Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF
CBC News
December 3, 2008
‘There is a risk that it gets worse before it gets better,’ says Blanchette
While an expected surge in the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan next year will be welcomed by NATO forces there, their arrival could herald an increase in violence, says a senior spokesman for those forces.
U.S. president-elect Barack Obama could send up to 12,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan in the spring. They would join 50,700 NATO-led International Security Assistance Force soldiers, of which 2,500 are Canadian.
But there will be more confrontations with Taliban forces as additional U.S. forces arrive, said Brig.-Gen. Richard Blanchette, a Canadian who serves as a spokesman for ISAF.
“There is a risk that it gets worse before it gets better — when you have more troops, you have more interface between the insurgents and the forces from ISAF,” Blanchette said Wednesday during a visit to Kandahar Airfield.
Blanchette did not say whether he thinks the increased instances of conflict will lead to more casualties.
For the first time ever, the average number of daily insurgent attacks in Afghanistan exceeded those in Iraq from August through October.
Half of those were directed against Canadian and other foreign troops, the rest at Afghan security forces and civilians.
Afghan army taking on greater role
Blanchette stressed that Afghan troops are taking on an increasingly prominent role in combating insurgents.
“It is a reality that the Afghan National Army has taken a lead in a lot of the operations. They are much more involved than before,” Blanchette said.
“These are very impressive officers. Their grasp of what’s happening is very good.”
Gen. David McKiernan, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, issued a new directive in September that requires all of his commanders to be accompanied by Afghan national army troops on every mission.
But as the Afghan troops engage insurgents, they are also experiencing higher casualties, said Blanchette.
Canada has lost 97 troops in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2002.
Source | See Also under Aghanistan: Military to probe response to sex charges | US General David Petraeus to take CENTCOM helm for Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan | ‘Reconstruction’ efforts in Khandahar not apparent to Afghanis | Peace activists demand Canada leave Afghanistan | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | US faces downward spiral in Afghan war, says leaked intelligence report | Afghan mission cost: up to $18B | Delta Force Officer: We Weren’t Allowed to Kill Osama Bin Laden | Victory impossible in Afghanistan: senior British commander | Defiant military watchdog widens detainee hearings | ‘Some’ Troops to stay in Afghanistan past 2011: McKay | CSIS faces review in Khadr case | Blackwater-linked firm to train Canadian troops | Canadian troops continue gearing up, to receive US counter-insurgency training | Asia’s new ‘great game’ is all about pipelines | MacKay dismisses Taliban threat as ‘propaganda’ | Controversial Kandahar governor replaced | America to assume command in Afghanistan | Canadian military acquiring new helicopters, drones | Low Level Driver Convicted Of Terror Charges While Bin Laden’s Senior Body Guard Was Let Go | Afghani Narco-state Continues to Blossom under Puppet President | Protesters push for Omar Khadr’s release | Obama promises 10,000 more troops for Afghanistan | Afghanistan suggests Pakistan responsible for embassy bombing | Canadian, NATO forces stood down during Afghan jailbreak | Canadian military silent on Afghan civilian deaths: UN investigator | US Counterinsurgency Manual Leaked, Calls for False Flag Operations, Suspension of Human Rights | Report: U.S. Gave Green Light For Taliban Prison Attack | Don’t look, don’t tell, troops told in response to Afghani child abuse | Post-traumatic stress disorder’s hidden scars | Over 100 complaints about access to govt. info on Afghan mission: report | Canada sets up new military spy unit | Bid to Block Afghan Detainee Inquiry Slammed | Army begins using $150,000 artillery shells | FBI documents contradict 9/11 Commission report | Truth or Terrorism? The Real Story Behind Five Years of High Alerts | 9/11 widows call for new investigation after revelations of White House, commission ties | Director of 9/11 commission “secretly spoke with Rove, White House” | Eight U.S. State Department Veterans Challenge the Official Account of 9/11 | Twenty-five U.S. Military Officers Challenge Official Account of 9/11 | Ex-Italian President: Intel Agencies Know 9/11 An Inside Job | Afghan poll not as clear as it seems | 9/11 – the big cover-up? | New Bin Laden Video: 100% Forgery | What Ottawa doesn’t want you to know: Government was told detainees faced ‘extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture and detention without trial’ | The Lies that Led to War | U.S. Government Caught Red-Handed Releasing Staged Al-Qaeda Videos | US Allowed Taliban, Al-Qaeda Airlift Evacuation
December 9th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
[...] for Iran attack | Harper halts parliament amid row | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Author wins award for work identifying categories of state corruption | Counterterrorism squad [...]
December 18th, 2008 at 5:39 am
[...] for Iran attack | Harper halts parliament amid row | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Author wins award for work identifying categories of state corruption | Counterterrorism squad [...]
January 5th, 2009 at 2:52 am
[...] to 101 | Neo-cons still preparing for Iran attack | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Federal government orders U.S. war resister deported | Mumbai terror attacks: Rice calls for [...]
January 8th, 2009 at 1:32 am
[...] to 101 | Neo-cons still preparing for Iran attack | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Federal government orders U.S. war resister deported | Mumbai terror attacks: Rice calls for [...]
January 30th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
[...] to 101 | CFR-Brookings to Dominate Obama Strategy | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Military to probe response to sex charges | US General David Petraeus to take CENTCOM helm for [...]
February 22nd, 2009 at 8:33 am
[...] for Iran attack | Harper halts parliament amid row | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Author wins award for work identifying categories of state corruption | Counterterrorism squad [...]
March 27th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
[...] for Iran attack | Harper halts parliament amid row | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Author wins award for work identifying categories of state corruption | Counterterrorism squad [...]
April 15th, 2009 at 1:27 am
[...] to 101 | CFR-Brookings to Dominate Obama Strategy | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Military to probe response to sex charges | US General David Petraeus to take CENTCOM helm for [...]
May 10th, 2009 at 9:22 am
[...] to 101 | CFR-Brookings to Dominate Obama Strategy | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Military to probe response to sex charges | US General David Petraeus to take CENTCOM helm for [...]
May 11th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
[...] to 101 | Neo-cons still preparing for Iran attack | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Military to probe response to sex charges | US General David Petraeus to take CENTCOM helm for [...]
May 20th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
[...] to 101 | Neo-cons still preparing for Iran attack | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Military to probe response to sex charges | US General David Petraeus to take CENTCOM helm for [...]
June 13th, 2009 at 7:20 am
[...] for Iran attack | Harper halts parliament amid row | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Author wins award for work identifying categories of state corruption | Counterterrorism squad [...]
October 20th, 2009 at 5:30 am
[...] to 101 | CFR-Brookings to Dominate Obama Strategy | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Military to probe response to sex charges | US General David Petraeus to take CENTCOM helm for [...]
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:38 am
[...] to 101 | CFR-Brookings to Dominate Obama Strategy | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Military to probe response to sex charges | US General David Petraeus to take CENTCOM helm for [...]
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:47 pm
[...] to 101 | CFR-Brookings to Dominate Obama Strategy | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Military to probe response to sex charges | US General David Petraeus to take CENTCOM helm for [...]
November 8th, 2009 at 1:57 am
[...] to 101 | CFR-Brookings to Dominate Obama Strategy | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Military to probe response to sex charges | US General David Petraeus to take CENTCOM helm for [...]
November 14th, 2009 at 7:29 am
[...] to 101 | CFR-Brookings to Dominate Obama Strategy | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Military to probe response to sex charges | US General David Petraeus to take CENTCOM helm for [...]
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:41 am
[...] [...]
June 21st, 2010 at 4:11 pm
[...] for Iran attack | Harper halts parliament amid row | Afghan government sacks Kandahar governor | Obama’s planned troop surge in Afghanistan could lead to more violence: ISAF | Author wins award for work identifying categories of state corruption | Counterterrorism squad [...]