MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 17 Mar 11

• They were just good kids – riiiiiiiiiiiight…. “While members of the Winnipeg’s Islamic community were stunned to learn two former University of Manitoba students are wanted on terror charges, a long-time local scholar of terrorism said it’s no surprise Canadian Muslims are being recruited by al-Qaida. “It’s shocking,” said Shahina Siddiqui, president of Islamic Social Services Association of Canada, which is headquartered in Winnipeg. Siddiqui was at Tuesday’s RCMP announcement of the charges against ex-Winnipeggers Ferid Ahmed Imam, 30, and Maiwand Yar, 27, that relate to a plot to bomb subways in New York City. “There’s a lot of questions and there’s fear and anxiety of how the community will be treated because there’s always a few people who would take this opportunity to target or malign Muslims,” she said. “Like all Canadians, our major concern is the security of the country and there is absolutely no tolerance for anything that would jeopardize it.” Siddiqui said she was acquainted with the family of one of the men charged, but wouldn’t say which. “All we know about them is they came from good families, they were doing well in university, they played soccer,” she said. “They were like regular Canadian kids.” ….”
• Canada’s still waiting for more information from Japan about how it can help the earthquake-stricken country. “Assistance Response Teams available to send to Japan, as well as rapid-deployment field medical facilities, and teams of engineering, humanitarian and search-and-rescue experts. But none of these emergency crews have been dispatched to Japan because Ottawa hasn’t yet received an official request for their services. So far, the only aid Canada has sent is 25,000 blankets that were sent on Wednesday ….”
• As Saudi troops head into Bahrain to help, uh, sort things out there, ceasefire.ca says it’s good old Canadian-built hardware carrying some of the Saudi forces. “…. An estimated 1200 soldiers from the Saudi National Guard and 800 from the UAE entered the country from Saudi Arabia, ostensibly to help protect public infrastructure …. During the 1990s and early 2000s Canada sold more than 1200 LAVs built by General Motors Diesel Division (now General Dynamics Land Systems Canada) of London, Ontario to the Saudi National Guard ….” It’ll be interesting to hear if the issue comes up in Question Period this week, given that it appears ALL parties consented to the deal in the summer of 1991.
• The latest on Canada’s effort to pack up in Kandahar in preparation to leave.  “The biggest challenge for the man planning Canada’s move out of Kandahar is not loading hundreds of vehicles or packing thousands of weapons away. It’s the clock. “Time is going to be the big thing,” Lt.-Col. Steve Moritsugu said in an interview. “We could put more people, we could put more effort, we could put more hours … but we’re done that day. That’s the one constant.” Since July, Moritsugu has led a liaison and planning team of up to 10 members responsible for ensuring all Canadian-issued property — everything from pencils to planes — is out of Kandahar by Dec. 31. It is a massive undertaking. More than 1,000 sea containers must be emptied. Close to 1,000 vehicles must be maintained and cleaned — easier said than done in an environment where dust is everywhere. And thousands of rounds of ammunition must be properly stored or disposed of before the big move ….”
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  Attacks alleged in Kandahar & Uruzgan, and Taliban say (again) Afghans want NATO outta there.
• Another way to help out wounded warriors, shared via Army.ca. “Operation Never Quit is a project designed to send 7 wounded Canadian Soldiers and a 12 year-old Army Cadet to UFC 129 in Toronto. Op Never Quit is raising money through Sponsorship to fund a full red carpet experience at UFC 129 for these deserving Canadian Heroes. With the remaining money left at the end of the event OP never Quit will be making a donation to the Charity of choice of the wounded Soldiers, in their name ….”
• Good point here about Canadian defence spending, those who want to cut it, and those wanting to send in the troops – anywhere. “…. When Libya erupted, Prime Minister Stephen Harper dispatched three military transport planes, while the navy’s current rapid reaction warship, Halifax-based HMCS Charlottetown, made haste to put to sea. These actions, however, weren’t taken fast enough for the political opposition, the media and several self-style defence think-tanks – the same crowd that is up in arms over the Harper government’s plan to buy F-35 fighter jets, and over what they say is too much military spending. How odd that, on the one hand, these critics give the Harper regime hell for being slow off the mark to deploy military assets while on the other repeatedly condemn them for spending money on the military ….”
• Speaking of the HMCS Charlottetown, it’s now part of a different operation now that OP Mobile to get Canadians outta Libya’s seems to be done with.  “…. On 2 March 2011, the frigate HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339) left her home port of Halifax for the central Mediterranean as part of Operation MOBILE, Canada’s participation in the multinational effort to evacuate foreign nationals from Libya. The military evacuation concluded on 8 March, when Charlottetown was still in the mid-Atlantic, and the frigate was consequently reassigned to Op SIRIUS. Charlottetown’s tasks include locating, tracking, reporting and boarding of vessels suspected of involvement in terrorism. Commanded by Commander Craig Skjerpen, with a crew about 240 officers and sailors and a CH-124 Sea King helicopter detachment, HMCS Charlottetown is a highly ready and technologically advanced ship capable of the full spectrum of maritime operations ….”
• Check out the CF-18 demonstration team’s new web page here.
• “The Goose Bay air base in central Labrador has spent millions of dollars to prepare for a military exercise that has now been cancelled for the second time in as many years. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercise was scheduled to train forward air controllers – people on the ground who help guide planes to bomb targets. The Canadian military has spent millions upgrading the practice target area for the exercise, which would have brought hundreds of people to Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay for part of the summer. The exercise was originally scheduled for last summer, but was held in the U.S. instead. Now NATO has backed out of plans to hold the exercise at CFB Goose Bay again. A military spokesperson said NATO will still hold the exercise, but it will be held in the U.S. where it is expected to cost less.”
• F-35 Tug o’ War “…. The pertinent question not being addressed is that any possible alternatives would mean settling for generation-four or upgraded generation “four and a half” fighter replacements – essentially what the current CF-18s are, after several airframe and avionics upgrades over their long service life …. The CF-18s will be pushing 40 by the time new aircraft are deployed. Canada will still likely still be flying whatever fighters replace them in 2040 and beyond, so it makes no logical sense to buy aircraft that will be essentially obsolete before the first one is delivered – paying for upgraded mid-20th-century technology with 21st-century money ….”
• Remember Canada’s work toward converting some Leopard tanks to Armoured Engineer Vehicles?  Potential bidders are getting another deadline extension.

TALIBAN PROPAGANDA WATCH: Alleged Talks with Taliban Firing Alright, Alleged Talks – STOP!

Remember this?

Let’s Take a Deep Breath before we put too much faith in the latest reports of talks between the Taliban and the United states….

Here’s why I warned you to take a deep breath before believing all the latest rumblings – from a Pakistani media outlet:

During the talks, the representatives of the US and the Karzai regime had their own preconditions, the most important being that the Taliban militia should accept Afghanistan’s new constitution and join the political mainstream under the existing system of governance.

The Americans also wanted the Ameer of the Afghhan Taliban Mullah Mohammad Omar to ditch Al-Qaeda and help arrest Osama bin Laden. The talks eventually failed due to the obstinacy of the Taliban representatives who wanted the withdrawal of the US-led allied forces from Afghanistan before initiating a formal dialogue with the US and the Karzai administration.

The sources?  Unnamed Pakistani Foreign Office sources and “well informed diplomatic circles in Islamabad”.

Move on folks, nothing to see here.

TALIBAN PROPAGANDA WATCH: Let’s Take a Deep Breath….

…. before we put too much faith in the latest reports of talks between the Taliban and the United states – the latest from Pakistani media, and those who watch Middle Eastern media:

An Afghan source in Kabul reports that U.S. Ambassador in Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry is holding secret talks with Taliban elements headed by the movement’s foreign minister, Ahmad Mutawakil, at a secret location in Kabul. According to the source, the U.S. has offered the Taliban control of the Kandahar, Helmand, Oruzgan, Kunar and Nuristan provinces in return for a halt to the Taliban missile attacks on U.S. bases. (Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), 22 Nov 09, via MEMRI blog)

The Obama administration may be close to reversing course on its current strategy in Afghanistan, after DawnNews quoted sources as saying that high-level talks with senior Taliban militants are currently underway.  The indirect talks involve officials from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Britain, and top Afghan Taliban leadership, including the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen Chief and the son-in-law of Osama Bin Laden’s former mentor. (23 Nov 09, DAWN.com)

The US-Taliban talks have been in progress for the last six months, sources said Monday.  Pakistan is also part of these talks, the sources added.  The Afghan Taliban have adopted a stance that they would only be able to guarantee peace in Afghanistan if the US undertakes complete pull out of its forces from the war-torn country.  According to Taliban sources, there is expectation of a positive outcome from the ongoing talks. (23 Nov 09, The News)

Hmmm, letting the Taliban run the show in some provinces in exchange for a break.  Where have we read that before?

The emboldened Taliban movement in Afghanistan turned down an American offer of power-sharing in exchange for accepting the presence of foreign troops, Afghan government sources confirmed.  “US negotiators had offered the Taliban leadership through Mullah Wakil Ahmed Mutawakkil (former Taliban foreign minister) that if they accept the presence of NATO troops in Afghanistan, they would be given the governorship of six provinces in the south and northeast,” a senior Afghan Foreign Ministry official told IslamOnline.net requesting anonymity for not being authorized to talk about the sensitive issue with the media. (2 Nov 09, islamonline.net)

And what did the Taliban say the other times “secret talks” have been mentioned?

“There are some people who are conveying each others’ (Taliban and US) messages. But there were no direct talks between us and America.”

“If you wait for 3000 years, our stand is the same that Taliban will never hold talks in presence of invader forces in Afghanistan.”

I’m going to bet my loony on more of the same coming from the Taliban Info-machine on this latest set of (alleged) talks.

 

TALIBAN PROPAGANDA WATCH: AFG Taliban Spokesperson Admits Indirect Talks with West

Buried in this islamonline.net piece on alleged deals being offered back and forth between Taliban intermediaries and the U.S. (PDF offered here in case link doesn’t work), this tidbit jumps out at me:

A Taliban spokesman admitted indirect talks with the US.  “Yes, there were some indirect talks, but they did not work,” Yousaf Ahmedi, the Taliban spokesman in southern Afghanistan, told IOL from an unknown location via satellite phone.  “There are some people who are conveying each others’ (Taliban and US) messages. But there were no direct talks between us and America,” he explained.

This would be Qari Muhammad Yousuf the article is talking about.

For the record, the last time such alleged talks-through-intermediaries were covered by mainstream media, Quari’s colleague denied they were happening.