09.08.2003, 07:36
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Zitat:Don't look like Americans, German colonel warns Canadian troops in Kabul
Date: Friday, August 08 2003 @ 17:48:42 CEST
Topic: The Peace Process
Canada.com
August 08, 2003
by STEPHEN THORNE
KABUL (CP) - The No. 1 challenge facing Canadian soldiers patrolling the Afghan capital will be distinguishing themselves from their American brethren, says the commander of the German battle group they are replacing.
Lt.-Col. Helmut Remus met with his counterpart, Lt.-Col. Don Denne, just hours after the new battle group's officers and NCOs arrived, the first Canadian infantry to land here as part of a NATO peace-support mission.
"Not all Afghanis know what Canada is," Remus said in an interview. "They think you are Americans. This could cause problems.
"It is very important for the Canadians to show the flag - the Maple Leaf. Some Afghanis are not happy about the Americans here. It is important to make it clear that Canada is not America."
In fact, the nearest American presence is about 40 minutes' drive away in Bagram where, along with troops in the southern city of Kandahar, the United States is still waging war on elements of al-Qaida and Taliban.
Those same threats, plus rogue warlords, weigh heavily on the minds of commanders and troops of the 25-nation International Security Assistance Force in Kabul.
Remus said they face daily threats of rocket and suicide bomb attacks. Plots are discovered and foiled continuously, he said - including threats to Canadian operations, Denne confirmed.
Remus's contingent has suffered 52 casualties in a little over a year, including four killed and 29 wounded in the suicide bombing of a busload of German troops this spring.
"Everybody in ISAF should expect casualties," said Remus. "You have to deal with this. You have to be friendly and work with the Afghanis.
"But at your back, you feel the threat every minute. We know our enemies, but we don't see them. This is a really hard mission."
Remus said the Americans alienated many Afghans with their bombing campaign prior to the coalition ground offensive last year.
The implication from some of the German's comments - and echoed elsewhere - was that the Americans have been long on destruction and war, but short on reconstruction and humanitarian measures.
"Afghanis are a naturally friendly people," he said. "If you wave and smile, you will win their hearts."
The Canadians have already taken steps to distinguish themselves from other international forces, including opting for green combat fatigues rather than the desert browns so popular among Germans, Australians, Britons and Americans.
The Canadians also are taking extra precautions to protect the lives of their soldiers, even before they take to the streets and alleyways of southwest Kabul by foot, day and night.
The two Hercules aircraft carrying more than 100 Canadian soldiers ended their 4½-hour flights into Kabul on Friday by flying low on their approaches to the city.
Veteran soldiers said newer recruits on their first overseas missions were wide-eyed as the aircraft took evasive manoeuvres, bobbing and weaving and dropping missile-deterring flares on their final runs into the airport.
The Canadian troops, who now will be arriving almost daily until they assume Remus's responsibilities on Aug. 21, are transported to the base in armoured vehicles like Spam in a can - with no view of the city they are to protect and, more importantly, no view in from outside.
The convoys change their routes each day, weaving through normally crowded adobe neighbourhoods at a relatively easy pace on the quiet Muslim holy Friday.
They passed waving children, indifferent elderly and even the occasional shaken fist or thumbs-down. Some convoys have had rocks thrown at them.
Nevertheless, Denne says his troops are ready and morale is high after more than a year preparing, first as a battalion for an unspecified overseas mission, then as a battle group for Afghanistan.
Remus said they will have to be vigilant and strong. After ISAF has invested more than a year and 20 lives in the operation, the German colonel raises his palms and asks: "Where can you see the success?"