Taliban Get 'heads-Up' About Canadians Message

"It's useful information to their commanders -- information that is very difficult for them to get otherwise." The message, posted this week, was translated by the SITE Institute, which was formed in 2002 to monitor and disseminate information on Islamic terrorists. "A Canadian force of 300 soldiers left Trenton base in Canada, heading to Afghanistan to help the coalition of the occupying forces there," the message reads. "Canadian radio said today that it was decided that these additional forces will be stationed south of the city of Kandahar, which had an increased number of attacks from Taliban fighters with the [Afghan] Parliament election day approaching ... in the coming September." The message exaggerates the size of the force: Nearly 250 Canadian soldiers are on their way to Kandahar this month to form a provincial reconstruction team, a humanitarian and development aid team protected by the military. On Wednesday, 110 troops left Edmonton on their way to the region and another 100 soldiers are to leave for Afghanistan next week... ...There are more than 9,000 members of the al-Anbaar site, but because no password is required to read or join the online discussion, she said, there could be thousands of others with access. Some of the site's users may be in North America, acting as lookouts for fighters in Afghanistan. "This is intelligence collected by the supporters of these jihadists -- someone in Canada or the U.S. listening to the radio or reading the newspapers," she said. "This tells the [Taliban or al-Qaeda] commanders what to expect."... General Rick Hillier, the chief of defence staff, has bluntly predicted that the Kandahar mission will be a dangerous one. He expects Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorists to engage coalition forces, including Canadian troops, and that casualties are a distinct possibility... Full article: http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=99796e79-94d1-4566-ac40-16f2e8653c09

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