Sunday New York Times Front Page :
Afghan Police Suffer Setbacks as Taliban Adapt
"A year after Canadian and American forces drove hundreds of Taliban fighters from the area, the Panjwai and Zhare districts southwest of Kandahar, the rebels are back and have adopted new tactics. Carrying out guerrilla attacks after NATO troops partly withdrew in July, they overran isolated police posts and are now operating in areas where they can mount attacks on Kandahar, the south’s largest city.
The setback is part of a bloody stalemate that has occurred between NATO troops and Taliban fighters across southern Afghanistan this summer. NATO and Afghan Army soldiers can push the Taliban out of rural areas, but the Afghan police are too weak to hold the territory after they withdraw."
Sunday CanWest News :
"At least 30 Canadian soldiers were killed, and dozens more wounded, during operations last year to kill and root out insurgents from the districts around Kandahar. Canada and its allies therefore rely on Afghan police to hold strategic areas. But the Afghan police are notoriously unreliable, underpaid and poorly trained and equipped."
Sunday CTV Interview with Peter MacKay :
"Canadian sacrifices in Kandahar “have paved the way for incredible progress,” he said. “We’re seeing an Afghan army and Afghan police force able to participate in a more fulsome way in the defence and security of their own country.”
MacKay’s comments signalled the start of a new public relations campaign by the Conservative government on the home front this weekend, designed to highlight the successes of the mission and sell the war to Canadians.
“I think you’re going to see a more concerted effort to make those statements and demonstrate the progress that has come about because of the work of our military,” MacKay said on Sunday.
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