One result of reaching out to hearts and minds at a Shura council (and removing one's helmet as a gesture of trust) from [1] CTV:

The Canadian soldier who was attacked with an axe in Afghanistan on March 4 is showing some improvement.

Capt. Greene, 41, is described as being in serious, but stable condition in a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. He had been struck in the back of the head with an axe during a sit-down meeting with tribal elders in a village about 70 kilometres north of Kandahar.

Canadian soldiers immediately gunned down the attacker. Military officials believe the attacker, in his 20s, was a Taliban insurgent, although a village elder disputes that claim.

In other developments, Two Afghan policemen's bodies were found decapitated in the desert on Saturday. They had been kidnapped late Friday, according to Afghan officials.