Canada takes 'all precautions' to prevent civilian deaths

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Canadian Forces follow rules designed to prevent the killing of innocent civilians such as the bombardment that took the lives of nearly a hundred Afghans last week, Defense Minister Peter MacKay has said. "I can assure you we take all precautions, all rules of engagement are followed. We have tremendous confidence and faith in our leadership here in Afghanistan," MacKay told reporters at a Tuesday press conference in Kandahar where he was flanked by Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.The United Nations said that it had found convincing evidence that 90 Afghan civilians, most of them children, were killed Friday in air strikes by U.S.-led coalition forces in Shindand, which is in western Afghanistan.The U.S. military is investigating, after first saying it was unaware of any civilian casualties in what it said was an air strike on a known Taliban commander that killed 30 militants.Bombardments that kill civilians serve "the enemy which is trying to do things to make a propaganda campaign out of such incidents. So nobody benefits," Wardak said."Definitely, we ourselves and the international community will exercise maximum caution to prevent such incidents which go against all of our wishes and all of the ideals which we are here fighting for."On Monday, the Afghan government ordered the review of operations by foreign forces amid mounting discontent over the bombings. The Afghans also reiterated previous demands to ban air strikes on civilian targets, house searches without Afghan involvement and the illegal detention of Afghan civilians.Wardak said it is important to make better use of intelligence and planning to "prevent the repetition of such incidents which are so unfortunate."The Canadian Forces have no fighter jets in Afghanistan and do not carry out air strikes. But Canadian troops on the ground call in the Americans to do the bombings when they are deemed necessary -- as in the case of the bombardment of a Taliban bunker in the nearby Zhari region last week that Canadian officers say eliminated a cell that planted explosives.Tuesday's press conference, which capped a two-day visit to Afghanistan by MacKay and Flaherty, took place at a remote part of the Kandahar Air Field where drones are launched to conduct aerial surveillance.The government is investing in technology such as the unmanned aerial vehicles to prevent civilian tragedies, among other things, MacKay said."Having these eyes in the sky that allow us to locate the Taliban, to see in some instances where they are making these IEDs (improvised explosive devices) that are having such a horrific effect on the troops and the civilian population," he said.It has been a difficult summer for the coalition forces in Afghanistan.Substantial troop losses have been suffered by many participating NATO countries, including Canada, and the Taliban have gradually expanded their sphere of control.MacKay said "there is no question that this has been a tough season, very difficult sledding for our forces as well as our allies" and he has been pressing all NATO forces for additional troops. The Americans are widely anticipated to make an announcement about enhancing troop strength.But it is also critical, he said, to bolster the Afghans' own security forces.To that end, he announced that Canada will pay for the establishment of a military training center in the Afghan capital of Kabul. The Staff and Language Training Center, which will cost $16-million, will be used to upgrade the skills of junior officers in the Afghan National Army.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)