[antiwar-van] Two Articles in Today's Toronto Star on Canadian Military Operations

[Kira Koshelanyk]

Afghan mission to last 20 years
Canada will help break cycle of `warlords'
`There are things worth dying for ... worth killing for'

PATRICK EVANS
STAFF REPORTER

ORILLIA—Canadian soldiers can expect to be in Afghanistan for the next 20 
years, fighting, killing and dying, one of Canada's top generals says.

"Afghanistan is a 20-year venture," Maj.-Gen. Andrew Leslie told the annual 
Couchiching Summer Conference yesterday.

Leslie warned that the war-torn country is going to need a long-term 
commitment from Canada to help it "break out of the cycle of warlords and 
tribalism."

And the results will be worth the cost, both in blood and time, he promised 
attendees of the conference in Orillia, on the shore of Lake Couchiching.

"There are things worth fighting for. There are things worth dying for. 
There are things worth killing for," Leslie told the conference.

"Your soldiers have done all three of those activities in the last 50 years.

"More of that activity is about to take place," he said, warning of 
"predators ... who wish to kill those whom we are charged to protect."

Still, no one should expect answers to come pouring out of the barrel of a 
gun, Leslie cautioned.

"Every time you kill an angry young man overseas, you're creating 15 more 
who will come after you," he said.

"You have to be prepared for the consequences."

About 80 Canadian troops touched down at a U.S. military base just outside 
Kandahar aboard two C-130 Hercules military aircraft late last month, part 
of what will be a 250-strong provincial reconstruction team, or PRT, the 
first such team Canada has sent to Afghanistan.

Also last month, Gen. Rick Hillier, Canada's chief of defence staff, warned 
that there could be casualties from this mission, as there have been in and 
around Kabul, where Canadian soldiers continue patrolling the streets as 
part of a NATO-led international force.

Three Canadian soldiers were killed in two separate incidents in Kabul, 
where nearly 700 of this country's troops remain.

Leslie told his Couchiching audience that the Canadian commitment will 
require both money and people who can provide security and relief while 
Afghanistan outgrows its violent past.

Leslie was taking part in a tradition that goes back 74 years, when 
Canadians gather for a summer weekend at Lake Couchiching to talk about the 
biggest issues of their times.

The topic of this year's conference was the use of force within and between 
nations.

Canada's upcoming mission to help stabilize Afghanistan's Kandahar region — 
and the good chance the country's soldiers will soon engage in combat — cast 
a long shadow over the four-day discussion.

Leslie said both the Taliban and Al Qaeda have roots in Kandahar and the 
region is still considered to be a hotbed for terrorists — the very people 
Canadian soldiers might soon meet in combat.

Leslie said security has, in the past, been largely seen as a military 
affair. But in today's world it's a much more complicated issue.

"Patterns of behaviour and beliefs about sovereignty, economics, national 
interests, national values, social development, the willingness to help 
others, a drive towards democratic institutions and representational 
government, the rule of law, quality of life, human rights and national 
culture are all parts of the larger equation of security requirements and 
potential solutions," he said.

Another speaker in yesterday's Couchiching session was Nancy Gordon, senior 
vice-president of the relief agency CARE Canada.

CARE has been doing humanitarian work in Afghanistan through the years of 
the Soviet invasion and the Taliban's fundamentalist government.

Gordon told the audience that the military is necessary for providing 
security in dangerous parts of the world.

"For a non-governmental organization like CARE, access is key.

"If Canadian forces can stabilize the environment in the Kandahar region and 
expand access, they will have achieved enormous success," Gordon said.

But when it comes to providing relief to people who are suffering, Gordon 
said military and non-governmental organizations must make sure their roles 
are clearly defined.

"We try to show in every aspect of our behaviour that we are not taking 
sides," Gordon said.

"We hope and think that the military should not engage in the kind of human 
relief work we do.

"If the military people attempt to win hearts and minds, or win loyalty with 
gifts of relief, there's a dangerous blurring of function.

"Dangerous for everyone involved."

In other words, the soldiers need to protect people while the relief workers 
need to help make life better.

Leslie was asked if Canada is likely to see the mission through even if it 
takes decades.

"I can't say what Canada's mood will be 15 to 20 years from now," he 
replied.

But Leslie offered his own opinion.

"I'm pretty confident Canada will stick it out for however long it takes."



Battle brews over civilian deployment overseas
Civilian defence department employees worried about being sent into war 
zones

CANADIAN PRESS

HALIFAX — The union representing Canada's civilian defence workers is 
bracing for a battle over compulsory service in war zones, as hundreds of 
uniformed soldiers pack their kitbags for lengthy stints in Afghanistan.

The president of the Union of National Defence Employees said today that the 
chief of defence staff, Gen. Rick Hillier, told him during recent talks that 
civilian support personnel on bases across the country could be called upon 
for extended overseas deployments.

"In turn, I put the chief of defence staff on notice that these assignments 
will in no case be mandatory," said John MacLennan, in a speech to union 
members in Halifax.

The union's main concern is that workers who refuse foreign assignments 
could face either formal or informal penalties, especially in terms of 
career advancement and opportunities.

MacLennan said the union is still uncertain whether it will support some 
form of overseas deployment for its members, where unionized staff are 
offered a choice, during the current deployment to Kandahar.

The Canadian military has used civilians as cooks and technicians on 
overseas deployments in the past.

But MacLennan said unionized Defence Department employees have generally 
done short stints, lasting no more than a few days or weeks, on specific 
assignments, such as equipment repair jobs.

"Now with this vision of deployable public servants, you're looking at 
months," he said.

Underscoring longer-term commitments is becoming a recurring theme for the 
military.

Yesterday, Maj.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, land forces commander, predicted at an 
international conference in Ontario that Afghanistan will become 20-year 
duty for the Canadian army.

His comments echo similar warnings last spring from Hillier.

The debate over the use of civilian labour also comes as the first 
contingent of 1,500 Canadian troops touch down in Kandahar for an extended, 
dangerous mission.

Since the late 1990s, private civilian contractors have helped fill 
long-term support positions, particularly during the Canadian army's 
operations in Bosnia.

But military planners say having day-to-day base staff around during 
deployments is something that makes sense from an operational and budgetary 
point of view.

Hillier was away on leave today and unable to respond to MacLennan's 
comments.

But a Defence Department spokesman said he can't speculate on how civilian 
deployments will be handled.

"We're still at the very early stages on this whole notion," said Jae 
Malana, who's a civilian employee, in an interview from Ottawa.

The details, including contractual issues, will have to be worked out by the 
military and the defence workers union, he said.

Just what rights and benefits non-military staff would have in a war zone is 
something that remains unclear and of concern to the union.

"The department must understand that any one member who goes abroad shall 
receive the same benefits and rights as our military counterparts enjoy when 
deployed to operational theatres," said MacLennan.

"Any member who enters a high-risk theatre will be exposed to potential life 
threatening situations, full liability must rest with the employer."

In 2004, Ottawa made serving in a war-zone income tax-free for military 
members — a perk that was aimed at improving morale in the Forces.

Also during his speech, MacLennan also tore a strip off Hillier, accusing 
the country's top soldier of trying to "Americanize our Canadian military" 
by making it more aggressive and shifting the focus away from the country's 
traditional role as a peacekeeper.

"But are we American? No, we're Canadian and we do things the Canadian way."

He is referring to the radical restructuring of the Canadian Forces, which 
was proposed recently.

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