A canadian patrol passes a local sheep herder during a visit to Tarnak Farms on Thursday Sept. 9, 2010. The political ground beneath the Harper government's feet is set to shift in 2011 when Canada's military boots on the ground end their combat mission in Kandahar mid year.Switching to a non-combat training mission in Kabul may make the political terrain relatively safer for Canada's minority Conservative government. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dene Moore