Canada sending tanks, extra troops to Afghanistan

Ottawa, Sep 16: Canada is sending around 200 extra troops as well as a squadron of heavy Leopard tanks to boost its 2,300-strong mission in Afghanistan, which has clashed heavily with Taliban forces in recent weeks, the Defence Department said.

''The enhancements are being sent ... in light of the changing tactical situation in the area,'' the ministry said in a statement yesterday. The deployment will bring the total number of military personnel in Afghanistan to about 2,500.

The announcement came shortly after senior Canadian officials acknowledged there were ''serious and complex challenges to overcome'' in the war-torn country.

''Deploying new or additional capabilities during a mission is a normal practice as the situation in the region dictates ... These resources provide greater mobility, protection of our troops, flexibility and precision firepower,'' said the ministry statement.

The extra forces comprise an infantry company from French-speaking Quebec -- where opposition to the Canadian mission is at its most vocal -- to protect a reconstruction team in the southern city of Kandahar.

Also going are approximately 15 Leopard tanks as well as military engineers and a unit designed to combat Taliban forces using mortars.

''We have reached the stage where, with a small increase in personnel and equipment, we can dramatically multiply our opportunities to secure and stabilize the region,'' said General Rick Hillier, Chief of the Defense Staff.

In the last three months alone, 16 Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan, prompting ever-louder calls for the troops to be brought back home. Some critics say Canada is being sucked into a major war.

The government says Canada is doing more than its fair share in Afghanistan and wants other NATO nations to commit additional forces.

''There are serious and complex challenges to overcome before we can achieve our objectives in Afghanistan ... (they) are extremely difficult to achieve in insecure environments,'' an official told reporters earlier in the day.

''The success of this integrated approach remains contingent on a robust and sustained international presence.'' Another official added: ''From our perspective, clearly it would be more useful to have more troops over there... We recognize that the situation in Afghanistan is dynamic, extremely dynamic.'' The Conservative government, which says it is determined to continue the mission, raised eyebrows this month when Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor said the Taliban could not be eliminated militarily.

''It is not about destroying the Taliban militarily from our perspective. It is about defeating an insurgency, and I have no expectation of us declaring explicitly (a) military victory in this in the days, weeks or months ahead,'' the second official said.

''That's not how you win an insurgency. It's about developing effective Afghan national police forces and an Afghan national army.'' Afghan President Hamid Karzai is due to visit Canada next week and will address Parliament next Friday.

Reuters