General

Canadian involvement will still put soldiers at risk of death: report

Training bases can be key Taliban targets, report says

A new report suggests that the Canadian troops left behind to train Afghan soldiers won’t necessarily be safe from further Taliban attacks. The joint report released Monday by the Rideau Institute and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the training mission will put soldiers at risk of injury or death. “Attacking recruitment centres and training bases can be a successful tactic for an insurgency as it potentially has an effect on both the domestic situation and the international community’s willingness to stay involved in the country,” the report says. It explains that such attacks, resulting in Afghan casualties, will discourage volunteers and demoralize new recruits. Furthermore, insurgents have, in the past, infiltrated and attacked the very training bases Canadian forces will be using. Ottawa has pledged to keep roughly 1,000 troops and support staff in Afghanistan, off the battlefield and training Afghan National Security Forces until 2014.

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