Afstan: Why writing letters to the Toronto Star (gasp!) can pay off

First:

A letter of mine in the Toronto Star:

Jan 19, 2009 04:30 AM

Re: No light at end of Afghan tunnel, Jan. 18

Allan Woods' story deals with the likelihood that the new Obama administration will put pressure on Canada to continue its military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2011. I'd like to propose one approach to doing that, focused on the Canadian Air Force.

A Canadian Air Wing has just been established at Kandahar. It will have Chinook (transport) and Griffon (escort) helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance; it will also support supply flights by Hercules and C-17 transport aircraft. Why not keep the air wing at Kandahar after 2011?

And, besides the air wing, keep a provincial reconstruction team from the army, some troops to mentor the Afghan army and police, and a small unit based at Kandahar airfield to provide force protection. The primary role of the air wing would be to support our allies and the Afghans in the field.

I would imagine a maximum of some 1,500 Canadian Forces personnel would be required, down from some 2,750 now. Such a contingent would be a significant and useful contribution that would be welcomed by NATO and President Barack Obama.

Mark Collins, Ottawa

Now, holy cow, from an editorial in the Star, Jan. 27; read it and and keep at it, people:

[...]

Canada is also expanding its air wing in Afghanistan to include armed Griffon helicopters, Chinook transport helicopters and unmanned surveillance aircraft. We also deploy Hercules and C-17 transports there. Depending on the needs of the Afghan government and our European allies, assets such as these could be maintained when our Kandahar mission ends and the ground troops leave...

Via Brett.