A14

Bill Graveland
THE CANADIAN PRESS

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CALGARY - The officer in charge of the United States Central Command is warning against premature optimism as thousands of American troops surge into Afghanistan's Helmand province.

Enlarge Photo

Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press

General David Petraeus, centre, Commander of US CENTCOM, shakes hands with sailors from HMCS Calgary as he tours a Canadian military display at the Calgary Stampede, Friday. Petraeus is in Calgary to attend meetings with his counterparts in the Canadian military.

Gen. David Petraeus is best known for co-ordinating the troop surge in Iraq that is credited with significantly reducing violence there.

But Petraeus warns that the Taliban in Afghanistan are tough, resilient fighters.

"I think you have to recognize this is an enemy that is adaptable and at times is barbaric," Petraeus told The Canadian Press in an interview. "It does adjust to our tactics, techniques and procedures. We certainly do see it as an enemy that represents an ideology that does not tolerate those who do not think the way they do. "

"We have respect for this enemy - we must in the sense of it being an adversary, that it is a thinking enemy, it's a flexible enemy and it's a tough and resilient enemy - although we obviously do not respect the ideology or beliefs it represents."

Petraeus is visiting Calgary at the invitation of Gen. Walter Natynczyk, Canada's chief of defence staff. While the trip is a social one, Petraeus is using the time to compare notes with his former colleague, who took over as Canada's top soldier a year ago.

Southern Afghanistan has been a challenge for Canadian and coalition troops since the mission began in 2002. So far 120 Canadian soldiers have died in efforts to restore peace to the birthplace of the Taliban. Although coalition forces have been able to clear insurgents from hotly contested areas, the Taliban return as soon as the foreign troops leave an area.

The new American offensive hopes to prevent that. There are now 4,000 U.S. marines and 650 Afghan troops moving through Helmand, located immediately west of Kandahar province. The plan is for U.S. forces to hold the freed areas until Afghan security can maintain a foothold in the region.

It is expected that 68,000 American troops will be on the ground in Afghanistan by this fall - a doubling of previous numbers. That's compared to about 2,700 Canadian soldiers.

Reinforcements for Kandahar will be part of the next wave, Petraeus said.

"The next group that deploys is a Stryker Brigade combat team - it's a very substantial force," he said.

The Stryker Brigades are built around eight-wheeled armoured vehicles that are very similar to the LAV 3s that are used by Canadian battle groups in Afghanistan.

"You know the Stryker vehicle has proven to be very sought after in Iraq. It has superb connectivity, satellite (communications), distributed command and controls and it is well protected for an environment that has seen increasing use of improvised explosive devices," Petraeus said.

When it comes to operations, there will have to be a balancing act in order to implement new directives laid down by U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who was President Barack Obama's recent choice to take over the NATO-led conflict in Afghanistan, Petraeus said.

All commanders have received new orders which are to prevent troops from shooting at the Taliban if there is any risk of civilian casualties.

"We've seen violence go up in the fighting seasons in each of these last two years to levels considerably above those in previous years. So we've got to stop that trend and then we have to reverse it," Petraeus said.

"The objective is to secure and serve the people of Afghanistan and that has to be the focus. That means we have to take considerable care and make substantial effort to avoid civilian casualties and that is one of our objectives even as additional forces launch these substantial operations."

With Canada's mission to Afghanistan set to expire in 2011, Petraeus was careful to step clear of political land mines when asked if he would like to see it extended.

"It is something that a soldier of another nation would defer to the national authority," he said.

"All I can say is we feel very privileged to have served with our Canadian partners in Afghanistan as we have in the Balkans, Haiti and other places over the years. As we add forces to Regional Command South and again in the Kandahar area we look forward to working closely with them to improve the security."