Harpers WarBody Count:
54
And again it was a land mine that killed them
Radio-Canada reporter describes moment of Afghan blastThey were told the road to the objective had been cleared by a minesweeper, he said.
"I was writing my stand-up just seconds before the blast," Roy said. "It was a huge blast. It's a little bit difficult to describe."
Afghanistan : two Radio-Canada journalists injured by landmine
Reporters Without Borders is dismayed by the injuries sustained by two journalists with state-owned Radio-Canada when the Canadian military convoy they were accompanying hit a landmine last night , in the southwest of the southern province of Kandahar. Two Canadian soldiers and an Afghan guide were killed by the blast, in which reporter Patrice Roy suffered shock and cameraman Charles Dubois sustained injuries to a leg. They are being treated in a military hospital in Kandahar. A Canadian press officer said: "This was not a lack of prudence, it is the reality in Afghanistan, unfortunately."
Canadian Casualties In Afghanistan
2007
Aug 22: Master Warrant Officer Mario Mercier and Master Cpl. Christian Duchesne from Quebec's Royal 22nd Regiment are killed by a roadside bomb.
Aug. 19: Quebec soldier Private Simon Longtin of the 3rd Batallion, Royal 22nd Regiment killed when roadside blast hits light-armoured vehicle.
July 4: Cpl. Cole Bartsch, Capt. Matthew Johnathan Dawe, Pte. Lane Watkins and Cpl. Jordan Anderson, all of 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based in Edmonton; Master Cpl. Colin Bason, a reservist from The Royal Westminster Regiment based in New Westminster, B.C., and Capt. Jefferson Francis of the 1st Royal Canadian Horse Artillery based in Shiloh, Man., killed by a roadside bomb west of Kandahar city.
June 20: Sgt. Christos Karigiannis, Cpl. Stephen Frederick Bouzane and Pte. Joel Vincent Wiebe, all of 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry killed by a roadside bomb west of Kandahar.
June 11: Trooper Darryl Caswell, 25, of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, by a roadside bomb north of Kandahar.
May 30: Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede dies after a Chinook helicopter is apparently shot down. Five Americans and two British soldiers are also killed.
May 25: Cpl. Matthew J. McCully killed during "Operation Hoover" in Zhari district. Another soldier wounded.
April 18: An unidentified Canadian soldier working with special operations forces in Afghanistan died in a non-combat related incident.
April 11: Master Cpl. Allan Stewart and Trooper Patrick James Pentland killed when their Coyote vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.
April 8: Sgt. Donald Lucas, Cpl. Aaron E. Williams, Pte. Kevin V. Kennedy, Pte. David R. Greenslade, Cpl. Christopher P. Stannix and Cpl. Brent Poland killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb.
March 6: Kevin Megeney a 25-year-old reservist with the 1 Battalion of the Nova Scotia Highlanders dies in a friendly fire accident while sitting in his tent in Kandahar.
2006
Nov. 27: Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Girouard, his battalion's regimental sergeant major, and Cpl. Albert Storm, both of the Royal Canadian Regiment based in CFB Petawawa, killed when a suicide car bomber attacked their Bison armoured personnel carrier on the outskirts of Kandahar city.
Oct. 14: Sergeant Darcy Tedford and Private Blake Williamson were killed in a rocket-propelled grenade explosion in Panjwaii distict.
Oct. 7: Trooper Mark Wilson was killed when his armouored vehicle was hit by a roadside explosion in the Panjwaii distict.
Oct. 3: Sergeant Craig Gillam and Corporal Robert Mitchell of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, based in Petawawa, Ont., killed in series of mortar, rocket attacks.
Sept. 29: Pte. Josh Klukie, 23, was killed when he stepped on an insurgent's explosive device while on foot patrol in Kandahar province.
Sept. 18: Private David Byers and Corporals Glen Arnold, Shane Keating, and Keith Morley killed in suicide bicycle bomb attack on foot patrol in Panjwaii.
Sept. 4: Pte. Mark Graham who was based at CFB Petawawa killed when two NATO planes accidentally strafed Canadian troops in the Panjwaii district. About 30 others wounded, five seriously.
Sept. 3: Sgt. Shane Stachnik, Warrant Officer Frank Robert Mellish, Pte. William Cushley and Warrant Officer Richard Francis Nolan, all based at CFB Petawawa, Ont., killed in fighting in Panjwaii district.
Aug. 22: Cpl. David Braun, who was based at Shilo, Man., killed in a suicide bomb attack in Kandahar City.
Aug. 11: Cpl. Andrew Eykelenboom, 23, of Comox, B.C., stationed with 1st Field Ambulance, based in Edmonton, killed in suicide attack.
Aug. 9: Master Cpl. Jeffrey Walsh, 33, of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, Man., killed by apparent accidental discharge of rifle.
Aug. 5: Master Cpl. Raymond Arndt, 31, of Loyal Edmonton Regiment, killed when large truck collided head-on with his G-Wagon patrol vehicle.
Aug. 3: Cpl. Christopher Reid, 34, of 1st Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, killed by roadside bomb. Three other members of same battalion killed in rocket-propelled grenade attack by Taliban forces west of Kandahar: Sgt. Vaughan Ingram, 35, Cpl. Bryce Keller, 27, and Pte. Kevin Dallaire, 22.
July 22: Cpl. Francisco Gomez, 44, of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, and Cpl. Jason Warren, 29, of Black Watch, Royal Highland Regiment of Canada, based in Montreal, killed when car packed with explosives rammed their armoured vehicle.
July 9: Cpl. Anthony Boneca, 21, reservist from Lake Superior Scottish Regiment based in Thunder Bay, Ont., killed in firefight.
May 17: Capt. Nichola Goddard, artillery officer based in Shilo, Man., with 1st Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, killed in Taliban ambush during battle in Panjwaii region. She was first Canadian woman to be killed in action while serving in combat role.
April 22: Cpl. Matthew Dinning of Richmond Hill, Ont., stationed with 2nd Canadian Mechanized Brigade in Petawawa, Ont., Bombardier Myles Mansell of Victoria, Lieut. William Turner of Toronto, stationed in Edmonton, and Cpl. Randy Payne, born in Lahr, Germany, stationed at CFB Wainright, Alta., all killed when their G-Wagon destroyed by roadside bomb near Gumbad.
March 29: Pte. Robert Costall of Edmonton, machine-gunner, killed in firefight with Taliban insurgents in Sangin district of Helmand province.
March 2: Cpl. Paul Davis of Bridgewater, N.S., and Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson of Grande Prairie, Alta., killed when their armoured vehicle ran off road in Kandahar area.
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Kandahar
Afghanistan
War
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This is war. Casualties are a sad reality of it. Some things, however, are worth fighting for and I think that the goal of bringing peace, democracy, and human rights to Afghanistan is one of these things. I think that instead of fixating on casualties, we need to focus on the aspects of the overall mission (ie. development) which are not going well so that the necessary policy changes can be made immediately so that these sacrifices aren't made in vain.
ReplyDeleteDon't get caught in the sunk cost fallacy - if the was no good reason to go or the war was poorly carried out or is now unwindable due to policy and other issues, we should get out now, regardless of how many previous sacrifices were made. We should stop wasting lives on a situation our troops can't win. We should not keep them there just because some have already died, in order for more to die, just so we at home can say nice things like "they didn't die in vain"
ReplyDeleteSometimes soldiers die in vain when their political masters put them in unwindable situations. The faster we admit that, the less others will die in vain...
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ReplyDeleteI must disagree with you on two counts. First, I would argue that there were two very good reasons to go into Afghanistan. First, the Afghan government was one of the most oppressive regimes on the planet and second, it was a terrorist-sponsored state. I believe that we did the right and justifiable thing by removing the Taliban regime just as the international community is right in removing any reprehensible regime that violates human rights, commits genocide, or is unwilling or unable to protects its civilians.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I would completely disagree with your characterization of the Afghanistan situation. Are there severe problems? Absolutely. The research I did for my thesis on the subject makes this quite clear. I would agree that if we do not correct the severely flawed approaches we have had to economic, political, and governance development then our chances of succeeding will diminish and diminish rapidly over the next five years. However, if we actually have an actual debate on these issues rather than on whether or not everyone is patriotic enough or supportive enough of the troops, then perhaps many of these problems will make it into the public realm and there can be some concrete action to make changes so that we can succeed in Afghanistan.