Talk of "turning the tide" in Afghanistan has been replaced by appeals for patience and carefully guarded declarations of progress as NATO ministers on Friday wrapped up a two-day meeting in Brussels.
"No one would deny that signs of progress are tentative at this point, that they are almost anecdotal," U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates told reporters. "I hope that by the end of year, we will be able to demonstrate that we are making progress throughout the country."
Gates appealed for patience from a war-weary public, noting a major counter-insurgency effort enhanced by 30,000 American and 10,000 European troops began only recently.
"As far as I'm concerned this endeavour began in full, and reasonably resourced, only a few months ago. A counter-insurgency takes a good bit of time."
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, while stating progress is "visible," said the Taliban were putting up "fierce resistance" in their heartlands in Helmand and Kandahar provinces.
The ministers, including Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay, issued a statement declaring there had been "measured progress" in boosting the capability of the notoriously corrupt Afghan government and weakening the insurgency.
But "significant challenges remain, and success is not yet assured," the statement added.
The cautious declarations were a far cry from the words in January of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, who said at the time he sensed the "tide is turning."
McChrystal, in his briefing with ministers in Brussels Thursday, spoke of "slow-and-deliberate" efforts to battle the insurgency. McChyrstal also explained to ministers a planned offensive in Kandahar was scaled back due to opposition from Afghan community leaders.
MacKay said Gates' reference to progress being only "anecdotal" shouldn't be viewed too negatively, and said the ministers were told of numerous examples of "incremental" gains. "But I don't think anyone is under any illusions that there aren't still big challenges," he said.
"There is reason for hope, but as somebody said at the meeting, progress is a process, not an event. We're not going to see a D-Day surrender. This is going to happen over time."
MacKay said he isn't troubled by the decision to delay the Kandahar offensive, noting the counter-insurgency strategy is focused on winning public confidence and chipping away at Taliban resolve.
"The Taliban are now facing a real understanding that we have resolve and we're committed to seeing this mission succeed."
But MacKay said the crucial element is the ability of President Hamid Karzai's government to gain the respect of the public.
"The one — I don't want to call it a question mark — but the one major component that everyone realizes we can't do without is governance," he told Canwest News Service.
In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon released the government's quarterly report on progress in Afghanistan.
Canada — during the Jan. 1-March 31 period — opened an Afghanistan-Pakistan border facility at Spin Boldak, met the government's target for training prison guards, completed construction of two more schools, advanced work on the Dahla Dam rehabilitation project and continued its work training the Afghan National Army.
MacKay said he was heartened by a parliamentary committee's recent declaration of support, after their visit to Afghanistan, for a continued Canadian military role after the combat mission ends next year.
But he said those comments didn't change his message to allies who may hope for a change of heart from Canada, which has been a key military player in fighting the insurgency.
"The transition to a civilian mission and the parameters of the parliamentary motion (calling for the end of a combat role in 2011) are crystal clear, and our allies and the Afghans are very aware of that."
The measured tone in Brussels was complemented by more casualties in the war Friday.
Two unidentified NATO soldiers and two civilians died in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan that left at least 13 civilians injured at a market in Zabul province, officials said.
And in Kandahar province, where most of Canada's 2,800-plus troops are based, nine Afghan civilians died and eight others were injured when a roadside bomb tore apart a minibus.
Read it on Global News: Global BC | 'Significant challenges remain' in Afghanistan: NATO ministers
