Even before official confirmation was given, you had that feeling in the pit of your stomach with the news of a number of NATO troops killed in Afghanistan on Sunday.
For whatever the reason, it seems that whenever you hear a news story or read an article about NATO announcing an incident in Afghanistan that doesn’t immediately mention a nation; you can stand by for bad news.
Once again today, Canadians received an unwanted briefing from a Canadian officer, describing how we have lost more of our best, how another tough day had been delivered, how fellow comrades are grieving but prepared to continue with the task ahead.
Sunday brought six more names to the list of those who have been killed since Canada’s involvement in Task Force Afghanistan began in 2002. The news brought word of the single worst day for Canada since Korean War and since the first Canadians arrived in Afghanistan five years ago.
For whatever the reason, it seems that whenever you hear a news story or read an article about NATO announcing an incident in Afghanistan that doesn’t immediately mention a nation; you can stand by for bad news.
Once again today, Canadians received an unwanted briefing from a Canadian officer, describing how we have lost more of our best, how another tough day had been delivered, how fellow comrades are grieving but prepared to continue with the task ahead.
Sunday brought six more names to the list of those who have been killed since Canada’s involvement in Task Force Afghanistan began in 2002. The news brought word of the single worst day for Canada since Korean War and since the first Canadians arrived in Afghanistan five years ago.
It made for a tragic Easter Sunday for Canadians which saw six of our soldiers killed, with two others injured, as a roadside bomb took its aim on a Canadian LAV III transport vehicle.
The six deaths on Sunday, the first in over four months, bring Canada’s total of dead in Afghanistan to 51 military personnel, plus a diplomat.
The six deaths on Sunday, the first in over four months, bring Canada’s total of dead in Afghanistan to 51 military personnel, plus a diplomat.
Those we have sent to Afghanistan are ordinary men and women, from every reach of a nation far from an Asian trouble spot, who have been tasked with a most extraordinary mission and facing what seem to be increasing dangers with every day.
Canadians have been in the forefront of events in Afghanistan since our arrival, our territory is not the safe back zones of wired compounds, but rather in many instances it’s the isolated mountain ranges, the flat desert like plains and the mud walled villages. Some friendly, while others not particularly welcoming.
While the mission is a NATO mission by definition, in reality with the exception of Britain, the United States, Holland and Canada, there are few of the other NATO partners involved in the day to day patrolling of and fighting in Taliban strongholds.
Our casualty count marks a grim indication of the tasks we have taken on and the dangers our forces face each time they move out. It’s said that the process will be slow to regain the confidence of the Afghan people, who have seen more war, destruction and tyranny than a Canadian could ever imagine.
A rejuvenated Taliban taking advantage of a rather muddy political situation and provided with resources from the mountain passes of Pakistan, numerous factions in Iraq and who knows where else, continue to offer up tactics that are hard, if not impossible to defend against.
In the end, the difference will come when the Afghan people feel secure enough to take an active role in turning back the Taliban groups, which at times seems a distant goal. For every positive bit of what they call nation building we provide, it seems it can all go for naught with a sudden surge of violence such as today presented.
These violent spasms, which rattle Canadians at home, seem to stiffen the resolve of those that serve there. A brave lot who prove determined to do what they believe is right, to lend assistance and see their mission through.
What is becoming increasing apparent is the need for NATO to back them up with more than just platitudes. It is an organization of 26 member countries, born out of the days of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
The new NATO offers up much in the way of dialogue over Afghanistan. Complete with a nice little website that details all the contributions of the alliance; but perhaps the time has arrived for more than just talking points. What might be of better use to the cause, would be tangible assets taking on a role where only a few seem willing to tread these days.
We will soon return six more sons of Canada home for a final journey, we’ll take time to think about them and honour their memory. We’ll continue to offer our support to those we’ve put in harms way, a group that is never far from our thoughts and prayers. As a nation we continue to hope for a day when they are no longer in harms way and have been reunited with their families.
But before that day, perhaps we’ll begin to ask some hard questions of our partners in this mission. It would seem that there’s some heavy lifting to do in that troubled country, it might be time for some help from those chatty alliance members currently safely on the sidelines.
Canadians have been in the forefront of events in Afghanistan since our arrival, our territory is not the safe back zones of wired compounds, but rather in many instances it’s the isolated mountain ranges, the flat desert like plains and the mud walled villages. Some friendly, while others not particularly welcoming.
While the mission is a NATO mission by definition, in reality with the exception of Britain, the United States, Holland and Canada, there are few of the other NATO partners involved in the day to day patrolling of and fighting in Taliban strongholds.
Our casualty count marks a grim indication of the tasks we have taken on and the dangers our forces face each time they move out. It’s said that the process will be slow to regain the confidence of the Afghan people, who have seen more war, destruction and tyranny than a Canadian could ever imagine.
A rejuvenated Taliban taking advantage of a rather muddy political situation and provided with resources from the mountain passes of Pakistan, numerous factions in Iraq and who knows where else, continue to offer up tactics that are hard, if not impossible to defend against.
In the end, the difference will come when the Afghan people feel secure enough to take an active role in turning back the Taliban groups, which at times seems a distant goal. For every positive bit of what they call nation building we provide, it seems it can all go for naught with a sudden surge of violence such as today presented.
These violent spasms, which rattle Canadians at home, seem to stiffen the resolve of those that serve there. A brave lot who prove determined to do what they believe is right, to lend assistance and see their mission through.
What is becoming increasing apparent is the need for NATO to back them up with more than just platitudes. It is an organization of 26 member countries, born out of the days of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
The new NATO offers up much in the way of dialogue over Afghanistan. Complete with a nice little website that details all the contributions of the alliance; but perhaps the time has arrived for more than just talking points. What might be of better use to the cause, would be tangible assets taking on a role where only a few seem willing to tread these days.
We will soon return six more sons of Canada home for a final journey, we’ll take time to think about them and honour their memory. We’ll continue to offer our support to those we’ve put in harms way, a group that is never far from our thoughts and prayers. As a nation we continue to hope for a day when they are no longer in harms way and have been reunited with their families.
But before that day, perhaps we’ll begin to ask some hard questions of our partners in this mission. It would seem that there’s some heavy lifting to do in that troubled country, it might be time for some help from those chatty alliance members currently safely on the sidelines.
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