KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The outgoing commander of Canada's mentoring team in Kandahar says the Taliban were routed this fall and won't present a significant threat in the future.

Col. Ian Creighton says the lull in violence that's trickled across southern Afghanistan over the past few weeks has nothing to do with onset of colder weather, as in previous years.

He says the Taliban were defeated on the battlefield.

The blatantly upbeat assessment is at odds with American officers at NATO's southern Afghan command, who last week said it will be the spring before they can be sure the recent offensive through the Taliban heartland was successful.

Creighton, whose soldiers teach and fight alongside Afghans, says militants that managed to flee will find NATO and Afghan forces holding their ground and will run into a "brick wall" if they try to return.

He turned over command of the mentors in Kandahar to Col. Hercule Gosselin on Thursday, the last rotation before Canada ends combat operations next summer.