointing to an ANA camp at the edge of FOB Ma'sum Ghar. "It is tactically key that we get the Afghan National Army and also the police to take their role for their own country."

Baaz Tsuka is being billed by NATO as a sequel to - not a repeat of - Operation Medusa. That two-week Canadian-led operation back in September pushed the Taliban out of the mountainous Panjwayi district west of Kandahar City - traditionally the heartland of the hardline movement - and gave coalition troops some freedom of movement...

Van Loon said Baaz Tsuka will be similar in scale to Medusa, but without heavy artillery. The entire operation is expected to take several weeks.

"We are hoping to use much less firepower (than Medusa) because we now believe we can engage the Taliban much more in their own heartland. "

By avoiding the use of heavy artillery, Van Loon said, the coalition hopes to prevent "collateral damage and (make) sure we engage only the hardline elements [I wonder if this approach will have any impact on our opposition parties - MC]."

Note:

The British-led mission [emphasis added] will see Canadian troops operating from the bases they've established in the Panjwaii district, west of Kandahar city, but "there would also be movement involved," the general said, although he would not provide details or say when the mission would begin.

Van Loon said the Canadians will continue working with the Afghan National Army [ANA] as they try to separate hardline members of the Taliban from the civilian population...

As for Canadians and the ANA, The Sunday Telegraph has a story focussing on Canadians helping the Afghan National Army fight--with a Leopard growling. More here on Canadians working with the ANA.

Update: The Dutch are also involved. Does this sound familiar?

...The Dutch troops, who are stationed in the neighbouring province of Uruzgan have been providing both air and ground support. The two left-wing parties say this points to a further change to the original mission of the Dutch contingent, which was to focus fully on reconstruction work [emphasis added]...