thedrifter
09-14-09, 10:33 AM
Soldiers bewildered by home front's view of the war
Matthew Fisher, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, September 14, 2009
Sapper Alexandre Beaudin-D'Anjou, his face still bloodied and badly swollen one day after a homemade landmine had killed two of his colleagues last week, announced he would answer questions about the awful incident, but only after making a statement.
In what was an exceptional "cri de coeur" to his countrymen on the home front, the young combat engineer from Quebec City declared: "I want to say that part of the Canadian population negatively views the work that we do here, above all because they don't understand what we do.
"In my opinion, the majority of the Afghan population benefits from what we do.
"Sadly, there are dangers in this, as you saw in yesterday's incident. All the soldiers feel deeply that we will finish this work for one another."
With Internet access, and radio and television stations streaming news programs to their forward-operating bases and strongpoints, soldiers are acutely aware that some commentators-- with little or no knowledge of what soldiers confront in Afghanistan-- have given up on them and their mission.
They say they are more than a little bewildered by all the discussion about "wither Afghanistan" and disappointed that the Liberals and Conservatives--who ordered them to the far side of the world--have become so terrified about the Afghan file's potential political consequences that they have fallen silent about the current mission and what Canada may do when Parliament's current mandate expires in 2011.
There could not be two more different views of what Canada is achieving in Afghanistan than that of the troops and of the mission's critics at home.
Unlike the U.S., where there is a robust, multi-faceted debate about Afghanistan in which senior soldiers can make their views known, all Canadian soldiers are under strict orders from Ottawa to remain silent about the Afghan mission's future and ways that Canada might adapt or change its mission for the better.
However, in stark contrast to the talk at home, there is confidence among Canadian troops and civilians in Kandahar that a tipping point has been reached recently in the province, with the long-awaited arrival of the U.S. cavalry.
In this context, the cavalry is an infantry battalion, three Stryker light armoured battalions, a slew of military policemen and scores of helicopters from the 82nd Aviation Brigade.
Among soldiers there is confidence that Canada's task force is finally in a position to focus on what the government has always wanted them to do.
That is, to "clear, hold and build" within their area of operations which, thanks to the Americans, is now about 60 per cent smaller, and to devote more time to mentoring Afghan army and police units who must take over the fight against the Taliban.
It's hoped this will deny the Taliban and al-Qaida safe havens from which they can again use Afghanistan as a kindergarten for global terrorism.
Clear evidence of the high regard the Pentagon has for Canadian military leadership was Washington's unusual decision to place that infantry battalion and more recently, some U.S. military police, under Canadian command.
At the same time, and in a similar situation, U.S. Marines fighting beside the British next door in Helmand have all remained under U.S. command.
Further evidence of how well Canadian Forces are thought of was provided recently by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the American who commands the NATO force in Afghanistan, and Anders Rasmussen, the Danish NATO secretary general.
They both lauded Canada for its model village project, which is being expanded at this moment from its base in Dand District, southwest of Kandahar.
It is now being copied by other armies, most notably by the Stryker battalions.
Ellie
Matthew Fisher, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, September 14, 2009
Sapper Alexandre Beaudin-D'Anjou, his face still bloodied and badly swollen one day after a homemade landmine had killed two of his colleagues last week, announced he would answer questions about the awful incident, but only after making a statement.
In what was an exceptional "cri de coeur" to his countrymen on the home front, the young combat engineer from Quebec City declared: "I want to say that part of the Canadian population negatively views the work that we do here, above all because they don't understand what we do.
"In my opinion, the majority of the Afghan population benefits from what we do.
"Sadly, there are dangers in this, as you saw in yesterday's incident. All the soldiers feel deeply that we will finish this work for one another."
With Internet access, and radio and television stations streaming news programs to their forward-operating bases and strongpoints, soldiers are acutely aware that some commentators-- with little or no knowledge of what soldiers confront in Afghanistan-- have given up on them and their mission.
They say they are more than a little bewildered by all the discussion about "wither Afghanistan" and disappointed that the Liberals and Conservatives--who ordered them to the far side of the world--have become so terrified about the Afghan file's potential political consequences that they have fallen silent about the current mission and what Canada may do when Parliament's current mandate expires in 2011.
There could not be two more different views of what Canada is achieving in Afghanistan than that of the troops and of the mission's critics at home.
Unlike the U.S., where there is a robust, multi-faceted debate about Afghanistan in which senior soldiers can make their views known, all Canadian soldiers are under strict orders from Ottawa to remain silent about the Afghan mission's future and ways that Canada might adapt or change its mission for the better.
However, in stark contrast to the talk at home, there is confidence among Canadian troops and civilians in Kandahar that a tipping point has been reached recently in the province, with the long-awaited arrival of the U.S. cavalry.
In this context, the cavalry is an infantry battalion, three Stryker light armoured battalions, a slew of military policemen and scores of helicopters from the 82nd Aviation Brigade.
Among soldiers there is confidence that Canada's task force is finally in a position to focus on what the government has always wanted them to do.
That is, to "clear, hold and build" within their area of operations which, thanks to the Americans, is now about 60 per cent smaller, and to devote more time to mentoring Afghan army and police units who must take over the fight against the Taliban.
It's hoped this will deny the Taliban and al-Qaida safe havens from which they can again use Afghanistan as a kindergarten for global terrorism.
Clear evidence of the high regard the Pentagon has for Canadian military leadership was Washington's unusual decision to place that infantry battalion and more recently, some U.S. military police, under Canadian command.
At the same time, and in a similar situation, U.S. Marines fighting beside the British next door in Helmand have all remained under U.S. command.
Further evidence of how well Canadian Forces are thought of was provided recently by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the American who commands the NATO force in Afghanistan, and Anders Rasmussen, the Danish NATO secretary general.
They both lauded Canada for its model village project, which is being expanded at this moment from its base in Dand District, southwest of Kandahar.
It is now being copied by other armies, most notably by the Stryker battalions.
Ellie