Canada and its allies are struggling to halt advances by a resurgent Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan. Last Saturday, two more Canadian soldiers died in Afghanistan's Kandahar province in a roadside ambush.
Four years ago Canadians did send troops to Afghanistan on a mission to help reconstruction efforts in war-ravaged country and to bring stability and security to the government in Kabul.
It is hard to believe that after so many years and billions of dollars washed-out on the war in Afghanistan, Talibans are winning the war, a war that has claimed dozens of Canadian lives, and left dozens of other Canadians wounded.
Reuter press agency reported that last week Canadian troops fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan have stumbled across an unexpected and potent enemy — almost impenetrable forests of 10-foot-tall marijuana plants.
Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of the Canadian defense staff, said Thursday that Taliban fighters were using the forests as cover. In response, the crew of at least one armored car had camouflaged their vehicle with marijuana.
"The challenge is that marijuana plants absorb energy, heat very readily. It's very difficult to penetrate with thermal devices ... and as a result you really have to be careful that the Taliban don't dodge in and out of those marijuana forests," he said in a speech in Ottawa.
"We tried burning them with white phosphorus — it didn't work. We tried burning them with diesel — it didn't work. The plants are so full of water right now ... that we simply couldn't burn them," he said.
Approximately 2,300 Canadian Forces personnel are deployed with Task Force Afghanistan on Canada’s renewed commitment to the international campaign against terrorism known as Operation ARCHER.
Task Force Afghanistan’s mission is to improve the security situation in southern Afghanistan, and play a key role in the transition from the United States led multinational coalition known as Operation ENDURING FREEDOM to NATO leadership.
In another interesting development British army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt created a furor by saying that British troops should "get ourselves out of Iraq sometime soon because our presence exacerbates the security problems."
Many members of the British public have called the Iraq war a tragic mistake. It has long been the biggest challenge to the popularity of Blair, who often is accused of being too subservient an ally of U.S. President George W. Bush.
On Sunday, editorials in several major British newspapers praised Dannatt's assessment of the situation in Iraq.
Canada chose not to join the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
