MA'SUM GHAR, Afghanistan - Canadian soldiers on the front lines in Afghanistan have welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement that more American reinforcements will be on the way.
At the Ma'sum Ghar military base -- an outpost in western Kandahar
where Canadian soldiers are managing development projects in an area with a heavy Taliban presence -- news about an additional 21,000 U.S. troops was gladly received.
Obama's announcement on Friday of the dispatch of 4,000 new troops came on the heels of an earlier planned deployment of 17,000 U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan.
"We need more troops," Master Seaman Lee Bickerstaffe of Victoria said Sunday.
The Canadian Forces have declined official comment on Washington's white paper report, but after a long day under a hot Afghan sun, individual soldiers stationed at Ma'sum Ghar were ready to talk.
As the troops relaxed in the base's common room -- a plywood and sheet metal extension of the canvas tents where they have their living quarters -- watching flat-screen TVs, playing video games and surfing the Internet, they were also counting down the days until the fresh troops arrived.
The new U.S. troops "will definitely help us, especially with mentoring," said Cpl. Peter Mitchell. He noted that the Afghan security forces who have undergone training are far more disciplined than their untrained counterparts.
The latest promised dispatch of fresh U.S. troops will focus on training the country's military and police force -- a task that's close to the heart of many Canadian soldiers.
"Mentoring, like the Canadian soldiers do, is one way of winning," said Bickerstaffe.
"It allows the Afghans to be self-sufficient enough to take charge of their country's security ... When they can defend themselves we'll see better results."
According to Leading Seaman Robert Boucher, also from Victoria, the current military deployment in the region is insufficient to both supervise locals working on various building sites and to train Afghan security forces.
There have been repeated attempts to attack some the building sites, he said, and he doesn't think the region is safe enough to entrust the work to local entrepreneurs.
According to the soldiers, one building site alone has been targeted by rocket and mortar attacks and has also come under gunfire.
There was also an attempted suicide bombing, and troops have defused a number of improvised explosive devices nearby.
Other Canadian soldiers have spoken up about the slow progress of the mission in Afghanistan.
Their concerns were echoed by the troops posted at Ma'sum Ghar, who say they feel that Canadian Forces are spread too thin over Kandahar province's vast territory.
Boucher underlined the problem by emphasizing the need to stay well within the security parameters.
"It's dangerous to go any further," he said.
And the battle-hardened Bosnia veteran said he's finding his first posting to Afghanistan difficult.
"It sucks," he says as he watches a video of local children from nearby villages who are obviously suffering from the effects of severe poverty.
Media reports say that roughly half of the first 17,000 U.S. soldiers deployed in Afghanistan will be sent to Kandahar.
