Afstan: CF going to the people/Similar US approach? More or fewer Brits? Kiwi Update

This certainly seems congruent with Gen. McChrystal's doctrine (more here):

Lt.-Col. Joe Paul [commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion Royal 22nd Regiment] "leads from the front," his Vandoos troops say with admiration. He also has a philosophic cast of mind that comes out when he talks about the battlefield, survival, fate and destiny...

What happened next was highly unusual -- Paul began to discuss tactics and to explain what the troops were doing when the bomb went off.

"Basically, his company was supporting an operation in Panjawii district. The intent was to protect the right flank of Bravo company. That company moved into a little town called Saladat. It's a town from where the insurgents have been operating freely over the last few years.

"The intent of the operation was to have a Canadian company living in the town on a permanent basis. Not simply a patrol done once a week or once a month but to live there in permanence, and Bravo company is going to do it ..."

So instead of clearing an area and moving on, Canadian troops in complements of about 100 are now setting up in "platoon houses" and living in the villages. The goal is "to really interact with the local population," said Paul.

The change in tactics seems to have boosted morale among the troops, who enjoy being around the Afghan children and helping them however they can...

Which leads to Norman Spector's TODAY'S IDIOCY:

TheStar.com | World | Can U.S. win war the Canadian way?

Canada is backing calls for an overhaul of the failing Afghan mission, but likely won't be around to ensure the success of a new strategy that appears to be based on its own counter-insurgency efforts.

As for the Americans:

U.S. Commanders Told to Shift Focus to More Populated Area

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top military officer in Afghanistan, has told his commanders to pull forces out of sparsely populated areas where U.S. troops have fought bloody battles with the Taliban for several years and focus them on protecting major Afghan population centers...

Senior U.S. officials said the moves were driven by the realization that some remote regions of Afghanistan, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountains that range through the northeast, were not going to be brought under government control anytime soon. "Personally, I think I am being realistic about this," said Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander of U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan. "I have more combat power than my predecessors did, but I won't be as spread out. . . . This is all about freeing up some forces so I can get them out more among the people."

The changes are in line with McChrystal's confidential assessment of the war, which urges U.S. and NATO forces to "initially focus on critical high-population areas that are contested or controlled by insurgents."..

Meanwhile, the British prime minister seems conflicted, rather à l'Obama:

UK's Brown seeks fewer UK troops in Afghanistan

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Tuesday he was focused on cutting back on the number of the country's troops in Afghanistan, despite a report from the top U.S. commander calling for an increase in the number of soldiers.

Brown insisted he was hoping to withdraw some British soldiers as soon as Afghanistan's local forces become able to carry out their own security duties...

The Times of London newspaper reported Tuesday that Britain is considering the deployment of a further 1,000 troops in response to McChrystal's assessment...

Britain has about 9,000 troops - the second largest force after the U.S. - based mainly in the southern Helmand province. A total of 217 British troops have died in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Brown's office said no decision had been made on whether to send an extra 1,000 soldiers. "Nothing has been ruled in, and nothing has been ruled out," a spokesman for Brown said while speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.

The spokesman said that troop levels are under constant review, and that officials were studying the details of McChrystal's report.

A recent surge in the number of British troop deaths - a result of an increasing use of roadside bombs by insurgents and an aggressive campaign to oust Taliban fighters before the country's Aug. 20 elections - has led to some public skepticism over the mission...

Update: The Kiwis are stepping up to the wicket, as it were:

New Zealand special air service troops arrive in Afghanistan

A group of 71 New Zealand Special Air Service (SAS) troops have arrived in Afghanistan, Prime Minister John Key announced on Monday.

New Zealand would provide three rotations of SAS troops during the next 18 months.

Key described the deployment as a dangerous assignment, and told a press conference that he cannot rule out the possibility of casualties.

The troops will be under the control of the commander of the NATO international security assistance force in Afghanistan, but overall command will be retained by the chief of the New Zealand Defense Force, through an SAS commander in the field.

About 140 New Zealand Defense Force personnel are running a provincial reconstruction team in Bamyan province, which the Government intends gradually winding up.

It is the fourth SAS deployment to Afghanistan, the last being in 2005 under the previous Labor government.

Key made the arrival announcement just before leaving for New York, where he is expected to briefly meet United States President Barack Obama.

The United States asked for the SAS to be again sent to Afghanistan...

Via Moby Media Updates. You'll read that in Xinhua but not in the Canadian media.