MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 11 Jul 11

• Afghanistan – No s**t, Sherlock (1).  “The army’s new training mission in Kabul is not without risk, Canadian commanders said over the weekend as they took stock of the potential threats that face their troops. Their point was underlined by the recent shooting death of a U.S. soldier in a usually placid region of the volatile country. The biggest hazard facing Canadian troops in their new role will come from the possibility of some Afghan students going rogue, or an insurgent slipping into their camps, said the mission’s deputy commander ….”  More from CTV.ca here.
• Afghanistan – No s**t, Sherlock (2).  “There’s no guarantee a NATO-trained army in Afghanistan will succeed in helping to stabilize the nation once the military alliance pulls out, says one of the commanders of the Canadian training mission. In an interview Sunday, Col. Peter Dawe, deputy commander of the Canadian contingent training mission, told CBC News the very least NATO can do is try to leave behind a professional, self-reliant Afghan security force. Dawe said a big part of this will be to increase the literacy levels of soldiers being trained, with more than 100,000 members of the Afghan national security force expected to receive literacy training by the fall ….”
• Afghanistan (2)  “…. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent on stabilizing and rebuilding Afghanistan. Yet the electrical system here in the country’s second-largest city is on the verge of collapse, leaving people like Mr. Ahmad puzzled and frustrated. “First they should have paid attention to electricity,” he said. “Where there is electricity, there is life. There is security.” It is now 10 years since the world started pouring money into Afghanistan. Much of the largesse came to Kandahar, the Taliban heartland. The largest part of the spending has been driven and delivered by the military, pushed into what commanders call “hot” areas where Taliban influence is strong and the Afghan government is weak ….”
• Afghanistan (3)  One columnist’s view.  “With the final handover to American forces last week, the Canadian combat mission in Kandahar has officially concluded. While the mainstream media did their level best to mark the significance of our military ending the nearly decade-long counterinsurgency campaign, it was pretty difficult to generate much emotion. Unlike the heady news of Germany and Japan surrendering at the end of the Second World War, which set service members rejoicing in the streets and kissing strangers, the close out in Kandahar was spectacularly anti-climactic. The reason for this is that we did not actually achieve any concrete objective ….”
• Afghanistan (4)  Another view.  “…. For Canada, Kandahar has been the first chapter in a new book or the last chapter in an old book. To have had a ringside seat for much of this journey was a privilege.”
• Senator:  time to get more mileage out of senior officials the CF spends so much to train and groom.  “…. the Canadian Forces also needs to get longer tenure from people in whom it has invested mightily – top-ranking officers. Of course nobody wants desks filled with generals doing nothing. But there are plenty of ways to use top brass in their early 50s, many of whom have built up superb tactical and strategic thinking capacity. The private sector certainly knows that – it has shown itself to gobble these people up after Canadians have paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop their skills. So why isn’t our military doing more to reap the rewards of our investment in them for as long as it can? ….”
• What’s Canada Buying?  “Political stakes are high as Ottawa prepares to pore over bids later this month for $35 billion worth of navy shipbuilding contracts that would lift the economic sails of the winning province. And perhaps no politician has more riding on the outcome than Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter, who has lobbied vigorously in an attempt to boost the case for the Irving-owned shipyard in Halifax. Dexter’s efforts to win the lucrative deal began in May, when he launched a campaign so carefully choreographed that it fell on the same day two economic studies were released that sang the praises of Nova Scotia’s bid ….”
• “Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is set to announce Monday that Canada is boycotting the United Nations Conference on Disarmament over North Korea’s involvement, a senior government source told Postmedia News. So Se Pyong, North Korea’s ambassador, was named chair of the Geneva-based group dedicated to promoting global nuclear disarmament last week. Canada does not believe North Korea is a “credible leader” and believes the appointment “undermines the UN process,” the source told Postmedia News on Sunday evening. During North Korea’s term as chair, Canada will not “engage”in the conference, the source said Baird will announce Monday ….”  Here’s what the Minister said on 30 June about the appointment.