This is indeed good news. The skeptic in me askes, “Are they REALLY all out of that country where they really never had any right to be in the first place? Then, where does Harpoon, er Harper, plan to send them next?”
By Matthew Fisher,
July 7, 2011
KANDAHAR
Canada's first war in more than half a century ended at 11:18 a.m. local time Thursday at a spot about 300 metres away from where the first Canadian combat troops set foot in Kandahar on Jan. 19, 2002.
(ED: Not Canada’s war! America and Israel’s war!)
The seventh and last Canadian to command Task Force Kandahar, Brig.-Gen Dean Milner, signed over responsibility for Canada's battle space Thursday to Col. Todd Wood of the 1st Stryker Combat Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.
In a sometimes emotional address that repeatedly returned to the close friendships he had forged with Afghan security forces, Milner praised his Afghan partner, Brig.-Gen. Ahmed Habibi, and told the gathering that before too long he hoped to return to Kandahar with his wife to enjoy more of the highly regarded local pomegranates and grapes.
(“Habibi” is an Arabic term of endearment, “my beloved” ~ smiles)
(In days past, Afghanistan was known for growing the best pomegranates on the planet and was a paradise of fresh fruits, production ruined in wartime with the chemicals, radioactive bombs, and general chaos. These businesses could be revived as an honest replacement over the CIA crops of opium)
``Just one brigade in strength, successive Canadian task forces demonstrated remarkable flexibility and fortitude,'' Milner said as he traced Canada's involvement in Kandahar since 2006. ``They operated over large stretches of this province in order to fight the enemy wherever he presented himself.''
(The enemy, people fighting for their own lands.)
Lt.-Gen. Marc Lessard, who is responsible for Canadian troops overseas as the head of Canadian Forces Expeditionary Command, said that ``remarkable progress had been achieved in enhancing security and governance.''
Lessard added he would "never had thought this achievable" when he was NATO's top general in the south only three years ago.
Raising his voice, Lessard concluded his remarks by stating ``we held the line from 2005 to 2009'' before a surge in U.S. troops began. This allowed classic counter-insurgency tactics to be used for the first time to push the enemy off the battlefield.
Almost all of Canada's combat troops are now either at Kandahar Airfield, in Cyprus for four days of compulsory decompression, or back home in Canada. Canada's last few tanks and armoured reconnaissance vehicles returned two days ago to the airfield, which is the main logistical hub for the war in the south.
That still leaves a few dozen infantrymen from 1 Royal 22e Regiment in the field for a few more days. They are advising the incoming Arctic Wolves, who are from Fort Wainwright, Alaska. A small number of other troops also remain at a base in Kandahar City, but they too will be on their way to Canada within days.
Gov. Tooraylai Wesa, whose attendance had been expected and whose absence was not explained, had his name hastily removed from speeches. But otherwise, a ``who's who'' of Kandahar's political and security elite, as well as the NATO brass in southern Afghanistan, attended the 70-minute ceremony at New Canada House.
Afghan children play soccer in the old part of the city in Kabul, Afghanistan Wednesday, July 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq) ~ AP
U.S Major General James L.Terry, center, Commander Regional Command South shakes hand with Brig.-Gen Dean Milner, Commander of Canadian Forces Kandahar during a transfer of command authority ceremony in Kandahar airbase in Afghanistan, Thursday, July 7, 2011.Canadian combat operations have ended and their troops will transition to a non-combat training role with up to 950 soldiers and support staff to train Afghan soldiers and police in areas of the north, west and Kabul.((AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) ~ AP
U.S Major General James L.Terry right, Commander Regional Command South delivers speech during a transfer of command authority ceremony in Kandahar airbase in Afghanistan, Thursday, July 7, 2011.Canadian combat operations have ended and their troops will transition to a non-combat training role with up to 950 soldiers and support staff to train Afghan soldiers and police in areas of the north, west and Kabul.((AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) ~ AP
U.S Major General James L.Terry center, Commander Regional Command South along with Brig.-Gen Dean Milner, Commander of Canadian Forces Kandahar left and U.S Col. Todd R. Wood right, signs the transfer of authority papers during a transfer of command authority ceremony in Kandahar airbase in Afghanistan, Thursday, July 7, 2011.Canadian combat operations have ended and their troops will transition to a non-combat training role with up to 950 soldiers and support staff to train Afghan soldiers and police in areas of the north, west and Kabul.((AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) ~ AP
Afghan officails and NATO troops slaute during a national anthem in a transfer of command authority ceremony in Kandahar airbase in Afghanistan, Thursday, July 7, 2011.Canadian combat operations have ended and their troops will transition to a non-combat training role with up to 950 soldiers and support staff to train Afghan soldiers and police in areas of the north, west and Kabul. ((AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) ~ AP
Canadian soldiers pay tribute to the fallen soldiers during a transfer of command authority ceremony in Kandahar airbase in Afghanistan, Thursday, July 7, 2011.Canadian combat operations have ended and their troops will transition to a non-combat training role with up to 950 soldiers and support staff to train Afghan soldiers and police in areas of the north, west and Kabul. ((AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) ~ AP
U.S and Canadians soldiers attened a transfer of command authority ceremony in Kandahar airbase in Afghanistan, Thursday, July 7, 2011.Canadian combat operations have ended and their troops will transition to a non-combat training role with up to 950 soldiers and support staff to train Afghan soldiers and police in areas of the north, west and Kabul. ((AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) ~ AP
Brig.-Gen Dean Milner, Commander of Canadian Forces Kandahar gestures as he leave after a transfer of command authority ceremony in Kandahar airbase in Afghanistan, Thursday, July 7, 2011.Canadian combat operations have ended and their troops will transition to a non-combat training role with up to 950 soldiers and support staff to train Afghan soldiers and police in areas of the north, west and Kabul. ((AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) ~ AP
Afghan women walk past a cinema in Kabul, Wednesday, July 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Ahmad Nazar) ~ AP
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