For the ankle biters and those in the media who don't understand what's going on in Afghanistan......notice that the Liberals were still in office....

on December 8.Notice 26 allies and 10 non NATO countries are involved.So the question arises, why did the media try to spin the story about disatisfaction.Did they tell their audience that 26 NATO countries are involved and we're part of a bigger picture or would they like us to just get out of NATO also?Instead of criticizing when our troops are in harm's way, it would be helpful if they got support from not just PM Harper but the rest of Canadians.

When will this happen?

The next stage of ISAF expansion is planned for 2006 and is known as Stage 3 Expansion, which will result in the following:

* ISAF's area of operations will be expanded to include six additional provinces: Day Kundi, Helmand , Kandahar , Nimroz, Uruzgan and Zabul (see attached map);

* Four Regional Commands will be established at: Mazar-e Sharif, Herat and Kandahar for ISAF Regions North, West and South respectively and one for the capital, Kabul;

* Four additional ISAF Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) will be created in the Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul provinces, subject to national approval (see attached map);

* An additional Forward Support Base will be established in Kandahar (see attached map);

* Deployment of ISAF operational mentoring and liaison teams to Afghan National Army units at various levels of command. These are small groups of experienced officers and NCOs that will coach and mentor the Afghan National Army units to which they are attached;

* ISAF will be increased by up to 6,000 personnel potentially bringing the total number to approximately 15,000;

(Currently 26 Allies and 10 non-NATO countries contribute some 9,000 personnel to the operation).

[Canadian troops Afghanistan]