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Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh CANADA

CattleArmy

Well-known member
Canada welcomes Obama's Afghan strategy
MONTREAL (AFP) – Canada's foreign affairs minister on Friday welcomed the new Afghan strategy unveiled by US President Barack Obama but warned that Ottawa did not intend to increase its budget for the war.

"We welcome the publication of the US Strategic Review on Afghanistan and Pakistan and congratulate the Obama administration on what, on first examination, looks to be a very compelling, comprehensive and realistic assessment of the situation," said Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon.

He said he would be able to further assess the implications of the plan next week during a conference on Afghanistan at The Hague and a NATO summit.

"Many elements" of the US plan were similar and "complimentary" to Canada's own mission in the country, Cannon said in a statement.

"We have said consistently that success in Afghanistan will never be achieved through military means alone," he added.

"Canada also welcomes the acknowledgement that what happens in Pakistan directly affects what happens in Afghanistan, given that our own forces work in a border area."

Obama unveiled on Friday a US strategy for Afghanistan that included a civilian surge in Afghanistan to match fresh military reinforcements totaling 21,000 troops, as well as a 7.5-billion-dollar development plan and special economic zones for Pakistan.

Washington has dropped appeals for more troop commitments from Europe and instead called on NATO members to offer civilian expertise and aid for development projects.

Obama said the United States will urge its allies to contribute money during a donors conference in Tokyo next month.

"As America does more, we will ask others to join us in doing their part," he said.

"From our partners and NATO allies, we seek not simply troops, but rather clearly defined capabilities: supporting the Afghan elections, training Afghan security forces, and a greater civilian commitment to the Afghan people."

Speaking earlier on the margins of a conference in Montreal, Cannon said that Canada "does not intend to increase our budgets."

But the US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, said that many countries had "already talked to us privately about either troops during the election period, or non-military support."

Canada has deployed some 2,800 soldiers to southwestern Afghanistan, where 116 Canadian troops have been killed since 2002.
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
Canada confident it will avoid major flood
1 hr 44 mins ago
WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Canadian officials expressed confidence Friday that Manitoba will be able to withstand the Red River flood waters that are threatening North Dakota.
Canadian Cabinet minister Vic Toews told The Associated Press that authorities believe the water will remain well within levels that can be handled by dikes and other flood prevention measures.

"People are very optimistic that flooding south of Winnipeg will be minimized," said Toews, whose district hugs the Red River.

The north-flowing river was on the brink Friday of potentially disastrous flooding in the Fargo, N.D., area as communities struggled to shore up dikes to meet a record crest of up to 43 feet.

But Canadian officials said they weren't expecting the same.

"Don't be too alarmed by the news your hearing from Fargo," senior provincial flood forecaster Alf Warkentin told a news conference.

"This may be kind of surprising given what's going on in Fargo. But you have to remember ... we've had big floods in Fargo in the past ... which didn't result in large floods in Manitoba."

In 1997, Red River flooding covered some 772 square miles of land and caused $4.4 billion in damage between Winnipeg and Grand Forks, N.D., forcing 80,000 people from their homes.

Manitoba Premier Gary Dower said the province has made huge investments since 1997 and is in better shape than its neighbors to the south.

Ring dikes around vulnerable towns in southern Manitoba have been raised, while the floodway protecting Winnipeg has also been expanded, he said.

"Fargo and Grand Forks don't have a floodway," the premier said. "We do. That makes a lot of difference."

Since 1997, the province has spent $638 million on expanding the floodway and flood-proofing homes, farms and businesses in the Red River Valley. The dikes and other measures are now prepared to withstand the water levels that were reached in 1997, plus an additional more than two feet.

The real threat is from ice jams along the river, which have already caused overland flooding north of Winnipeg and will continue to cause problems, Doer said.

"We feel we can handle all the water. It's the ice that may jam and cause localized flooding that challenged us in the last 48 hours and challenges us for the operation of the floodway," Doer said.

Evacuation alerts were still in effect for 850 people from the Roseau River First Nation reserve and Riverside near the U.S. border. About 95 elderly and people with chronic conditions were taken by charter buses to Winnipeg Thursday as a precaution.

Meanwhile, authorities were keeping an eye on the ice jams north of Winnipeg. A blockage near the community of Lockport, Manitoba, led to the evacuation of 40 homes earlier in the week. It broke up, but re-formed down the river.

Emergency measures coordinator Paul Guyader said firefighters began checking water levels at first light.

Sandbagging efforts were focused in areas north of the blocked ice to prevent more homes from flooding, he said.
 

Mike

Well-known member
Tripling the amount of aid to Pakistan ($1.5 BILLION per year) is in the program too.

Zer0 sure don't mind spending our money. :roll: :roll:

No one can ever say another word about Bush's spending....that's for sure. :mad: :mad: :mad:
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
Here Canadians are hearing the news about Fargo and without doing a search I didn't realize that Canada had some issues with it too. Still amazes me how America makes Canada news and little about Canada ever makes the news down here.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Thankfully most on Ranchers know what the Canadian Military have been doing in Afghanistan.

Listening to Obama on 60 minutes, it sounds like the US will continue to manage in Afghanistan, much like the Canadians!

http://ranchers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33452&highlight=afghanistan
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
Here Canadians are hearing the news about Fargo and without doing a search I didn't realize that Canada had some issues with it too. Still amazes me how America makes Canada news and little about Canada ever makes the news down here.

Where do they think the water comes from? Which direction do the rivers flow in North Dakota, anyway?
 

Mrs.Greg

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
Here Canadians are hearing the news about Fargo and without doing a search I didn't realize that Canada had some issues with it too. Still amazes me how America makes Canada news and little about Canada ever makes the news down here.
Soooo,what your saying and seeing is.....Canada has a much broader view of the world and the worlds happenings andthat the US is in a bubble much like North Korea :p
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
Mrs.Greg said:
CattleArmy said:
Here Canadians are hearing the news about Fargo and without doing a search I didn't realize that Canada had some issues with it too. Still amazes me how America makes Canada news and little about Canada ever makes the news down here.
Soooo,what your saying and seeing is.....Canada has a much broader view of the world and the worlds happenings andthat the US is in a bubble much like North Korea :p
:D :) It is all about us Americans. :D :)
 

Big Muddy rancher

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
Mrs.Greg said:
CattleArmy said:
Here Canadians are hearing the news about Fargo and without doing a search I didn't realize that Canada had some issues with it too. Still amazes me how America makes Canada news and little about Canada ever makes the news down here.
Soooo,what your saying and seeing is.....Canada has a much broader view of the world and the worlds happenings andthat the US is in a bubble much like North Korea :p
:D :) It is all about us Americans. :D :)

Your a legend in your own mind. :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: :cowboy:
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
Big Muddy rancher said:
CattleArmy said:
Mrs.Greg said:
Soooo,what your saying and seeing is.....Canada has a much broader view of the world and the worlds happenings andthat the US is in a bubble much like North Korea :p
:D :) It is all about us Americans. :D :)

Your a legend in your own mind. :nod: :nod: :nod: :nod: :cowboy:

A legend no, I'm not dead yet...........Secret Superstar now maybe. :D
 
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