17 March 2008

Stephen Priestley, 'Afghan Medium-Lift: Searching for Available NATO Military Helicopters', Canadian American Strategic Review, March 2008

EXCERPT: "As was widely reported, Poland has promised Canada access to two of its four Mi-17 Hip H medium-lift transport helicopters which are soon to deploy to Kandahar. This is a generous offer by Poland and Canada is fortunate to have access to these two refurbished helicopters (along with the non-exclusive...

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17 March 2008

'NATO Chief Calls For Military Tie-Ups With EU', Reuters, 15 March 2008

EXCERPT: "NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called on Saturday for wide-ranging military cooperation between the transatlantic alliance and the European Union to make better use of costly defense resources. He made the call at a time when France is preparing possible steps to return to the NATO military structures it quit in the 1960s and to unveil proposals...

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17 March 2008

'Poverty Not Biggest Factor Driving Afghan Drug Crop', Reuters, 15 March 2008

EXCERPT: "Afghan poppy farmers are some of the richest in the country, so poverty is not a big factor driving drug production in Afghanistan which last year produced 93 percent of the world's opium, a United Nations report said. Despite millions of dollars spent to eradicate the crop and encourage farmers to turn to others, opium production has risen sharply...

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17 March 2008

'', The National Post, 17 March 2008

EXCERPT: "The decision to extend Canada's Afghan mission until sometime in 2011 was met with neither joy nor sorrow by the men and women that Parliament expects to fulfill this new mandate. There was almost universal agreement among those Canadians serving here that the decision was the right one. The news was received quietly, perhaps because victory...

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