Winnipeg, Canada, on Aghanistan:

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A report on the murder of a Canadian aid worker in Afghanistan last summer should give serious pause for reflection to Canadians who think that this country's combat role there should be ended and replaced by aid and reconstruction work.

Mike Frastacky, a Vancouver carpenter, was building a school in northern Afghanistan when he was killed by anti-government forces _ hauled from his bed, tied up and shot three times after the terrorist leader gave the order, "Kill the infidel."

A report on the incident by Afghan security investigators reveals that the killers were terrorists affiliated with the Taliban or its extreme Islamist ally Hezb-e Islami, and that his death was a planned, political murder rather than a random act of violence. He was killed because he was doing reconstruction.

This is the threat that every aid and reconstruction worker in Afghanistan lives with on a daily basis, and their situation seems likely to become more dangerous rather than less as the Taliban becomes increasingly violent in its efforts to regain power. ...

These events emphasize the importance of a continued combat role for Canada and its NATO allies in the Afghan war. ...

Maintaining Canada's will to fight that war, however, is certain to grow more difficult as casualties mount. ...

There are indications that the terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan are experiencing increasing difficulties in finding recruits among Afghans themselves and have been replenishing their ranks with Chechens, Uzbeks and Arabs, veterans of various Asian wars and jihads. That may be an extension of the war, but it is not one that should discourage Canada. ...