Another six Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan. The deaths bring to 51 the number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan. That means that since the Harper government began their war operations in Afghanistan, ending Canadian Peace Keeping in Kabul for active duty in Kandahar, 43 Canadian troops have died.Many have died in accidents, or from friendly fire. Some have died from land mines, left over from the days of the Anti-Soviet war, mistakenly called IED's. And some have died from attacks by Afghanistan insurgents.
But of all the Canadians killed in Afghanistan the majority have died in the last year since Harper made Afghanistan his own personal war. They are as much victims of the Conservative Government as they are of the Taliban. They are victims of Harpers politics of being a Macho War Lord. And their deaths should be placed squarely in his lap.Also See:
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4 comments:
"That means that since the Harper government began their war operations in Afghanistan, ending Canadian Peace Keeping in Kabul for active duty in Kandahar, "
Advance scouting began in June/July of 2005, the transfer began in August and was completed November of 2005. Camp Julien in Kabul was officially closed and handed over to the Afghans on November 29th, 2005.
While there is no doubt Stephen Harper has since embraced and committed to the current mission in Afghanistan, it was not him or the Conservative government that initiated the change of mission resulting in the Kandahar deployment. Further reference - Bill Grahams briefing to the Defence committee in May of 2005. Includes estimated troop levels, locations and goals. CTV Article August 2005
Wow you are so full of shit, historical revisionism though art a Tory Blogger.
The Mission in Afghanistan changed not in 2005 but after your pals got elected government in January 2006. I have already gone into great detail on this in my blog please bother to click on Afghanistan or other links I put here.
Now you are blaming the Liberals for a Harper policy. Canadian Armed Forces under Liberal policy were in Kabul as part of the ISSF.
Under Harper this changed as I have painstakingly documented several times now. But heck why bother reading when you can revise history.
Harpers decisions has led to the death of more Canadian troops in Afghanistan than the Liberal government did. Bottom line. Now try and weasel out of that.
By the way wanna election over the war, I dare ya, double dare ya to tell your boss to call one. Make that the Harper Election issue the War in Afghanistan. And see if ya get a majority.
There may be a lot of shit around, but it's certainly not coming from me Eugene.
"Canadian Armed Forces under Liberal policy were in Kabul as part of the ISSF. "
Camp Julien and Canada's ISSF mission in Kabul closed in November of 2005. By the time Stephen Harper was sworn in as Prime Minister the majority of the PRTs, Headquarters and Battle Group were already on the ground in Kandahar or in transit.
Speaking Notes for the Honourable Bill Graham, P.C., M.P. Minister of National Defence at a joint session of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs and the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Ottawa, Ontario - May 16, 2005
As an example of this comprehensive approach, I am pleased to advise the committee this morning that Canada is now preparing to assume a leadership role in paving the way for a secure, democratic and self-sustaining Afghanistan.
To that end, we will be expanding the scope of our military commitment in that country.
First, we will extend the mandate of our reconnaissance squadron already in Kabul until late this year. In doing so, we will be continuing to provide the International Security Assistance Force with valuable intelligence and situational awareness capabilities and we will help facilitate the Afghan election process.
Second, we will be deploying a Provincial Reconstruction Team to the city of Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan, for a period of about eighteen months beginning in August of this year.
This team will bring together approximately 250 Canadian military personnel, civilian police, diplomats, and aid workers to provide an integrated ‘3-D effort to reinforce the authority of the Afghan government in, and around, Kandahar and to assist in the stabilization of the region. This PRT will conduct security patrols, assist local reconstruction efforts, report on governance issues, and to facilitate reforms to the security sector.
Finally, in early 2006, we will be deploying an army task force of about 700 Canadian Forces members and a brigade headquarters of approximately 300 military personnel to Kandahar for a period of between nine and twelve months. These forces will conduct operations to strengthen the security situation in the country. They will also play a key role in completing the transition from Coalition to NATO leadership in Afghanistan.
We are still working out some of the specific details of our new contribution to Afghanistan with our allies and partners and other government departments. But, colleagues, this is a significant new commitment to Afghanistan and to the international campaign against terrorism. And it demonstrates, in a real and meaningful way, our willingness to play a leadership role in the world - the goal set out in our international policy statement.
News Release
Canadian Camp Julien in Kabul Closes
NR-05.098 - November 25, 2005
Canadian Brigadier-General David Fraser, currently the commander of 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in Edmonton, Alberta, will command the multinational brigade from its headquarters at Kandahar Airfield. The majority of headquarters personnel will be Canadian and they will deploy for a nine-month period. At the same time, Canada will also field a battle group for two successive six-month rotations, and will deploy a new rotation for the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) at Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar. Canada has committed to maintain the PRT for at least another year.
These deployments in February 2006 will bring Task Force Afghanistan in Kandahar to about 2,000 personnel. The mission of TFA will be to improve the security situation in southern Afghanistan, and play a key role in the transition from the U.S.-led multinational coalition to NATO leadership. In the southern provinces, this change is scheduled for the spring of 2006.
And there was thing called a parliamentary debate with vote that was supposed to happen prior to this extension. A vote which did not occur thanks to the new Conservative Government.
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