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Wednesday, March 15,2006 Orono Weekly Times - 5 Afghanistan - The Reason Why Lieutenant- Colonel John Conrad Conrad of Orono, was deployed to Afghanistan last month. He commands the Canadian Task Force's Logistics battalion in Kandahar that operates with the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian - Light Infantry. Lieuntenant-Colonel Conrad has agreed to send articles for the paper when he is able. by.Lt. Col. John Conrad for the Orono Weekly Times, 9 March 2006 There is a popular saying that makes the rounds at meetings here in dusty old Kandahar: "When it comes to international conflicts with global super-powers, the. scoreboard reads: Super Powers 0 Afghanistan 3." The country lies at the crossroads of empires but it has never been colonized. Alexander the Great conquered conquered Afghanistan in the fourth century B.C. as part of his invasion of Persia but he could not hold it. In the late 19th century, Moscow and London coveted Afghanistan as the final jewel in the crown of their respective colonial interests. They struggled during the Great Game to seize Afghanistan as a protective shield to hold in front of their empires. Neither power stayed on. The Soviet 40th Army spent ten years in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989. They captured Kabul, the capital, early in the conflict but were never able to extend pro-Soviet authority to the far wings of the rugged little state. This is sort of where NATO finds itself today: assisting a strong Afghan government in Kabul to extend its sovereignty sovereignty and rebuild its country from the ground up. So why have we come? It is crucial to. understand a bit of the unique geography of this country to grasp our current Canadian context. Afghanistan is a landlocked landlocked country in South West Asia. It is bordered by Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. Two thirds of the landmass of Afghanistan is impassable. The region is known as the roof of the world with many elevations' .over 20,000 feet. The breathtaking Hindu Kush mountain range, which rival our own Rocky Mountains Mountains for beauty, extend from ■ the southwest portion of the country to well beyond its eastern borders where they join up with the Himalayas. The . mountainous terrain gives way to great flood plains in the south. It is on the edges of the high features where Afghanistan's Afghanistan's few roads have been carved out. These road networks networks are scant. The main road, Highway One forms a rough 2800 kilometre ring around the country. Going by train is not an option--the entire country has 24 km of rail, a fraction of our own Go-Train line! This is precisely the way earlier earlier generations of Afghans wanted it. . Road and rail mean logistics and manoeuvrability manoeuvrability to conquering armies. Having little articulation articulation meant armies have trouble trouble operating in Afghanistan. Afghanistan. It also means that legitimate legitimate authorities, have trouble trouble keeping track of what is going on inside their own country. The lack of a transportation transportation network of any real import leaves the nation open to all sorts of groups using the difficult terrain for their own training purposes. Given the challenging geography and abundant isolation, isolation, it is no wonder that a dozen different tribes claim a home in Afghanistan. One could argue that Afghanistan has never really been one nation but rather a collection of tribes, the largest of which are the Pastuns, the Tajiks and the Hazaras. History has shown • it to be a country that has only gelled as a unified people people in times or war. Submitted Photo Lt. Col., John Conrad pictured in an armoured Mercedes G-Wagon from an actual convoy in Kandahar City - 8 Mar 06. In the main, Afghans are proud with a tough, warrior ethos. They are a courageous and hardworking people who have proven to be outstand- ing.farmers and businessmen. When making use of an irrigation irrigation system the agricultural potential of the country is. considerable. The years of upheaval have seen the irrigation irrigation system damaged and the farm system turn to the production of opium. It is estimated that most of the world's raw opium tar. for cocaine production comes from this enigmatic little land. Compare this with the statistic that 80 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is furnished by the opium trade. Part of rebuilding the country is to establish a new economy and gradually replace the drug crop with something else. Canada and the Canadian Forces vhas been involved with Afghanistan since . 2002 when the United States-led Coalition ousted the Taliban Government. The 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry were assigned to Kandahar Airfield in a mission mission that came to be associated associated with the tragic deaths of four Canadian Soldiers due to friendly fire from an American aircraft. In July 2003, the Canadian military effort shifted to Kabul, under the N,ATO mandate with the International Stabilization Force (ISAF). Canada's commitment commitment at this point was a Brigade Headquarters staff and a battlegroup in Kabul to reinforce stability in the cockpit of Afghanistan's new government; Although the size varied, the Kabul commitment commitment was maintained until December of 2005 when the Canadian government decided to move its effort from the relatively stable Kabul and turn its attention back to the south-Kandahar. Kandahar represents the age-old problem for a Kabul government in Afghanistan-- the projection and acceptance of central authority. Canada, working with Afghans and our NATO allies, is applying a unique strategy to this age- old problem. Canadians are applying a whole of government government approach which involves involves the Canadian Forces, Canadian International Development Development Agency, Foreign Affairs Canada and the RCMP, to lay down a safe, secure environment and strengthen both national institutions and develop economic economic opportunities in Afghanistan. The' Canadian Forces as part of Operation Enduring Freedom continues to fight the Taliban, remnants of the A1 Qaeda network and other disruptive groups that seek to stall the western military effort, and keep Afghanistan unstable for private advantage. advantage. A broken Afghanistan means that there will be training grounds for terrorist organizations. Whether you follow Canadian foreign policy or not, the truth is that Canada believes that a functional Afghanistan is vital to our national interest. The line must be drawn here. We have decided to make our national stand right here in Kandahar and from the Army perspective, perspective, so we shall. If you received a blood transfusion or ■HHHH blood product before 1992, you may have been infected with hepatitis C. Hepatitis Ç is a blood-borne vims that slowly damages your liver. Symptoms do not i show up for years but you will eventually get sick. Before 1992, screening for this 1 disease was not consistent and many patients became infected through the blood S system. So ask your doctor about getting tested. Detection is key to controlling the È virus and you may be entitled to financial assistance. fl 1-877-2224977 • www.health.gov.on.ca/hepc fl Paid for by (lu? Government of Ontario Vfl