Major ISAF ops: First Helmand, then Kandahar

Made possible by President Obama's second surge. The Globe and Mail's Josh Wingrove continues good reporting (see second part of this post, and here); nice to see those US troops pointed out. Good on the Globe for paying serious attention to the military side of things:

Canadians to be 'tip of the spear' in Kandahar

[In fact most of the troops at the pointy end will likely be American, since the CF's Task Force Kandahar will shortly comprise four or five U.S. Army battalions to one Canadian.]

Forces will be at forefront of coming NATO attacks to oust Taliban from restive province, coalition commander says

By late spring or early summer, Canada will be at “the tip of the spear” of NATO's efforts in Afghanistan, leading a massive push in Kandahar province on the scale of this month's attacks in nearby Helmand, a top coalition soldier says.

Canadian Brigadier-General Craig King, the coalition's director of future plans in Afghanistan's volatile south, said allied forces and government agencies are preparing for an attack that will take place in the coming months, and draw largely from the playbook of this month's assault on Marjah and Nad Ali in Helmand in a bid to push the Taliban from restive pockets in Kandahar province.

“I think we need to be prepared that there's going to be an increase in activity in and around Kandahar. The Canadians are going to be very actively engaged in that, just as the marines and the British are right now in central Helmand,” said Gen. King, himself a Canadian...

Operation Moshtarak and the looming Kandahar offensive were made possible by a surge of American troops into the country. Gen. King is awaiting the “troop density” provided by the imminent arrival of the 101st Airborne's second brigade into Kandahar [more here and here again; it looks like one battalion of this BCT may be put under Canadian command]. Asked whether a Kandahar attack would be on the same scale as the 15,000 troops involved in Moshtarak, itself considered one of the war's biggest offensives, Gen. King said that in “broad strokes” it would...

...The mission will target areas in western Panjwai and Zhari districts, among others currently considered “no-go zones,” he said...

I wonder if he really said "no-go"--see here and here.