KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - He's only been on the job for about a month but Canada's new ambassador to Afghanistan is already getting a pretty good idea of the lay of the land and the challenges that lie ahead.
Bill Crosbie presented his credentials to President Hamid Karzai a few days before the Aug. 20 presidential election.
Since then the country has been mired in controversy over allegations of voter fraud, renewed attacks by the Taliban, the ISAF air strike on two stolen petroleum trucks in the Kunduz district that killed dozens of innocent civilians and, most recently, the deaths of four more Canadian soldiers.
"Clearly the number of incidents has increased. That was evident in the quarterly reports that we filed in 2007 and 2008 and there's evidence as well in terms of what (ISAF Commander) Gen. (Stanley) McChrystal has said," Crosbie told The Canadian Press.
"That's no secret that the security situation has become more difficult."
Crosbie said he has already met with several cabinet ministers and representatives of various political parties to get a better sense of what is going on.
He said it's important that Canada leave a legacy of good work here and with the clock ticking down to the end of Canada's military mission in 2011, the work needs to be done sooner rather than later.
"What I've said to Afghans and others who have asked about Canada's commitment beyond 2011 in specific terms is that we are ramping up our engagement this year," he said. "We've got more Canadians involved, more civilians involved, we're spending more money so we're committed to achieving results in the course of this year."
"I haven't and I don't think the government has turned its mind to the post 2011 agenda yet. We've got a very substantial agenda ahead of us up to 2011 and that's what I'm really concentrating on for now," Crosbie added.
It is believed that Canada will retain a humanitarian role in Afghanistan if the 2,750 Canadian soldiers are sent home in 2011 as scheduled.
Crosbie said he is concerned about the continuing uncertainty about Afghanistan's political stability since an official winner has still not been named from the presidential election. There is speculation that once it is resolved it will lead to violence from angry supporters, largely egged on by the Taliban.
"It's hard to predict and the insurgency has made it clear from the very beginning they are going to what they can to upset the electoral process, to intimidate people, take advantage of any opportunity and of course to cause violence," noted Crosbie.
A resurgence in the popularity of the Taliban has been largely attributed to the frustration of Afghans who had expected to see more done in terms of reconstruction and humanitarian aid with the arrival of NATO troops.
"I'm sure there's a lot of frustration and we feel frustrated too that we haven't been able to achieve as much success that we would like to achieve," admitted Crosbie.
"We've had some pretty ambitious projects that we're working towards but it's taken longer and it's been more difficult than we would have liked."
"Absolutely we have to make more progress and that's what we as the international community are doing in terms of the increased resources."
