Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - November 1, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press wednesday november 1, 2006 world a13 tested by Taliban nato general lauds Canadian leadership role Canada ready to Send Cf-18s if needed by Matthew Fisher m on Belgium ? the Taliban specifically targeted Canadian forces in Southern Afghanistan this year in an attempt to weaken natos political resolve but the Strat egy backfired badly on the islamic extremists the often outspoken . Marine who commands the trans Atlantic Alliance said tuesday. I think the Canadian leadership in the South is the answer to what was a clearly open question in some communities. Would nato fight if tested Gen. James Jones said in an interview at shape Headquarters in Southern Bel Gium. They chose to test Canada and Canada responded magnificently. The enemy was soundly but that defeat came at a great Cost. Canada has lost 34 soldiers in Southern Afghanistan since it sent a Battle group into the province of Kandahar in March. Defence minister Gordon Oconnor says the Canadian military is prepared to Send six jets to Afghanistan should nato need them. A month earlier the defence depart ment denied having plans to dispatch the Cf-18 fighter jets to Afghanistan. Pressed in the House of commons on monday by nip my Dawn Blacko Connor said Canada has committed the jets to nato if they re needed. Canada along with Britain the United states and the Netherlands has done almost All of the heavy fighting in South Ern Afghanistan since combat escalated sharply there earlier this year. Other countries such As Germany which has More soldiers in Afghanistan than Canada have refused to allow their troops to participate in combat operations pre Ferring to deploy them with much stricter rules of engagement in the significantly quieter North. Canada had placed the same caveats or restrictions on its troops until eight months ago when Canadian ground forces launched their first offensive operations since the korean War. Canada is now looking at it from the other Side of the Glass Jones said. There is different metric when your country is being shot at and not All the others Are coming to your Jones confirmed that convincing other member countries to join those nations now fighting in Southern Afghanistan figured to be High on the Agenda when prime minister Stephen Harper travels to the nato Summit in Riga Latvia at end of november. It is a question of equity and fair Ness natos top general said. There Are quite a few other countries and Ger Many is not the Only one that have the capacity and should be doing More and we Are asking them to do the general added at the Riga sum Mit it is important for the Alliance to show cohesion. It sends a powerful Mes Sage to those who oppose the tall ramrod straight 63-year-old general who saw combat in Vietnam nearly 40 years ago returned to Europe from a visit to Afghanistan four Days ago. Dire commentaries recently particularly in the British Media about How badly the War in Afghanistan had been going were wrong Jones said. With due respect to Many people who feel qualified to talk about Afghanistan if you have not been on the ground and seen the people you cannot fully under stand Jones said. Afghanistan is not Iraq. It is a completely different prob Lem and it is not lost in my Jones stressed that combat restrictions were not the Only problems that nato still faced in Afghanistan. The Alliance needed to focus on adopting a More cohesive strategy to reverse the booming narcotics Trade which fuels the Economy in the wrong direction pro Vides economic support to the insurgency and therefore the weapons. It is Afghanistan a Achilles other areas in need of urgent Atten Tion were judicial Reform to give judges and prosecutors salaries that put them beyond the temptation of corruption and the creation of a far More effective police Force he said. A crucial Issue was getting Pakistan which is widely believed to be Harbour ing Large numbers of Taliban fighters More involved he said. Towards this end a High level pakistani military delegation was soon going to visit nato at its Headquarters in Belgium. But the most pressing Challenge for nato was to make far greater Progress in the reconstruction Effort Jones said. This is what the Promise was when we went into Afghanistan in the first place and everything flows from that he said. I think that in Afghanistan the exit strategy is very Clear. It is not in fact a military problem. It turns on the proper harnessing funding and focus ing of the funding for the reconstruction Effort. If i had a preference for any nation it would be to focus on what your coun try can do for reconstruction Don to just think militarily. This is the path to Suc Cess. If you asked me if i wanted 5,000 More troops or $50 million More to build schools and roads carry out judicial reforms and move against corruption and crime id take the ? can West news service ;