http://news.excite.ca/news/cp/011116/16/scouting-party-of

Scouting party of Canadian troops to leave for Afghanistan next week Updated: Fri, Nov 16 4:55 PM EST OTTAWA (CP) - A Canadian reconnaissance group will leave for Afghanistan next week, perhaps as early as Monday, to scout locations for humanitarian operations. The main force of Canadian soldiers, mostly from the 3rd battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based in Edmonton, won't leave Canada until later in the month.

Defence Minister Art Eggleton hasn't ruled out an even larger Canadian contribution if more is necessary.

"It depends on what is needed and what is asked for," he said. "There are some other possibilities, but I wouldn't want to speculate."

The Canadians reconnaissance people will join an Anglo-American team to sort out areas of responsibility, Defence Department sources said.

In military jargon, they will do a recce (pronounced reck-ee).

About 1,000 Canadian soldiers are on 48 hours notice to go to Afghanistan, but the main body likely won't leave until the last week of November at the earliest.

"It will be a week to 10 days after the recce at the earliest," a department insider said.

A military Airbus took off Friday from Trenton, Ont., bound for Germany, where it will stand by to fly aid, personnel and equipment to Afghanistan.

The plane carried spare air crews and a ground cargo-handling party.

"They're going to be there to provide airlift capability for any sort of airlift and they also have a capability for medical evacuations," said Capt. Paul Doucette.

The air force has also earmarked a trio of C-130 Hercules transport planes for the Afghanistan effort, but they are still at home awaiting decisions on where they will be used.

The exact mission, the precise location for Canadian bases are being worked out by Canadian and American planners working in the U.S. central command in Tampa, Fla.

Central command is the joint army, navy, air force headquarters which is co-ordinating the coalition effort.

Canada has 30 to 40 staff officers working in Tampa. While central command will detail what it wants the Canadians to do, the final decision to go along or not rests with Ottawa.

"We make the decision at the end of the day," Eggleton said.

The Canadian commitment to Afghanistan has won political support from opposition parties.

The Canadian Alliance, the Bloc Quebecois and the Conservatives have offered support for the deployment.

Even the NDP is conditionally supportive, saying, however, it should be under United Nations auspices.

While the UN may eventually send in peacekeepers, the initial operations are an American-led, coalition effort.

The Defence Department says no decision has been made on where Canadian troops will be based and who they will work for, but there is speculation.

Jocelyn Coulon of the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre in Montreal, said he heard from sources that the Canadians will join a British brigade in the northwestern city of Herat, near the border with Turkmenistan.

"They are going to secure the city," he said Friday. "They are going to work with the British brigade that will be deployed around Herat and this area of Afghanistan."

Eggleton says the Canadians will help speed the delivery of aid and will also help with tasks such as mine clearance.

"They will help to settle things down, of course," he said. "There are landmines to be dealt with at the same time so they are there to bring about stabilization and to provide for corridors for humanitarian assistance."

One analyst suggested the Canadians, a lightly armed outfit without armour or artillery, may be vulnerable if things heat up on the ground.

"In a sense they would be more likely to be attacked because they're not the front-line people, like an armoured division," said Nelson MacPherson of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary.

"It's not a reflection on the troops."

Eggleton said he doesn't envisage the Canadians getting into a battle.

"We're not going in to be on the front line or to be in on an offensive operation," he said.

MacPherson said the Canadian contribution is modest compared to that of the British and Americans.

But, he added, it's a big chunk from Canada's under-strength and over-tasked military.

"We're creaking at the seams in terms of our commitments, given the very small force we have because it's been cut back so much."

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2001

Answers

Maybe they can be roomies with the French....

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2001

Canadian Exchange Rate

The Canadians are going to help America with the war on terrorism. They have pledged: 2 battle ships, 600 ground troops and 6 fighter jets.

After the American exchange rate we end up with:

2 Canoes, 6 Mounties and a bunch of flying squirrels.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2001

Good one, Ladybug!

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2001

Oy, we have a couple of Canadians reading the board. Be nice to the neighbors! Unless it's, oops, shouldn't say that.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2001