Another six Canadian soldiers dead
- Thread starter #juan
- Start date
It's bad man.....I really think we should have all out war on these pricks...put another 250 thousand on the ground ...ignore pakistan border and iranian border and get the job done.....present situation over there reminds of the damn viet nam war...now i'm not saying that that was a justified war, but they had to warn friggin all the airline companies when sending up fighter planes8O
This is different...the recent bombings in britain are connected...i don't care it all stems from the same cause...these barbaric medievil throw backs wanting to spread their ideals anywhere should be killed or incarcerated for the strict purpose of finding out info on the rest of them....by any means.....
This is different...the recent bombings in britain are connected...i don't care it all stems from the same cause...these barbaric medievil throw backs wanting to spread their ideals anywhere should be killed or incarcerated for the strict purpose of finding out info on the rest of them....by any means.....
I always find it curious that somebody can dig into a road, and plant at least a hundred pounds of explosives, and none of the so called "friendly" Afghanis tell anyone about it. We have long ago lost too many people in this stupid war. Let the Taliban have the bloody place.
Good point #juan, I suppose that the "friendly Afghanis" wo are "begging us to stay" are SO under-reported that they might in fact not even exist
If most of the BS "feel good" crap we've been fed were true, this kind of thing would not be happening NEARLY as much
If most of the BS "feel good" crap we've been fed were true, this kind of thing would not be happening NEARLY as much
We should have never got into the business of nation building, Afghanistan. We should have sent a squadron of jets to accompany the US in carpet bombing the place and then be done with it.
The puppet prime minister wants us to stay because if we all left, he would be out of a job. Maybe a couple highly placed Afghani politicians should ride with the Canadians.................in the lead vehicle...
It's beyond a ctach22 situation Juan.The opium fields feed their need for billions of funding to buy stuff to hit us here. Now CIA gets that dough, which is good for us:canada:
It's the training ground not just for militant but thier whole take on Islam gone insane that allows kids to "blowd them selves up real good"...
do we really want this on the planet....
From a doc who episode and dalek speek EXTERMINATE EXTERMINATE
As do Muslims when it comes to coming clean with who is who in thier Mosques.
I find the ones over here quite gratefull though. I actually like Afghannies.
ok, Seriously? Do you know how easy it is to drop a roadside bomb?
Its as easy as illegal dumping here. *I* could wander out into a dark lightless night, and quickly bury 100lbs of diesel fuel and fertilizer and not get caught in Afghanistan, and I'd stick out like a sore thumb.
Its as easy as illegal dumping here. *I* could wander out into a dark lightless night, and quickly bury 100lbs of diesel fuel and fertilizer and not get caught in Afghanistan, and I'd stick out like a sore thumb.
Yeah i gotta think so too....
It sort of comes off the opposite on ctv news though, i admit me and the wife sort go"WTF, can't they just be more careful and sweep the area with one of those metal detector thingys.....
Don't mean to make light of subject here...
The article talked about "shaped charges". I think "shaped charges" have to be buried in the road bed. I don't think a shaped charge would be fertilizer and diesel fuel.
I think the myth of any "progress" being made in "securing" pretty much any part of Afghanistan can be pretty much laid to rest by this article, at least- what have we accomplished, if we can't even go pretty much anywheres...
And IF the "majority of Afghan citizens are beggins us to stay" then the whole "one bad apple in the dark of night" theory is also ludicrous- it really, truly looks like "we" are not wanted there by practically anyone- just like the minority government in our country is adamant at casting the views of a very vocal minority as the "will of the people"- notice any sort of pattern to the BS??
And IF the "majority of Afghan citizens are beggins us to stay" then the whole "one bad apple in the dark of night" theory is also ludicrous- it really, truly looks like "we" are not wanted there by practically anyone- just like the minority government in our country is adamant at casting the views of a very vocal minority as the "will of the people"- notice any sort of pattern to the BS??
It's war....what does everyone expect? Soldiers will die. This is no longer news. It's never really BEEN news. It's what is to be expected when people play war.
Not a war, actually, major combat operations ended years ago, and in the interim everybody F-ed stuff up so bad that it's slidin down an inescapable abyss now..... but I'm sure eventually this whole thing will be worth it- the "Afghanistan mission" can be used in the future just like the pictures of "Flipper Babies" were to Thalidomide in the past 
Not a war, actually, major combat operations ended years ago, and in the interim everybody F-ed stuff up so bad that it's slidin down an inescapable abyss now..... but I'm sure eventually this whole thing will be worth it- the "Afghanistan mission" can be used in the future just like the pictures of "Flipper Babies" were to Thalidomide in the past
Yes, if it were a war, it could be won. It is not a war.......it is a stupid clusterf-ck that would be funny if we weren't losing so many good people. Think oil, think pipeline....
July 05, 2007
Is Canada on the "wrong mission" in Afghanistan, as New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton charged yesterday when six more Canadian troops and an Afghan interpreter were killed by a roadside bomb?
No. Canada is on the right mission, costly as it is, to buy time for President Hamid Karzai's democratically elected government to gather its strength, and hopefully thwart a Taliban comeback that would see Afghanistan again become a haven for 9/11-style terror.
Courageous women and men in the Canadian Forces, including the 66 who have now died, are doing their best in strife-torn Kandahar region, under a lawful United Nations mandate, to ensure the Taliban do not prevail there, at least not on our watch.
They deserve Canada's wholehearted thanks and support.
In Parliament, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives and Stéphane Dion's Liberals may spar over just when to serve notice to the United States and other allies that we plan to call it a day in Kandahar when our mission ends in February 2009. But that is a political sideshow, largely. Absent a consensus to extend the mission, it will inevitably wind down. Our allies must accept that.
Yet when Parliament assented to Harper's push, soon after becoming Prime Minister, to extend Canada's combat tour by two years, it made a solemn pledge to Afghans and allies alike that we would break if we heeded Layton's call for an immediate pullout. The Taliban, who aim to shake Canada's resolve with roadside bombings, would like nothing better. But an early pullout would dishonour the nation, and betray those who have fallen in this cause.
If Canadian support for the mission is faltering as our own casualties rise, and concern for Afghan civilian casualties grows, it is little wonder. The Taliban are a stubborn, determined foe. Nearly 3,000 Afghans, most of them insurgents, have been killed this year.
But those who expected an easy victory were misguided. The Taliban were never likely to be "defeated" by 2,500 Canadian troops in Kandahar. They have not been "defeated" by 50,000 American and allied troops from 37 countries. That is a job the slowly developing Afghan national army and police will have to shoulder, over time, unless the Taliban set aside their weapons and join the political process. The insurgency may persist long after our Kandahar tour is over.
By now, Canada already has pulled more than its weight in the strife-torn south of the country, along with the Americans, British and Dutch. Other allies must soon step up to the plate.
When Parliament resumes in the fall, Harper must seek consensus on a new role for our troops. Barring a wholesale Canadian pullout, our forces might usefully help police the capital, Kabul, train the Afghan military or provide security for aid efforts. Any of these roles would reflect our interest in peacekeeping and aid.
As we mourn the loss of our soldiers, let us remember, too, that Afghans are freer than before. They voted in the millions for their new government. Communities are rebuilding roads, clinics, schools, water systems, hydro lines and other services. Slowly, life is improving.
In a recent survey, the Asia Foundation reported that despite the slow progress and insurgency, twice as many Afghans believe the country is headed in the right direction than believe otherwise. And people were more concerned about weak government, unemployment and lack of reconstruction than about security. In many regions, people feel safer than before. Most Afghans know how far they have come.
Canada's troops can take pride in helping make that happen.
They died for a good cause
National Post
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Jack Layton didn't waste any time in handing the Taliban a propaganda victory yesterday. No sooner did news reach Canadian shores about the death of six of our soldiers than the NDP leader again urged an end to Canadian military operations in Afghanistan. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Mr. Layton declared that "this simply underlines, with this escalating death toll of the soldiers and of civilians in Afghanistan, that this mission is going in the wrong way."
Mr. Layton symbolizes why the West may just lose the battle against militant Islam: As soon as our enemies draw blood, he reflexively raises the white flag higher, offering to withdraw from whatever part of the world the jihadis happen to be targeting.
In this respect, Mr. Layton is a sad example of what has become of leftist politics: The same bleeding hearts who once urged Western politicians to help the world's poor and afflicted now run for the exits when peacemaking and nation-building turn tough.
In the case of Afghanistan, in particular, this defeatism is grimly ironic coming, as it is, from a politician who postures as the champion of gay rights and feminism: But not for the presence of brave NATO troops, the country would fall into the hands of medieval theocrats who behead homosexuals and treat women like burka-clad dogs.
The best way to honour the memories of the six fallen Canadians is not by issuing cynical calls to scuttle the mission for which they died. Rather, we must renew our efforts to defeat the Taliban and ensure that Afghanistan does not once again become a base for global terror, as it did in the years leading up to 9/11.
In the short run, this means providing more protection for our troops. Canadian soldiers do an outstanding job in combat encounters with Taliban gunmen: When the two sides meet on the battlefield, it is not uncommon for dozens of Taliban to be killed without any friendly casualties. Our troops are far more vulnerable, however, when they travel through the dangerous Afghan outback in convoys that can be attacked with suicide bombers or -- as was the case yesterday -- hidden roadside explosives.
The United States, Netherlands and other NATO countries have countered this Taliban tactic by avoiding the roads as much as possible; instead, they use helicopters to move troops and supplies to forward operating bases. But Canada, having sold its seven twin-rotor Chinooks to the Dutch in 1994, doesn't have any large helicopters in Afghanistan. Our government has ordered 16 new Chinooks -- but those won't be available till 2011.
Until those helicopters arrive, Canada must acquire the use of helicopters from other NATO powers, particularly those nations, such as Germany, Spain and France, who will not position troops in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban are most active. Canadians soldiers are paying with their lives for our lack of air power.
Secondly, NATO must do a better job protecting Afghan civilians. On this issue, we must concede that Mr. Layton has a point: Recent reports suggest that stray NATO bombs are killing more civilians than are the Taliban. As well as being inhumane, this tragic lack of precision discredits NATO's very good work in the country, and acts as a recruiting tool for the Taliban.
Thirdly, we must acknowledge that the Taliban are not an independent fighting force, but part of a larger regional Islamist uprising extending into Pakistan and Indian-held Kashmir.
This uprising has been gaining steam since the government of Pakistan signed a series of "peace" deals with insurgents in the country's lawless tribal areas in 2006, where many Taliban recruits and munitions originate. A Pakistani Interior Ministry document obtained by The New York Times last week concluded that Pakistan's security forces in North-West Frontier Province, which abuts the badlands on the Afghan border, were being overpowered by the Taliban and allied local militia. Without "swift and decisive action," the rest of Pakistan could be at risk, the authors found.
This grim finding highlights the challenges our troops will continue to face: So long as the Taliban have a safe harbour in neighbouring Pakistan, we will never completely be able to eliminate the scourge of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.
But it also demonstrates how important our mission in Afghanistan is: The battle for Afghanistan is not an isolated struggle that the West can take or leave -- as Mr. Layton would have Canadians believe. Rather it is part of a critical fight that will determine whether a great swathe of Central Asia is to be ruled by men of the 21st century -- or the 7th.
As Canada mourns, we should not let our sadness distract from this fact: Our soldiers died for a good cause.
National Post
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Jack Layton didn't waste any time in handing the Taliban a propaganda victory yesterday. No sooner did news reach Canadian shores about the death of six of our soldiers than the NDP leader again urged an end to Canadian military operations in Afghanistan. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Mr. Layton declared that "this simply underlines, with this escalating death toll of the soldiers and of civilians in Afghanistan, that this mission is going in the wrong way."
Mr. Layton symbolizes why the West may just lose the battle against militant Islam: As soon as our enemies draw blood, he reflexively raises the white flag higher, offering to withdraw from whatever part of the world the jihadis happen to be targeting.
In this respect, Mr. Layton is a sad example of what has become of leftist politics: The same bleeding hearts who once urged Western politicians to help the world's poor and afflicted now run for the exits when peacemaking and nation-building turn tough.
In the case of Afghanistan, in particular, this defeatism is grimly ironic coming, as it is, from a politician who postures as the champion of gay rights and feminism: But not for the presence of brave NATO troops, the country would fall into the hands of medieval theocrats who behead homosexuals and treat women like burka-clad dogs.
The best way to honour the memories of the six fallen Canadians is not by issuing cynical calls to scuttle the mission for which they died. Rather, we must renew our efforts to defeat the Taliban and ensure that Afghanistan does not once again become a base for global terror, as it did in the years leading up to 9/11.
In the short run, this means providing more protection for our troops. Canadian soldiers do an outstanding job in combat encounters with Taliban gunmen: When the two sides meet on the battlefield, it is not uncommon for dozens of Taliban to be killed without any friendly casualties. Our troops are far more vulnerable, however, when they travel through the dangerous Afghan outback in convoys that can be attacked with suicide bombers or -- as was the case yesterday -- hidden roadside explosives.
The United States, Netherlands and other NATO countries have countered this Taliban tactic by avoiding the roads as much as possible; instead, they use helicopters to move troops and supplies to forward operating bases. But Canada, having sold its seven twin-rotor Chinooks to the Dutch in 1994, doesn't have any large helicopters in Afghanistan. Our government has ordered 16 new Chinooks -- but those won't be available till 2011.
Until those helicopters arrive, Canada must acquire the use of helicopters from other NATO powers, particularly those nations, such as Germany, Spain and France, who will not position troops in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban are most active. Canadians soldiers are paying with their lives for our lack of air power.
Secondly, NATO must do a better job protecting Afghan civilians. On this issue, we must concede that Mr. Layton has a point: Recent reports suggest that stray NATO bombs are killing more civilians than are the Taliban. As well as being inhumane, this tragic lack of precision discredits NATO's very good work in the country, and acts as a recruiting tool for the Taliban.
Thirdly, we must acknowledge that the Taliban are not an independent fighting force, but part of a larger regional Islamist uprising extending into Pakistan and Indian-held Kashmir.
This uprising has been gaining steam since the government of Pakistan signed a series of "peace" deals with insurgents in the country's lawless tribal areas in 2006, where many Taliban recruits and munitions originate. A Pakistani Interior Ministry document obtained by The New York Times last week concluded that Pakistan's security forces in North-West Frontier Province, which abuts the badlands on the Afghan border, were being overpowered by the Taliban and allied local militia. Without "swift and decisive action," the rest of Pakistan could be at risk, the authors found.
This grim finding highlights the challenges our troops will continue to face: So long as the Taliban have a safe harbour in neighbouring Pakistan, we will never completely be able to eliminate the scourge of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.
But it also demonstrates how important our mission in Afghanistan is: The battle for Afghanistan is not an isolated struggle that the West can take or leave -- as Mr. Layton would have Canadians believe. Rather it is part of a critical fight that will determine whether a great swathe of Central Asia is to be ruled by men of the 21st century -- or the 7th.
As Canada mourns, we should not let our sadness distract from this fact: Our soldiers died for a good cause.
© National Post 2007