- Reaction score
- 3,949
- Points
- 1,260
Ya think? How about all those foreign men and women in sand-coloured uniforms, with sand-coloured hard hats on, carrying guns? :
Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act.
Dahla project is potential target, military says
But Canadian officials insist reconstruction should not be compared to restoration of Kajaki dam, which has been repeatedly attacked
STEVEN CHASE, Globe & Mail, 18 Jul 08
Article link
OTTAWA -- Canada's reconstruction project at Afghanistan's Dahla dam is a potential strategic target for the Taliban, the military acknowledged yesterday, but Ottawa insists it's wrong to draw comparisons to the nearby Kajaki dam refit that's become a magnet for attacks.
Canada is pinning considerable hope on a $50-million effort to repair and upgrade the Dahla dam, the second-largest in Afghanistan. It has the highest profile of six development projects recently begun by the Harper government to demonstrate that the costly Afghan mission, which has killed 87 Canadian soldiers, is bearing fruit.
The restoration project has been warmly welcomed, but a recent surge of Taliban attacks across the country during the spring and summer has heightened the Karzai government's concerns about the project, a defence analyst said.
"I was told ... the Kabul government, in light of the various recent major Taliban attacks - whether it was in Kabul or in the eastern provinces - the feeling is that Dahla dam might also become a magnet for Taliban attacks," said retired colonel Alain Pellerin, executive director of the Conference of Defence Associations.
(....)
At an Ottawa briefing yesterday, Brigadier-General Gerry Champagne said it's clear from the NATO coalition's perspective that the Dahla dam "is one of the potential strategic targets" for the Taliban. He said Canadians and other coalition forces are prepared to mount a "surge operation" around the project if needed.
A Canadian International Development Agency official said it's wrong to compare the circumstances faced in the Dahla dam and Kajaki dam projects.
"There's a bit of an apples and oranges issue here," Bob Johnston, director general of CIDA's Afghanistan Task Force, told reporters. "Kajaki is a hydroelectric dam. There is a much bigger challenge in removing and replacing relatively large hydroelectric turbines."
Plus, Mr. Johnston said, the geography is different at Kajaki, where coalition forces had to labour long and hard to build a supply road to the dam under attacks from insurgents. "There's a long access road that's proven to be very difficult," he said.
"When you compare that to the rehab of the Dahla dam and the irrigation system ... the repairs are not as extensive."
(....)
Mr. Pellerin, a supporter of the Afghan mission, said Canada must undertake the project with "eyes wide open" because it will be a major benefit to the local population and as a result the Taliban will try to thwart it.
He said he believes Canada can succeed in the project.
"It might take a bit longer than planned and there might be some reverses and setbacks, but I think it can be done."
Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act.
Dahla project is potential target, military says
But Canadian officials insist reconstruction should not be compared to restoration of Kajaki dam, which has been repeatedly attacked
STEVEN CHASE, Globe & Mail, 18 Jul 08
Article link
OTTAWA -- Canada's reconstruction project at Afghanistan's Dahla dam is a potential strategic target for the Taliban, the military acknowledged yesterday, but Ottawa insists it's wrong to draw comparisons to the nearby Kajaki dam refit that's become a magnet for attacks.
Canada is pinning considerable hope on a $50-million effort to repair and upgrade the Dahla dam, the second-largest in Afghanistan. It has the highest profile of six development projects recently begun by the Harper government to demonstrate that the costly Afghan mission, which has killed 87 Canadian soldiers, is bearing fruit.
The restoration project has been warmly welcomed, but a recent surge of Taliban attacks across the country during the spring and summer has heightened the Karzai government's concerns about the project, a defence analyst said.
"I was told ... the Kabul government, in light of the various recent major Taliban attacks - whether it was in Kabul or in the eastern provinces - the feeling is that Dahla dam might also become a magnet for Taliban attacks," said retired colonel Alain Pellerin, executive director of the Conference of Defence Associations.
(....)
At an Ottawa briefing yesterday, Brigadier-General Gerry Champagne said it's clear from the NATO coalition's perspective that the Dahla dam "is one of the potential strategic targets" for the Taliban. He said Canadians and other coalition forces are prepared to mount a "surge operation" around the project if needed.
A Canadian International Development Agency official said it's wrong to compare the circumstances faced in the Dahla dam and Kajaki dam projects.
"There's a bit of an apples and oranges issue here," Bob Johnston, director general of CIDA's Afghanistan Task Force, told reporters. "Kajaki is a hydroelectric dam. There is a much bigger challenge in removing and replacing relatively large hydroelectric turbines."
Plus, Mr. Johnston said, the geography is different at Kajaki, where coalition forces had to labour long and hard to build a supply road to the dam under attacks from insurgents. "There's a long access road that's proven to be very difficult," he said.
"When you compare that to the rehab of the Dahla dam and the irrigation system ... the repairs are not as extensive."
(....)
Mr. Pellerin, a supporter of the Afghan mission, said Canada must undertake the project with "eyes wide open" because it will be a major benefit to the local population and as a result the Taliban will try to thwart it.
He said he believes Canada can succeed in the project.
"It might take a bit longer than planned and there might be some reverses and setbacks, but I think it can be done."
