globeandmail.com: General predicts fewer battles with Taliban: "KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- Over the next year, soldiers will build bridges, get roads paved and better protect Afghan police, according to Canada's top general in Afghanistan. He also expects there will be fewer full-scale battles with the Taliban.
Canadian Forces Brigadier-General Guy Laroche told reporters in a briefing yesterday that he sees reasons for optimism after serving in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province during the past six months. 'I've seen progress,' he said. The next job, he added, is 'to increase the security bubble, if you will.'
The inroads made by Canadian Forces, he said, have helped force the Taliban underground. The good news is that insurgents have broken into smaller groups; the bad news is that they are now increasingly seeking to hit non-military targets.
That means the next challenge for the army, Gen. Laroche said, will be to expand outward from military outposts and work to deprive insurgents of any potential targets."
Canadian Forces Brigadier-General Guy Laroche told reporters in a briefing yesterday that he sees reasons for optimism after serving in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province during the past six months. 'I've seen progress,' he said. The next job, he added, is 'to increase the security bubble, if you will.'
The inroads made by Canadian Forces, he said, have helped force the Taliban underground. The good news is that insurgents have broken into smaller groups; the bad news is that they are now increasingly seeking to hit non-military targets.
That means the next challenge for the army, Gen. Laroche said, will be to expand outward from military outposts and work to deprive insurgents of any potential targets."
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