The Torch: Our vanishing Provincial Reconstruction Team at Kandahar?

A post from April 2009:

The US and the Kandahar PRT--and Kandahar generally

Well, the PRT is now a "joint venture"--reasonable given the vastly increased US presence plus the CF's approaching 2011 departure. Yet it is not clear (good CP story) if our incredibly dithering government intends to keep Canadian civilians at Kandahar after then; an almost total "cut and run" in the end, eh?

Kandahar reconstruction base now a Canada-U.S. venture

Canada's provincial reconstruction base in Kandahar [more here] -- often the source of great political pride for the Harper government -- is now a joint venture with the United States.

A change of command was held early Sunday with no fanfare whatsoever, marking the handover of the base to civilian control.

The reorganization also sees the U.S. take an equal role in the decision-making process, a move that raises questions about whether Ottawa intends to pull civilians out of the troubled province entirely when the military leaves next year.

Although the combat mission ends in July 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged that the diplomatic and development mission will continue after the withdrawal.

But whether that takes place in Kandahar, or somewhere else in Afghanistan remains undecided.

"We're awaiting direction from our ministers in Ottawa," Ben Rowswell, Canada's representative in Kandahar said Sunday in an interview.

"We know that we're committed to delivering development projects beyond 2011, but there are many ways you can deliver development projects, depending on how you do it. You either have civilians on the ground -- or you don't."

If Canadian civilians were pulled out, it is possible Ottawa could pay the U.S. -- or international bodies such as the United Nations -- to deliver its projects...

"We know we'll be conducting development, but what that means in terms of the presence of Canada's civilians in Kandahar post-2011 is a decision that's yet to be taken," said Rowswell [see "3/" here]...

The possible withdrawal of civilians from Kandahar has put the pressure on diplomats and development officers to deliver on Ottawa's signature projects and priorities, such as refurbishing the Dhalla dam and building 50 schools [see here].
"We have an awful lot of work to do in 2010 with the increase in the U.S. presence, the focus is very much on what are we going to do this year to make sure the situation improves in Kandahar," said Rowswell.

He added he's not heard of plans to handover the PRT to the U.S. entirely...
More than 100 Canadian civilians work there with now an equal number of Americans. The reorganization gives the U.S. the position of deputy director.