Canada Goes To War

No, not a metaphorical war against some sort of human condition, like disease or poverty. And not some vague, undefined "war" on the threat of terrorism. This is a real live war, where real live soldiers from Canada try to kill real live enemy soldiers from another country who are trying to kill them. The other country is Afghanistan, and the enemy soldiers are the army of the old Afghan government (known as the Taliban), removed from power by U.S. forces. Removed from power, but not removed. Not by a long shot. Basically, all the U.S. forces did was chase them into the hills, and then traipse off to Iraq, leaving Canadian forces to clean up the mess.

Yes, there are token forces from a few other countries, but the Canadians are in command. Canadians were in command of coalition forces keeping the peace in Kabul, and now they have taken command of combat forces in Kandahar. Notorious, dangerous Kandahar - the last stronghold of the Taliban.

Canada was initially part of a 35 country coalition, supporting U.S. forces that went to Afghanistan to wreak retribution on those responsible for the September 11 attacks. Over the following three years, more than 6,000 Canadian soldiers have served a tour of duty in Afghanistan, as peacekeepers in the relatively safe haven of Kabul. Even there, eight Canadians were killed, and dozens injured, but casualties are expected to rise as Canada goes from general security operations to full fledged combat.

Brigadier-General David Fraser, who is leading the Canadian troops, says, "they are well-trained and equipped and are ready to hunt down insurgents and Taliban holdouts." General Fraser will be in command of 2,200 Canadians, as well as approximately 4,000 troops from six other countries, including Britain.

A reporter embedded with the Canadian forces said, "We're going from a security assistance force to a combat mission. We're going to be out hunting down the Taliban. I don't think many Canadians realize that we're now going to war."

For more on Canada's involvement in Afghanistan, visit www.canada-afghanistan.gc.ca.

---

HOME PAGE - Weekly map of the night sky, and current astronomical events.	OUR PLACE - Weekly article on things terrestrial.
SOLAR SYSTEM - All Things Held Captive By The Sun	KEEP MEXICAN SKIES FREE - Ways you can help...
CONSTELLATIONS - Everything Else In The Universe	MUSIC - "The food of love..." Original songs, and more...
PLANET WATCH - Weekly update of the planets in our sky.	GUITAR TUTORIAL - Learn the basics of playing the guitar.
E. T. WATCH - The scientific search for extraterrestrial life.	HIGHWAY 61 - An original novel about polar bears, suicide bombers, and God.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER WATCH - Comets and asteroids heading our way.	PHOTO GALLERY - A collection of original observatory photos.
SHUTTLE WATCH - The exploits of NASA's Space Shuttle.	HUMOUR GALLERY - A collection of humour from the web.
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - The latest news from the first Human home in space.	THE FRANK GALBRAITH LEGACY - The legacy of a Cariboo musician.
FREE ASTRONOMY SOFTWARE - The best things in life really are free.	THE MEXICAN SKIES OBSERVATORY - Santa Elena, Oaxaca, Mexico.
ASTROLOGY - Astronomy's Evil Twin?	MEXICAN SKIES ARCHIVES - Selected articles from previous years.

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.mexicanskies.com