Looking ahead to 2011 in Afghanistan
Posted Dec 30, 2010 7:45 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A huge transition awaits Canada’s military in the New Year.
Thousands of Canadian combat troops will be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2011, as part of the military’s withdrawal.
A small force of trainers will stay behind to help improve Afghan security forces.
But by July, most of Canada’s troops in Afghanistan will be dedicated solely to moving out all the equipment built up there since 2002.
Military Analyst Mercedes Stephenson tells 660News even the small force of Canadian trainers staying behind will help the Afghan mission’s credibility.
“If we start to see all of the allies walking away, this becomes an America-only mission,” she says. “An America-only mission in Afghanistan would likely very rapidly be viewed by the Afghans as similar to what the Russians were doing there in the 1980’s, and that’s something the Americans are highly sensitized to.”
She adds Canadian troops have made advances finding roadside bombs, which could make for fewer casualties in 2011.
