Fighting the Odds
Though normally I hestitate to quote them, an especially hard truth from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives on which NATO soldier is bearing the brunt of the load in Afstan. Proportionate to the number of forces on the ground from each NATO contributor, a Canadian soldier is three times more likely to be killed than a British soldier in Afstan, four times more likely than a US soldier in Afstan and six times more likely than a US soldier serving in Iraq.
Four more Canadian deaths today would appear to more than validate the study.
Four more Canadian deaths today would appear to more than validate the study.
posted by The Monarchist at 10:44 a.m.
4 Comments:
That is the reality of this new mission, and it is new. We took the lead in command and control of the American mission in Kandahar followed up by the current NATO mission. Our troops are on the frontlines because Hillier wants to show we are a fighting force. Foriegn Policy is being made by the Generals not parliament.
eugene plawiuk: The Liberal Cabinet under Paul Martin agreed to the Kandhar mission in the spring of 2005.
The general may have proposed but the government disposed.
Under the Westminster parliamentary system foreign policy is part of the Royal Prerogative and is made by the government (Cabinet), not Parliament.
The government may--or may not--choose to consult Parliament.
There was no vote in Parliament on the Canadian Air Force's participation (under a Liberal government) in the 1999 NATO aerial bombardment of Kosovo and Serbia.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/prb0006-e.html
Mark
Ottawa
Not to be too pedantic, but the Brits and the US have a few more logistics and other types of troops in safer areas (Kandahar and Kabul, for example) that enable a lot of the other missions, including Canada's. The bulk of the aviation assets for example. I can't say exactly what impact that might have on the ratios, but it would have some effect.
FM, you make an excellent point, and one I hadn't considered previously.
It would be educational to determine how many of our troops in-theatre are pointy-end and how many are support staff, and compare that ratio to other militaries in Afghanistan.
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