In this bulletin:

• Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO review joint intelligence centre
• Afghanistan waits for peace five years after fall of Taliban
• EU considers greater role in Afghanistan
• General: GIs preserve Afghan freedom
• Ahmadinejad says Iran is ready to assist Afghanistan
• Italian deputy Prime Minister visited MoFA
• Canadians honour fallen war heroes
• Afghan Envoy Salutes Canadians on Remembrance Day
• Thousands pay tribute at National War Memorial
• Deaths in Afghanistan bring new poignancy to Remembrance Day
• 'You think you could've done more'
• Clinton urges Canada to hold the line in Afghanistan
• EW MINISTER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRIES CONCLUDES FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO U.S.

Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO review joint intelligence centre

(AFP) - 11 November 2006 - KABUL - Military commanders from Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO reviewed plans Saturday to build a jointly staffed centre to share intelligence in their battle against extremist militants, an official said.

The commanders were in Kabul for the 19th meeting between the three forces that are together fighting unrest that spans the Afghan and Pakistan border and involves Islamist groups such as the Taleban and Al Qaeda.

Part of their discussions focussed on a planned joint military intelligence sharing centre expected to be based in the Afghan capital, an official with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force told AFP.

The centre will be staffed by Afghan, Pakistani and ISAF officials and will ‘work to understand what information can quickly be shared in a mutually beneficial fashion,’ he said.

The meeting -- led by Afghanistan’s General Sher Karimi, Pakistan’s Major General Ahmad Shuja Pasha and ISAF’s General David Richards -- also heard reports on border security and efforts to counter improvised bombs regularly used by the rebels.

The Taleban were in government from 1996 until 2001, when they fled the capital on November 12 after an offensive led by the United States and involving Afghan resistance factions now in the new government.

Members of the extremist group and their Al Qaeda allies fled across the border into Pakistan from where Afghan and international officials allege they are directing an insurgency against the current administration and its international allies.

The violence in Afghanistan has spiked this year -- with around 3,000 people killed, about two-thirds of them rebels -- and there has been similarly styled violence just inside Pakistan.

Afghanistan waits for peace five years after fall of Taliban

Kabul (AFP) - Five years after US-led forces drove the Taliban from Kabul, peace remains a distant dream in Afghanistan with militant attacks at an all-time high, a despondent population and widespread corruption.

The violence, in its bloodiest phase since November 2001 with some 1,000 civilians killed this year, results from "the failure of international intervention to stop the cycle of decades of conflict," says the International Crisis Group, a leading think-tank.

"The primary error of the Americans and their allies has been to not grant enough troops and resources, which has allowed the return of the Taliban, and resulted in the disillusionment of the people and the unpopularity of the government," added Ahmed Rashid, a Pakistani expert on Afghanistan.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had only 4,500 members in 2002, all deployed around Kabul. The alliance now commands some 31,000 troops, boosted by 10,000 troops from the US-led coalition that ousted the Taliban five years ago.

By comparison Kosovo, which is around 60 times smaller than Afghanistan, played host to 40,000 NATO soldiers after the 1999 bombing campaign against Serbian forces.

ISAF's chief, British General David Richards, has himself said that current troops numbers are insufficient to counter the violence that has effectively doubled since 2004 and is now marked by a previously alien phenomenon here -- suicide bombings.

The international community's other mistake, according to Rashid, is its failure to press Pakistani authorities to stop allowing their territory to serve as a "refuge for the Taliban".

"The Americans were more worried about Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan than they were about the Taliban. But the lack of pressure by Pakistan means that the Taliban have reorganised with the help of Al-Qaeda," Rashid said.

The United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan to track down Osama bin Laden after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

Faced with US air raids and the oncoming Northern Alliance forces, the Taliban abandoned Kabul on the night of November 12, around a month after the operation started. But the Al-Qaeda chief remains at large, as does the Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Much-needed reconstruction has stopped in several areas because of combat or the withdrawal of Afghan and foreign aid workers, "calling into question some of the modest gains achieved since 2001 such as the return of children to school, especially girls," says US-based Human Rights Watch.

To meet the needs of this destitute country, the NATO forces have embarked on building bridges, schools and clinics but "without a state capable of keeping them up, it is pointless," says Joanna Nathan, a Kabul-based analyst with the International Crisis Group (ICG).

The group has called for reforms in the Afghan government and for a campaign against endemic corruption to stop disillusioned Afghans from swelling the ranks of an insurgency that the ICG says "is going to last for years".

In the eyes of many Afghans the situation is worse than it was five years ago: the cost of living has increased, infrastructure remains deficient and security is still not assured, according to the non-governmental organisation Action Against Hunger.

The insurgents are not the only source of violence, according to experts who also point to local warlords who are often implicated in drug trafficking. Afghanistan is the world's leading producer of opium.

The situation is particularly bad in the south of the country where the Taliban insurgency and the drug trade are both concentrated. "You would not be able to grow massive poppy fields in regions that were under the control of the central government and foreign forces," Nathan said.

EU considers greater role in Afghanistan

Brussels (AFP) - European foreign ministers will discuss next week widening the EU's role in Afghanistan, as President Hamid Karzai struggles to stamp his authority in the strife-torn country, an EU official said.

"There will be a general discussion about the situation in Afghanistan" at Monday's meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, the official said, on condition of anonymity.

"There are studies underway on what the EU might be able to do in terms of the rule of law in Afghanistan," he said, without elaborating. "There is a willingness to do more," he added.

The 25 European countries are considering sending a fact-finding mission to Afghanistan, but an EU diplomat said the bloc was not yet sure about what "added value" it could bring to reconstruction efforts.

Germany has come under increasing pressure to accelerate the rebuilding of the country's police force -- plagued by corruption as well as poorly trained and equipped -- but Berlin claims it has nothing to reproach itself about.

Italy meanwhile has been unable to sufficiently boost the judiciary, which analysts say is one of Afghanistan's weakest links because there are no checks and balances on the government.

With NATO battling an insurgency that risks undermining its efforts to stabilize regions outside of the capital Kabul, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called on the EU to play a greater role in rebuilding.

"NATO's mission is not to 'resolve' the problems of Afghanistan because there are no military solutions. The real problem is that Afghanistan is not sufficiently on the EU's radar screen," he told the French daily Le Monde Tuesday. He said the EU should take over the training and equipping of the Afghan police.

On Wednesday, a European Commission spokeswoman brushed aside the criticism, from NATO, saying the commission had a record it could be "very proud of" in Afghanistan.

"We made a pledge back in 2002 to spend one billion euros (1.3 billion dollars) over five years. We have overshot that target in the work that we have done in Afghanistan," said Emma Udwin, spokeswoman for external affairs.

"We have spent very substantial amounts of money given our overall budget and we have been very effective in making that money work in the interests of the population," she said.

General: GIs preserve Afghan freedom

Bagram (AP) - The top U.S. operational commander in Afghanistan on Saturday told hundreds of troops at a Veterans Day memorial that American forces are preserving freedom from terrorism just as World War II veterans preserved freedom in Europe and Asia.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin Freakley thanked troops gathered at Bagram, the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, for pausing to remember veterans who lived and died before them.

"Veteran's Day recalls the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, when hostilities ended in the first World War," he said. "And it gives us hope for our 11th hour and our 11th day, when peace will come to all peoples of the world and our wars will stop."

Some 20,000 U.S. troops are serving in Afghanistan, with about 12,000 of those serving under the NATO flag. At least 288 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion in late 2001 to oust the Taliban regime for hosting Osama bin Laden.

"Veterans pay a tough price," Freakley said. "They've lost buddies in fighting. They've sacrificed so that others may enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, without threat or intimidation of violence. Veterans have earned this day."

In violence on Saturday, police in the southern province of Kandahar conducted an operation against suspected Taliban militants, killing three of them, said Dawood Ahmadi, the governor's spokesman.

Italy's foreign minister, Massimo D'Alema, told reporters that Italy would like to see an international conference on Afghanistan among neighboring countries, donor nations and military contributors to seek a comprehensive approach to Afghanistan's problems. Italy has about 1,600 troops in Afghanistan.

Ahmadinejad says Iran is ready to assist Afghanistan – IRNA 11.11.06

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here Saturday pledged assistance to Afghanistan in the education and reconstruction sectors.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a friend and neighbor, has been and will continue to stand by the oppressed Afghan nation; and it is ready to help Afghan government in reconstruction and development, especially the reconstruction of the ruins of war and occupation; and it is also prepared to assist the country in educating Afghan youth and young adults," said Ahmadinejad in a meeting with two senior Afghan parliamentarians.

Ahmadinejad warned of enemy plots to destabilize and bring about insecurity in Afghanistan.

"Enemies of regional nations want to make Afghanistan unstable and insecure; people and officials in Afghanistan should nip the plots and conspiracies in the bud and tread the path to progress," the chief executive told Afghan speaker of house of representatives Yunis Qanooni and Senate speaker Sibghatullah Mojaddadi.

Ahmadinejad highlighted the significance of unity among the ranks of Afghan government and parliament, saying it is the key to the country's problems.

"Unity among different groups, government and parliament in Afghanistan serve as a highly important factor in helping the country get rid of problems, war, and clashes and to move towards progress," he said.

The president said that security, stability and progress in any of regional states would be in favor of its as well as that of all regional nations.

"Some domineering states' efforts to make the world insecure so as to plunder the wealth of nations, especially those of the Middle Eastern nations, are doomed to fail," he announced.

Describing Afghan nation as 'brave and resistant', Ahmadinejad said that the Afghan government and parliament should take united and speedy action to guarantee the solidarity, security and development of their country.

Afghan House of Representatives Speaker Qanooni in turn called on Iran to share experience with his country for promoting education, development and reconstruction of the country.

Senate Speaker Mojaddadi also criticized some states for interference in Afghan affairs and attempting to destabilize it. He said Iran's contribution to job creation projects would guarantee the repatriation of Afghan refugees.

Italian deputy Prime Minister visited MoFA

Posted On: Nov 11, 2006 - H.E. Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta received the visiting Italian deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Massimo D’Alema today.

At the meeting two sides exchanges views on issues of mutual interest and concern. H.E. Dr Spanta reiterated Afghanistan’s appreciation for contribution of Italian government in stabilizing and rebuilding of Afghanistan, in particular Italian’s active involvement in the Afghan judicial system. Currently around 1,800 Italian soldiers are serving under the NATO and PRT team in Herat province.  

H.E.Dr. Spanta also welcomed a proposed international conference by Italy in order to gain further support from the international community for reconstruction of Afghanistan.

H.E.Mr. Massimo D’Alema thanked the Afghan Foreign Minister for the warm welcome he has received and he reiterated Italian’s resolve to remain fully engaged with Afghanistan, by saying:   “Italy is going to stay in Afghanistan until peace and democracy is established in this nation and will accompany Afghanistan until the last moments in reconstruction and fight against terrorism.” 

Following their meeting the Afghan Foreign Minister and his Italian counterpart held a news conference at the ‘Stoor Palace’ of the foreign ministry of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Both ministers responded to questions by Afghan and foreign journalists.    local economic linkages between Iowa, California, New York and Afghanistan.

Canadians honour fallen war heroes

Past and present - CanWest News Service 11.11.06

OTTAWA -- The boom of guns and the snarl of World War Two vintage aircraft evoked the memories of thousands of Canadians who have sacrificed their lives in war and peacekeeping during national Remembrance Day ceremonies Saturday.
 
The sky was grey and rain drizzled on thousands of spectators who gathered to honour hundreds of Canadian Forces veterans and the 100,000 men and women who have died in two world wars, the Korean War, peacekeeping missions and the current military mission in Afghanistan.
 
Wreaths were laid at the national war memorial across from Parliament Hill on behalf of the people of Canada, Parliament, the veterans, youth, mothers of the dead and the diplomatic corps during the somber ceremony.
 
Amid the tears of elderly war survivors, some of them in wheelchairs, the chaplain general of the Canadian Forces spoke of the legacy of those who have died "to preserve our way of life."
 
"For those who have served in the armed forces of our country in times of war and peace, throughout history and in our day, and who did not count the cost when the time came for sacrifice, we give you thanks," said the chaplain, Brig.-Gen. Stanley Johnstone.
 
"May their memory be a source of courage and illumination for those generations yet to come. May we never forget them. And may we never fail to honour them."
 
As he spoke, two Second World War aircraft, a Hurricane and a Mustang, flew past and the booms from a 21-gun salute rocked the silent crowds who lined the streets to applaud the veterans' parade that began afterward. Many veterans attended the ceremonies in wheelchairs.
 
Rain fell on Gov.- Gen. Michaelle Jean's shoulders as she laid a wreath at the memorial and greeted Alice Murphy of Conception Harbour, Nfld., this year's National Silver Cross mother.  Chosen by the Royal Canadian Legion, Murphy represented all Mothers who have lost children in Canadian military service.
 
Her son, Cpl. Jamie Brendan Murphy was killed in Afghanistan on Jan. 27, 2004 by an explosion, believed to have been carried out by a suicide bomber, while patrolling in a jeep. He was serving with the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group.
 
Earlier Saturday, about 100 Canadian soldiers marked Remembrance Day with a simple ceremony in the Panjwaii area of southern Afghanistan. They laid a wreath at a wooden cross to honour the 42 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2002.
 
"We acknowledge the need to protect and defend that which the world cannot bear to lose: liberty, peace and a future that holds promise for our people and for all peoples of the world," the chaplain said.
 
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who arrived with his wife and two children, laid a wreath on behalf of Parliament. Afterward, he bowed his head and closed his eyes for a moment.
 
"We will remember them," Legion president Jack Frost of Madoc, Ont. declared during the ceremony, where Gen. Frank Hillier, current chief of the Canadian forces, laid a wreath on their behalf.
 
Members of the diplomatic corps filed to the monument to lay wreaths. In a statement, Omar Samad, the Afghanistan ambassador to Canada paid tribute to the men and women who have made the ulimate sacrifice "to help restore security and stability to my country, rebuild the war-torn nation and provide hope and better conditions for millions of impoverished women, children and men.”

Afghan Envoy Salutes Canadians on Remembrance Day

Ottawa – Omar Samad, the Ambassador of Afghanistan to Canada, issued the following statement Friday on the occasion of National Remembrance Day 2006:

“On behalf of the people and Government of Afghanistan, I join Canadians on Remembrance Day to pay tribute to the brave men and women who gave their lives to uphold human dignity, freedom and democratic values in post-Taliban Afghanistan. We pay our respect by honoring their memories and bravery, and by saluting them for their dedication to help other less fortunate people in a foreign land.

We also express our sympathies to their families and loved ones, and wish a healthy recovery for the soldiers who received injuries during these ongoing missions.

Since 2001, 43 brave Canadians made the ultimate sacrifice as part of a UN-sanctioned international mission and at the request of the Afghans, to help restore security and stability to my country, rebuild the war-torn nation, and provide hope and better conditions for millions of impoverished women, children and men.

Afghans have high regards for Canada’s overall role alongside dozens of other nations to help stabilize and rebuild Afghanistan during the past five years. Despite militant activities, the continuation of this role in this new era of transnational threats by non-state entities is critical to safeguard regional and global security, and prevent a return to the dark days of draconian extremist rule by groups who wish to turn Afghanistan into a terrorist haven once again.

As recent surveys show, in spite of the security threats, the Afghan people are optimistic about their future, and are striving to create conditions for durable stability and prosperity in their country. Success in achieving these goals will require common endeavors to address all aspects of governance, reconstruction and security as we continue to help build up post-conflict Afghan institutions.”

The Afghan envoy will join other Canadians and dignitaries on Saturday to lay a wreath at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.

Embassy of Afghanistan

November 10, 2006

Thousands pay tribute at National War Memorial

Updated Sat. Nov. 11 2006 - CTV.ca News Staff

Thousands of Canadians have gathered at the National War Memorial in Ottawa for Remembrance Day ceremonies.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean arrived at the solemn ceremony just before 11 a.m., along with an estimated 25,000 people who came out despite drizzling rain and overcast conditions.

The prime minister was accompanied by his wife Laureen and children Ben and Rachel. A military band played the national anthem, the Canadian flag was lowered to half mast and a period of silence was observed to begin the ceremony.

A minister then gave a brief address, paying tribute to fallen soldiers and those who continue to serve their country.

"We acknowledge the need to protect and defend that which the world cannot bear to lose: liberty, peace and a future that holds promise for our people and for all people in the world," the minister said.

"For those who have served in the armed forces of our country in times of war and peace, throughout our history and in our day, and who did not count the cost when the time came to sacrifice, we give you thanks."

Jean laid the first wreath at the foot of the memorial, followed by a steady stream of people paying their respects. Later, veterans took part in the "march past," one of the favourite traditions of the Ottawa ceremony, when former soldiers parade past and salute the prime minister and governor general, followed by troops currently serving in the Canadian Forces.

Controversy erupted at last year's ceremony when about 25 veterans turned their backs on Jean as a protest against her perceived support for Quebec seperatists. Jean, who was newly appointed at the time, has pledged her loyalty to Canada and denied claims she supports seperatism.

This year's Silver Cross Mother, Alice Murphy of Conception Harbour, N.L., made the sign of the cross as she stood before the soaring granite memorial.

Muphy's son,  26-year-old Cpl. Jamie Murphy, was killed Jan. 27, 2004, in Kabul when a suicide bomber jumped onto the hood of his jeep.

In a statement released Saturday morning, Harper said Remembrance Day is a time to mourn the fallen, but also to celebrate Canada's proud military traditions.

"Canada has always answered the call to stand up for freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law," Harper said. "Our commitment to these values is being tested yet again in Afghanistan, and Canadians are rightly proud of the work our brave soldiers are doing to help those less fortunate than us. Their courage and devotion to duty inspires us all."

Ceremonies will also take place across Canada throughout the day, honouring the more than 100,000 Canadian soldiers who have been killed in the past 100 years.

An especially sombre Remembrance Day ceremony took place in Truro, Nova Scotia. Three soldiers with ties to the town -- Warrant Officer Frank Mellish, Corporal Christopher Reid and Sergeant Darcy Tedford -- were killed in Afghanistan in recent weeks.

The mothers of the three men held hands as they approached the cenotaph to place a wreath.

In Afghanistan, Canadian soldiers paid tribute to both the 42 comrades they have lost since 2002, and those who sacrificed their lives in past campaigns around the world.

More than 400 Canadian soldiers gathered for a solemn Remembrance Day ceremony at the main Kandahar airfield base Saturday, laying a number of wreaths at a memorial as a bugler played the Last Post.

While the Canadian flag flew at half-mast, soldiers observed a moment of silence in honour of those who have died.

Meanwhile, at another emotionally charged ceremony at a forward operating base in the Panjwaii area of southern Afghanistan, about 100 soldiers gathered for a simple but moving ceremony.

The soldiers laid a wreath at a wooden cross, and some wept as they knelt at the makeshift memorial. The ceremony was led by a sergeant major from the second battalion with the Princess Patricia's Light Canadian Infantry.

He told the soldiers they will get through their mission if they stay tough, and offered words of remembrance for the dead. American forces in Afghanistan also remembered their dead on Saturday, holding a ceremony in Bagram air base north of Kabul.

The ceremonies in Afghanistan were only a brief respite from the reality of war, with troops dealing with the threat of suicide attacks and Taliban ambushes on a daily basis.

This year has been especially difficult for Canadian soldiers, with 34 killed in Afghanistan. With files from The Canadian Press

Deaths in Afghanistan bring new poignancy to Remembrance Day - Canadian Press - Friday, November 10, 2006

OTTAWA (CP) - Remembrance Day ceremonies have a new poignancy with the fresh memories of combat deaths in Afghanistan.

But the harsh impact of those deaths over the last four years - reflected in questioning editorials, anti-war demonstrations and increasing concern over the direction of the mission - might suggest that Canadians have largely forgotten a military history that embraces more than 100,000 war dead over the last century.

Opinion polls seem to see-saw every time a flag-draped coffin comes home. Historians say Canadians raised on the "myth" of Canada as a nation of peacemakers, not warrior, are disturbed at the very notion of deaths in combat.

And the country is divided on the wisdom of the Afghan mission. There have been 42 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2002. There have been several days in which four soldiers were killed.

Though any death is tragic, the losses in Afghanistan are low by historical standards. Even the Boer War, an almost forgotten conflict more than 100 years ago, cost 277 Canadian lives.

The worst casualty days for the Afghanistan mission would have been routine, or seen as even good days for Canadians in past wars. Canada lost 34 soldiers at Paardeburg, South Africa, in the Boer War, the worst single day of that conflict.

It's hard to pin down a single worst day for the First World War because battles dragged on and record-keeping lagged behind the pace of the fighting. In April 1915, more than 2,000 Canadians died in over four days in their First World War baptism of fire at Ypres.

In the trenches of the Western Front, four or five men were killed every day even in quiet times; a toll callously dismissed as "normal wastage." The great Canadian victory at Vimy Ridge in 1917, hailed as the birthplace of a true Canadian identity, cost almost 3,600 lives in just three days.

On average, Canada lost 43 men killed every day for four years during that war. A generation later, in the Second World War, casualties were lower, but Canada still lost an average of 20 men every day for almost six years.

On Aug. 19, 1942, 907 Canadians were killed in a few hours in a bungled raid on the French port of Dieppe, the worst one-day toll of the war.

The navy alone lost 129 men in one incident in April 1944 when a destroyer, HMCS Athabaskan, was sunk off the French coast in a running battle with German warships.

In the First and Second World Wars, Canadian newspapers routinely carried long columns listing casualties. During the hardest fighting in the fall of 1944, the death toll ran at about 2,000 a month, with thousands more wounded.

The Korean War, another almost forgotten conflict far from home, killed 516 Canadians. At Kapyong, where a battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry repulsed a massed Chinese attack in heavy fighting, the toll was 10 Canadians killed and more than 30 wounded.

The single worst day of Canadian peacekeeping was Aug. 9, 1974, when nine men died after a United Nations aircraft making a routine resupply flight to the Golan Heights was shot down by a Syrian anti-aircraft missile.

The deaths in Afghanistan seem to resonate more with the public than the other thousands for a number of reasons.

"Canada's a different place now," says Lee Windsor of the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society at the University of New Brunswick. "The Canada of the 1940s was a Canada more unified around a common purpose than it is today."

Jim Fergusson of the Centre for Security and Defence Studies at the University of Manitoba agrees that it's a different country and a different war.

"The two world wars were seen as major conflicts deciding the future of the world, the future of democracy, ultimate victory or defeat," he said. "Afghanistan now is one of those discretionary conflicts. It's increasingly perceived, I think, by many people, as no matter what we do, it's not going to matter at the end of the day. "There's almost a defeatist attitude that's emerged."

Some have suggested that televising the emotional scenes as coffins arrive home, or the tearful burials mean people are more aware of combat deaths, but Andrew Iarocci, a history professor who teaches at Royal Military College, doubts that, saying people were always well aware of the losses.

"Within a few days of that bad day on the battlefield, you're going to have massive casualty lists covering the front pages of every large and small newspaper in the country," he said. "The actual evidence of the physical cost was never really hidden from Canadians in those conflicts as we tend to imagine it might have been."

He suggests that Canadians were even more conscious of the price 50 or 100 years ago because the mass, citizen army drew men from every city, town and village. Every family had a friend or relative in uniform. Since many battalions recruited locally, a high casualty list might devastate a single town or small city.

Terry Copp, a military historian from Wilfrid Laurier University who has closely chronicled the Canadian campaign in northwest Europe 1944-45, said he thinks Canadians have doubts about the Afghan mission and worry that soldiers are dying in vain.

"I think the difference is that in both the First and the Second World Wars, especially in the First World War, there was a strong, general belief in English-speaking Canada at least, in the absolute necessity and desirability of doing what we were doing," he said.

"In the first war, it was far more idealistic that this was going to be the war to end wars . . . the rhetoric is far more profoundly patriotic than it is in the second war. I think the mood in the second is that it's too bad we have to do this again, but we can't live in a world dominated by Adolf Hitler. "As for Afghanistan, it seems to me that people are pretty vague about why we're there."

Jonathan Vance of the University of Western Ontario feels Canadians have been insulated from the harsh world of war for so long, they have trouble dealing with it.

"I think we've lost the realization that if we want to play a role internationally, there are costs," he said. "We've become so wedded to the notion of middle power and Canada as a peacemaker and all this.

"We have been lulled into the sense of security that you can do that pain-free. And the fact of the matters is the things we're engaged in now can't be done pain-free so it disturbs us generally because it's not the way we thought it was going to be.

Fergusson said there is also a communication gap between government and people. "I don't think they've really made their case very well to the Canadian people."

Copp says he thinks Canadians are as willing to accept sacrifices as were their great-grandparents, as long as they feel the cause is justified.

"If the Canadian public was persuaded, if it could be persuaded, that the war in Afghanistan was of fundamental importance to the way in which Canada functions in the world, then Canada would accept the casualties."

Analysts suggest that the onset of winter will cool the Afghan conflict and likely reduce casualties over the next few months. But when the snow melts in the mountain passes next spring, there could be a renewed insurgency, which will ratchet up the debate at home.

Following is a rundown of Canadian casualties in the wars fought since 1899 and in peacekeeping since 1947. (Figures for the First and Second World Wars include Newfoundland, which at the time was not part of Canada.)

Boer War (1899-1902): 277 killed, 252 wounded of 8,300 who served.

First World War (1914-18): 68,260 killed, 173,000 wounded of about 620,000 who served.

Second World War (1939-1945): 45,615 killed, 54,000 wounded of about 1.1 million who served.

Korean War (1950-53): 516 killed, 1,542 wounded of 27,000 who served.

Gulf War (1990-91): No deaths or injuries.

Afghanistan (2002-): 42 killed.

Peacekeeping (1947-): 116 killed of more than 125,000 who served.

'You think you could've done more'

It's not the lives saved but those lost he thinks of - The Province - Friday, November 10, 2006

With the blood of Canadians spilling once more in a far-away land, Remembrance Day this year is different. We are a nation at war, peacekeepers no more. The ghosts from wars past now have much younger company.

Those fallen soldiers who so recently walked among us will inhabit the mind of Maj. Harjit Sajjan as he marches on parade in Vancouver's Remembrance Day ceremonies.

Just back from a perilous, eight-month tour in Afghanistan, the soldier and Vancouver police officer carries memories of some of the Canadians whose lives slipped away in the fight against the Taliban.

"It's not a perfect world," says Sajjan, 36, a B.C. Regiment reservist and Vancouver police detective. "That we couldn't prevent all the deaths, that's something that a lot of us will have to slowly deal with."

This time around, Remembrance Day gives Canadians an opportunity to consider the threads that run from today's soldiers to the veterans of long ago.

"I'm hoping that they don't see it as Canadians in war, but more as Canadians making a difference in another country, working to take the personal risk and make sacrifices in another land, just like Canadians in the past," Sajjan says.

It's impossible to draw direct comparisons between the fighting in the world wars and the battles of Afghanistan, but it's clear that today's soldiers have faced, in southern Afghanistan, conflicts of equivalent ferocity, he says.

"With the amount of sustained fire and bombardment that they were receiving, it was about as intense as it can get," Sajjan says.

Sajjan, too, came under fire numerous times, as he travelled from hot spot to hot spot on behalf of Canada's Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, the then brigade commander in southern Afghanistan. As a special projects officer, Sajjan was tasked with using his military training and police expertise, particularly in the area of organized crime, to aid war and development efforts in Kandahar Province.

"The security situation was deteriorating in that area, and we had to figure out why that was so," he says. Fraser wanted to know what was going on in the village centres, the domestic compounds, the farmers' fields, and in the minds of Afghans.

"He goes, 'Find me the ground truth.' I'd go out and find out the ground truth from the people." The truth, Sajjan says, was that the people wanted peace and stability.

"They said, 'Will you please go in and kick the Taliban out of our villages. We want to go back to our homes. We want to go back to our fields.' "

As in his police work, Sajjan found that treating people as equals and listening to them drew the information most useful for winning over the populace.

"They'll tell you what security means for them, what they really want in terms of government, what they want from the police. In the end, real security comes from the grassroots level.

"We tried to use every non-combat avenue to fix the problem first. We only used combat when we had to. Security does not come from having a person with a gun there. Security comes from a person who is happily living in a village and does not support the insurgent activity."

Sajjan would take the citizens' responses to Fraser, who would then meet with the provincial governor and raise issues identified by the people. Fraser was more than happy with Sajjan's work.

"Not only did he display a rare high level of intellect and experience in his analysis, he also demonstrated remarkable personal courage in his collection efforts, often working in the face of the enemy to collect data and confirm his suspicions, and placing himself almost daily in situations of grave personal risk," Fraser says in a letter to Vancouver police Chief Jamie Graham.

"His hard work, personal bravery and dogged determination undoubtedly saved a multitude of Coalition lives."

But it's not lives saved that Sajjan will be thinking of on this Remembrance Day. It's the lives lost, especially during Operation Medusa, when he became involved in the fierce battle for control of the Panjwayi area, and Canadians took heavy casualties.

"It just really made everybody work a lot harder to look out for one another," Sajjan says. "You think you could've done more." And Sajjan will be thinking of the Canadians who fought and survived in Afghanistan, and those who fight there still.

"Our soldiers are second to none," he says. "How fast and quickly they moved without any regard to their own safety -- you're just in awe. You're just proud to wear the same uniform as them."

With public support faltering for Canada's mission in Afghanistan, Sajjan remains committed to the effort. The words of one man at a meeting of local leaders, in a country tormented by three decades of war, stick in his mind.

"It just comes back to that elderly gentleman saying, 'Don't we deserve a chance for peace?' "There are many academic reasons why we should or shouldn't be there, but when it comes down to it, I just think about the local people."

ebaron@png.canwest.com - - Reporter Ethan Baron spent five weeks in Afghanistan this summer, reporting on Canadian combat operations, Canadian diplomacy and the Afghan government.

Clinton urges Canada to hold the line in Afghanistan

SCOTT SUTHERLAND - Canadian Press - VICTORIA — Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is urging Canada to stay the course on Afghanistan and continue providing aid and military muscle to defeat the Taliban.

Mr. Clinton, sporting a poppy in his lapel, was the main draw at a noon-hour event that packed the B.C. capital's largest arena with people willing to pay up to $175 for the privilege.

The focus of his speech was on the power ordinary citizens have to affect the public good, both locally and globally. But he also took time to thank Canada for its efforts to bring aid and peace to Afghanistan.

“I promised myself that as long as the situation in Afghanistan persists, I would never come to Canada without thanking you for your participation through NATO in the effort to save a genuine moderate, pro-western democracy,” he said. “I am grateful.”

Canada is “doing a good thing,” Mr. Clinton said. “Because we have to pursue both these things together: a security policy and a policy to create more partners and fewer terrorists.”

In an half-hour question and answer session with B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell after the speech, the two-term Democratic president urged the deployment of more troops. “We have under-forced the mission there,” he said. “We have 20,000 American troops there, 20,000 NATO troops there, and there are 140,000 troops in Iraq.”

He is urging the U.S. government to free up more troops to go into Afghanistan to stem the Taliban and send a message to NATO allies that it's a fight worth waging.

“We can't expect NATO to send more unless we (the United States) send more first.” The 60-year-old Clinton apologized for looking a bit haggard, explaining that Tuesday's mid-term U.S. election had kept him busier than he could ever remember.

He said he'd caught a morning flight to the B.C. capital from New York. “If I somehow faint in the middle of the speech you'll have to cut me a little slack,” he said.

His speech touched on citizenship, rather than partisan politics, and what ordinary people in the 21st century can do to ensure they leave a better world for their children.

It boils down to providing security, making friends and partners and home improvement, both locally and globally, he said. “Your power as a private citizen to deal with some of these challenges is greater today than at any other time in human history,” he told the crowd.

He used a nine-year-old Victoria boy who had raised money for the Clinton Foundation's AIDS initiative as an example of what ordinary people can accomplish.

Jamie Poncia had made “conkers,” a horse chestnut on a string, and sold them to schoolmates to raise money for medicine for AIDS-infected children. Mr. Clinton read the boy's letter out to the crowd while singling him out in the front row, then held up his cheque for $204.

“This money will save a child's life — a child he will never know, who may never know him, who will live and grow up just like Jamie because he did this.”

Mr. Campbell asked Mr. Clinton about his wife Hillary's political future. She was re-elected as New York senator earlier in the week but many see her as a contender in the 2008 presidential campaign.

“Nobody will believe me, but I don't know,” the former president responded. “I think if my wife had made a decision to run for president I would probably know it. I think it would be unlikely that she wouldn't tell me first.”

NEW MINISTER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRIES CONCLUDES FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Dr. Mir Muhammad Amin Farhang, Afghanistan’s new Minister of Commerce and Industries traveled to Washington, DC, Des Moines, Los Angeles and New York this week to meet with senior U.S. officials and hundreds of representatives of U.S. and Afghan-American companies. In his first official visit to the United States, Minister Farhang offered the latest news of progress in business and trade for Afghanistan while citing the challenges the country continues to face on its path to economic prosperity.

Minister Farhang began his trip on October 30 in Washington, DC as the keynote speaker of the second U.S. – Afghan Business Matchmaking Conference hosted by the Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce. Minister Farhang delivered hopeful remarks on a changing environment in Afghanistan to an audience of over 200 business and government leaders at the Four Seasons Hotel. He was joined at the conference by several other dignitaries including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez and U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns, and President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Robert Mosbacher. Minister Farhang participated in a series of meetings with key U.S. government agencies including the U.S. Department of Commerce, State Department, USTR, USAID and OPIC. In partnership with Secretary Gutierrez, a three-point plan was outlined in order to identify more practical means of enhancing commercial cooperation, such as developing the capacity to exploit Afghanistan’s licit agricultural resources for export, securing additional capital for small and medium sized Afghan companies, and enhancing export potential in Afghanistan’s key domestic industries of rugs, dried fruits & nuts and the mining sector.

During other meetings the concept of Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) for Afghanistan was highlighted, citing the importance of such initiatives for job creation and enhanced economic development across Afghanistan. Under the ROZ program, domestically produced Afghan goods from designated areas will be granted duty-free access to U.S. markets. “We welcome the creation of ROZs across Afghanistan and look forward to increased interaction with the U.S. government on this matter in the coming months,” stated Minister Farhang.

Immediately following the Washington visit, H.E. Minister Farhang accompanied staff of the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA) on a three-city U.S. investment promotion road show from November 1 to 6 where he briefed business leaders in Des Moines, Los Angeles, and New York on the latest developments and reforms within the Ministry of Commerce & Industries.

“We are undergoing serious reforms within the Ministry of Commerce and Industries to ensure an accountable and able staff to meet the growing needs of both domestic and foreign businesses in Afghanistan,” said Minister Farhang. “We encourage U.S. companies to visit and seek opportunities for investing in our country.”

In Des Moines, Minister Farhang met with Senator Charles Grassley to discuss local environmentally-friendly technologies, and viable agribusiness links between Iowan industries and Afghanistan. In Los Angeles and New York the Minister spoke to audiences representing the IT, Telecommunications, and Construction and Finance sectors.

The week long visit concluded with an increased awareness of Afghanistan’s investment- friendly business climate amongst U.S. businesses, while creating

[Disclaimer: The content of this news bulletin does not necessarily reflect the view or policy of the Afghan Government, unless specifically stated as such. The collection of articles and commentaries from Afghan and international news sources is provided for informational purposes, and accuracy of the news is the responsibility of the original source.]