Yup, this is sure peacekeeping

[Mogz]

Latest from Afghanistan:

Canadian forces in Afghanistan began their biggest mission yet, involving several hundred soldiers backed by armoured vehicles, artillery and helicopters.

* INDEPTH: Afghanistan

They are pushing out from Kandahar in southern Afghanistan into areas where the Taliban has returned after being defeated by U.S.-led coalition forces in 2001, the CBC's Kas Roussy said from the Kandahar base.

They intend to pacify the area, a necessary first step to improve local governance and people's lives.

Part of the forces' work involves opening a road from Kandahar City to the north.

"It is a dangerous mission," Roussy said. He added that the area the Canadians are moving into "is still very insecure."

U.S. officers who know the area said there are dozens of militants operating in several bands. Six U.S. soldiers and 18 Afghans, including civilians, were killed on duty in the area in 2005.

Few details are available for security reasons, but Roussy described seeing vehicles and soldiers preparing to leave the base over the previous 24 hours.

The mission could last until the end of the month.

There are 2,200 Canadians in southern Afghanistan, part of a multinational force led by Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Fraser.

A battle group from Princess Patricia's Light Infantry took over frontline duties in Kandahar from a U.S. task force in late February.

Since then, two Canadians have been killed in an accident, and five have been hurt. Five more were wounded in a suicide attack, and a sixth received a severe axe wound to the head from a Taliban militant, who was shot dead by other Canadians.

That was believed to be the first engagement between Canadians and the Taliban.

 

[I think not]

Someone has to explain to me what peacekeeping is. Peace has already been established and you need soldiers to do what exactly?

 

[Dexter Sinister]

This is not a peacekeeping mission, and never was; we sent a battle group, not peacekeepers. General Hillier made it perfectly clear at the outset that this was a dangerous mission in an active war zone and there would be casualties.

Read this: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/afghanistan/, and also follow some of the links on the right sidebar about Canada's involvement, if you want to know what's really going on.

 

[Mogz]

RE: Yup, this is sure pea

Both i think not and I are fully aware of what the mission in Afghanistan entails Dex.

With regard to peacekeeping, it does serve its purposes. Peacekeeping is often coupled with Peacemaking. A prime example of this is the Former Yugoslavia. We rolled in to town, seperated the waring factions and enforced a buffer zone between them, this forced us to engage the enemy a few times. The role of U.N. peacekeepers is to stand between waring factions and negotiate a final peace. Does it work? Sometimes? Does it work well? More often than not, no.