news NATO troop commander says battle in southern Afghanistan will be pivotal

[rwilli1]

NATO troop commander says battle in southern Afghanistan will be pivotal


1 hour, 20 minutes ago





By Patrice Bergeron, The Canadian Press

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's future will be decided by the crucial battle for control of the southern part of the country where Canadian troops are located, a top NATO commander said Monday.
"The international community clearly realizes that the main military effort is in southern Afghanistan, so you need to concentrate the bulk of your forces there," Maj.-Gen. Mart de Kruif said in an interview.
"If you talk about successful elections or winning the counter-insurgency, it will be decided in southern Afghanistan."
De Kruif, who has been head of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the region since last November, predicted the arrival of 17,000 U.S. troops in the area would be a major boost for coalition forces, including Canada's, in the ongoing battle for Kandahar.
"Kandahar is the most important city," he said. "I would even say perhaps more important than Kabul, based on the history of Kandahar and its position. It is essential."
Kandahar was once a Taliban stronghold and the area that's close to the Pakistan border still serves as a staging area of sorts for insurgents.
On Sunday, de Kruif said the new American soldiers will reinforce their Canadian counterparts on the ground.
"We will go into areas we've never been before," he said, adding the 17,000-strong American deployment will allow NATO forces to increase pressure on the Taliban and to pursue them straight to their hideouts.
De Kruif said his soldiers will soon be able to hold their position instead of withdrawing after brief forays into Taliban territory because the troops are spread too thin in the theatre of operations.
The coalition currently holds a number of towns and bases but its troops aren't numerous enough to fully secure the border with Pakistan.
De Kruif also said the coalition is doing everything it can to prevent civilian casualties.
On Monday, villagers and officials said a NATO operation killed six civilians in eastern Afghanistan. The International Security Assistance Force said enemy fighters were killed, but acknowledged that civilians may have been wounded in the attack.
A UN report says there were 2,118 civilian deaths in Afghanistan in 2008, a jump of 40 per cent.
De Kruif said the international coalition uses "minimal force" and "never targets the Afghan people."
"Not all the bombs dropped in southern Afghanistan are ISAF bombs," he argued. "I would say most of the bombs aren't. (There are) other operations going on in southern Afghanistan, not only ISAF.
"My real issue - what I'm really worried about - is that I see more and more that Afghan people are specifically targeted by the insurgents."