By any measure
Bruce at Flit has put up some interesting statistics comparing Canadian casualty figures with those of our allies:
It's a distastefully short leap from this sort of comparison to bragging about our dead soldiers as a sort of pass into the anti-terrorist club. Bruce hasn't made that leap, but the possibility hovers around the edges of such a discussion nonetheless.
His point is well-taken, though: Canada pulls its weight in this fight, by any measure you choose. We simply do a dismal job promoting that undeniable fact.
Once again, I must say it gives me no pleasure at all to say this, but by either proportional measure (size of military or size of national population), recent fatal casualties among the Canadian military have put the nation in a higher place among nations involved in the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns.
It's a distastefully short leap from this sort of comparison to bragging about our dead soldiers as a sort of pass into the anti-terrorist club. Bruce hasn't made that leap, but the possibility hovers around the edges of such a discussion nonetheless.
His point is well-taken, though: Canada pulls its weight in this fight, by any measure you choose. We simply do a dismal job promoting that undeniable fact.
posted by Babbling Brooks at 12:50 a.m.
2 Comments:
One does get to feeling like Poland.
Forgotten.
Hi fellas. New to your blog and liking it so far.
Cynical Joe, as an Australian, perhaps I can offer a little insight. I think it's the political support for Iraq and Afghanistan, rather than the military support, that the US finds most appealing from their Australian allies. The reality is simply this: the US and Australian governments see things pretty similarly, in political and military terms, and have done from the start of both conflicts, hence the kudos. Nevertheless, Canada is making a very significant contribution in Afghanistan (greater than Australia, but Australia has other commitments in Iraq, Timor and the Solomons), and the Canadian contribution is significantly underappreciated I think.
It's just politics that's the difference, sadly.
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