I am not conservative
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5319310.stm
Canada divided as losses mount
By Lee Carter
BBC News, Toronto
Excerpts
Pallbearers carry coffin
Canada's direct combat role - and death toll - has made some uneasy
Canadians are becoming used to the sight of coffins coming home from Afghanistan.
Each grief-stricken ceremony, almost always accompanied by the mournful sound of military bagpipes, is given extensive coverage by Canada's TV news.
On Sunday, four Canadian soldiers died in a major Nato-led anti-Taleban campaign called Operation Medusa. They were killed during fierce fighting with Taleban insurgents.
Then on Monday, another group of Canadian troops preparing to launch operations from a temporary camp, found themselves strafed, without warning, by two American A-10 Thunderbolt warplanes.
In the so-called "friendly-fire" incident, one of the Canadian soldiers died and 30 more were injured, five of them seriously.
Afghanistan
Since 2002, one Canadian diplomat and 32 Canadian soldiers have died, many during the last year.
Canadians represent the third largest international military presence of the 9,000-strong Nato contingent, behind the United States and the United Kingdom.
The deployment in there (Afganistan) has become a foreign policy cornerstone of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government, which took over the reins of power in Ottawa at the beginning of 2006.
The government has shown its determination to demonstrate that Canada can be a reliable Nato ally and a partner in the US-led "war on terror".
But Canada's direct combat role has made some uneasy, in a country that over several decades, has been traditionally known for its peacekeeping efforts in conflict zones as diverse as Cyprus, Somalia, Bosnia and Haiti.
Opinion polls reveal steadily declining support for the increasingly hazardous Afghan mission.
Mr Harper has made it clear he has no intention of abandoning the fight against the Taleban, a sentiment that was robustly backed by the Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.
"You either take them on or surrender to them," he told CBC television this week.
Opposition divided
But as the casualties mount, many opposition politicians say they are frustrated by what they regard as a lack of discussion over Canada's expanding role in Afghanistan.
"The prime minister won't even use the word 'war', even though it's obvious that's what Canada has now declared. There is no exit strategy that's ever been offered and there's no comprehensive plan to achieve peace."
Monday's mistaken US attack on Canadian soldiers immediately provoked memories of another similar incident in April 2002, when an American F-16 pilot dropped a bomb on Canadian troops conducting night-training exercises, killing five of them.
That incident caused widespread outrage in Canada and a chill in relations with the US.
This time the response has been much more muted.
It could be that Canadians are developing an immunity to the once-shocking sight of coffins draped in the maple leaf flag, and the mournful sound of those military bagpipes.
---
Immunity my donkey. Our rage and outcry to the matter are ignored by our PM who is sleeping with the President. The issues at the heart of Canada - what we are best known for - peace, compassion and democracy, are being thrown out the window by the new George of Canada. Aids conference - not of interest to the PM; the years of continuous push for the US to abide by NAFTA and now the WTO - out the window too, Harper is quite content taking his cut but at what cost to the rest of Canada? What type of example is he trying to establish? A very poor one, with precedents like these, the future of Canadian Trade with the US gets darker and more uncertain.
'Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.'
- Sir Walter Scott
I call for a new Prime Minster.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5319310.stm
Canada divided as losses mount
By Lee Carter
BBC News, Toronto
Excerpts
Pallbearers carry coffin
Canada's direct combat role - and death toll - has made some uneasy
Canadians are becoming used to the sight of coffins coming home from Afghanistan.
Each grief-stricken ceremony, almost always accompanied by the mournful sound of military bagpipes, is given extensive coverage by Canada's TV news.
On Sunday, four Canadian soldiers died in a major Nato-led anti-Taleban campaign called Operation Medusa. They were killed during fierce fighting with Taleban insurgents.
Then on Monday, another group of Canadian troops preparing to launch operations from a temporary camp, found themselves strafed, without warning, by two American A-10 Thunderbolt warplanes.
In the so-called "friendly-fire" incident, one of the Canadian soldiers died and 30 more were injured, five of them seriously.
Afghanistan
Since 2002, one Canadian diplomat and 32 Canadian soldiers have died, many during the last year.
Canadians represent the third largest international military presence of the 9,000-strong Nato contingent, behind the United States and the United Kingdom.
The deployment in there (Afganistan) has become a foreign policy cornerstone of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government, which took over the reins of power in Ottawa at the beginning of 2006.
The government has shown its determination to demonstrate that Canada can be a reliable Nato ally and a partner in the US-led "war on terror".
But Canada's direct combat role has made some uneasy, in a country that over several decades, has been traditionally known for its peacekeeping efforts in conflict zones as diverse as Cyprus, Somalia, Bosnia and Haiti.
Opinion polls reveal steadily declining support for the increasingly hazardous Afghan mission.
Mr Harper has made it clear he has no intention of abandoning the fight against the Taleban, a sentiment that was robustly backed by the Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.
"You either take them on or surrender to them," he told CBC television this week.
Opposition divided
But as the casualties mount, many opposition politicians say they are frustrated by what they regard as a lack of discussion over Canada's expanding role in Afghanistan.
"The prime minister won't even use the word 'war', even though it's obvious that's what Canada has now declared. There is no exit strategy that's ever been offered and there's no comprehensive plan to achieve peace."
Monday's mistaken US attack on Canadian soldiers immediately provoked memories of another similar incident in April 2002, when an American F-16 pilot dropped a bomb on Canadian troops conducting night-training exercises, killing five of them.
That incident caused widespread outrage in Canada and a chill in relations with the US.
This time the response has been much more muted.
It could be that Canadians are developing an immunity to the once-shocking sight of coffins draped in the maple leaf flag, and the mournful sound of those military bagpipes.
---
Immunity my donkey. Our rage and outcry to the matter are ignored by our PM who is sleeping with the President. The issues at the heart of Canada - what we are best known for - peace, compassion and democracy, are being thrown out the window by the new George of Canada. Aids conference - not of interest to the PM; the years of continuous push for the US to abide by NAFTA and now the WTO - out the window too, Harper is quite content taking his cut but at what cost to the rest of Canada? What type of example is he trying to establish? A very poor one, with precedents like these, the future of Canadian Trade with the US gets darker and more uncertain.
'Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.'
- Sir Walter Scott
I call for a new Prime Minster.
posted by fifi at 11:55 a.m.
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