10:17AM
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Monday, September 18, 2006 at 10:17AM Four Canadians dead in Afghan suicideNOOR KHANAssociated PressKANDAHAR — A suicide bomber on a bicycle attacked Canadian troops handing out candy to children in southern Afghanistan on Monday, killing four and wounding many others, NATO officials said. The Taliban said it was behind the blast.The attack in Kandahar province's Panjwai district came a day after NATO declared an end to a two-week offensive aimed at driving Taliban militants out of safe havens in the same area. More than 500 insurgents were reported killed in the Canadian-led operation, which NATO described as a success despite continuing violence in the south.
globeandmail.com : Four Canadians dead in Afghan suicide
We will invariably be treated like Americans. No offense american folks...
As if we needed another reason to get out....We don't need any more reasons to NOT be in this stupid war.
Reader Comments (9)
News reports from Afghaninstan tell of civilians getting warned before airstrikes by leaflets, much as happened in Lebanon. And, indeed, tell of hundreds of people dying, with casualty counts based not on bodies, but on intelligence estimates.
You can believe, according to these estimates, that all those who have died are Taleban, at your leisure... or you can believe that some of them are civilians, trying to flee their cities and towns. By some local reports, up to 40,000 civilians fled the latest Canadian/British offensive, only to find themselves homeless, exposed, and potential targets for strafing runs and aerial bombardment. Just like Lebanon.
You can read news reports of intense aerial and artillery attacks, and of large parts of cities being destroyed. Of targets being leveled and then leveled again, because there just isn't enough actionable intelligence to go on as to the whereabouts of the ellusive Taleban, who are now made up, according to several news reports, not just of outsiders, but of local Afghanis, trying to defend their country. You can then read of Canadian soldiers advancing into what once were thriving, bustling cities, only to find them desolate, destroyed, and pretty much abandoned. Just like parts of Lebanon were.
Had this happened in Bosnia, we would've called this ethnic cleansing, but you are Canadians, so we call it liberation.
And when scattered survivors return to their depopulated, largely destroyed towns and cities, you can hear the reports that as scared and wary as they must be of being occupied yet again by foriegners, they are even more afraid of the Afghan police, military, and local warlords -- the ones that your country support, and are doing their best to help arm, train, and bring back to these cities.For indeed, your soldiers are few, and will have to move on, returning control back to violent, oppressive thugs.
Your government celebrates the offensive in Afghanistan as allowing reconstruction to continue again, but I personally know a former reconstruction worker in Afghanistan, and I can tell you, it simply isn't that easy. My friend worked for UNESCO, and tried her best to bring these people fresh water, but ultimately could not do it, as it was simply too dangerous to go forward. As such, a program that took half a year of planning was mothballed indefinitely, before it could come to fruition.
And as the bombing today shows, your military can drive out the insurgents they are aware of, and yet it's *STILL* too dangerous to work there. How long will it take your soldiers to establish enough stability where the UN will feel comfortable sending their aid workers back in so that programs can start again? A year? Two years? Five years? Ten?
Today, there are four more dead Canadian soldiers, who were giving out candy to a score of poor local Afghani children, many of whom are now maimed and struggling for their lives too. The next time your soldier roll into town and offer candy and treats, parents will yell at their children in fear for their lives. They will bring them inside the house, and bar their doors to you. And the next time your soldiers see an Afghani riding a bicycle in the general direction of their vehicles, they will be forced to view it as a potential threat, and will have just seconds to get them to stop before it will become necessary to tear their body apart with automatic machine gun fire. Such is the nature of your dubious inheritance in Afghanistan.
In summary, I just wanted to say God Damn Canada for trying to save the village by destroying it. God Damn Canada for liberating these cities from the Taleban, only so they can eventually be turned over to corrupt local control. God damn Canada for giving these downtrodden, poor, war weary people false hope once more.
And, above all, God Damn Canada for being little better than stand-ins for the overtaxed U.S. military, when you of all people should know the failings of our country and its policies, and should try to guide us out of this darkness, and towards better alternatives. Your country offers no vision for the people of Afghanistan, for the people of the United States, or even for your own citizens. Now we're all in the dark.
God Damn Canada.
But let me tell you something. It's not Canadians bombing cities. I don't think any of our F-18s are capable of unleashing that much damage on the countryside. But I don't speak from a position of authority, so I defer to more informed people.
This is not a Canadian mission. It is a NATO mission, and its likely Canada was pressured economically by its greatest trade partner (and NATO's primary member) to participate in this war.
Nonetheless. I am deeply ashamed, and I appreciate and reflect upon your comments Mark.
That was excellent.
It made me angry at what we all apparently stand for.
The news is not to be trusted, is it?
Jorge
As the minority goverment shows a lot of us probably did not vote for them but they are in regardless.
It is what I feared. We must pressure the next Goverment to relook at our foreign policy and return to peace keeping.
The world should not blame Canada, it should blame our Goverment. Most of us did not agree with this point of view and voted accordanly.
Just like in the US with George Bush!
You mention a few times about pressuring our *next government*. Oh yea of little faith, why not pressure the *current* government? How about our own mini-Thailand happening here? Are we simply too polite? Do we have to wait?
Wouldn't it be nice to change things before an election? Imagine the possibilities.
We can voice our dislike for this current policy as much as we want, but I don't believe they will change their stance. Harper is too pro Bush.
"Give me a deal on the softwood lumber and I will support your War on terror" was probably uttered once between both men in the past year.
It is my hope that the Goverments that now make policy in Canada and United States have just a little time left to survive. Unfortunately during that time many more people will die.
Truthfully, I'm at a loss on what to do next and for that I apologize
Lets just all go and stick our heads in the sand and hope it all goes away.
Did anyone ever here about 9/11??
This is a Nato action. We're just carrying more than our share right now.
Canadian planes aren't bombing anyone...
The Russians levelled the country years ago...
Did anyone care then??
Second, we all remember 9/11 how could anyone forget, but it never justifies killing civilians. At least not to me.
Third, We were at Afghnastan as a peacekeeping force at the beginning on Nato's request, but now we are fighting under the US Goverment's coalition force (watch curret news casts and thats how they discribe us).
If you want to help the UN than we should be in Lebanon on a real UN lead initiative to keep peace between Israel and Lebanon. That is our true nature as a country. Spain and Italy are already committed why arent we?