Canadian voices from Afstan

A short and to the point review of Outside the Wire: The War in Afghanistan in the Words of Its Participants, Kevin Patterson and Jane Warren, editors, in the progressive magazine The Walrus:

Canadians cannot do enough soul-searching about our mission in Afghanistan, it seems, and, based on forums such as the one conducted by CBC Radio’s Michael Enright in late September, few questions, however apparently naive, should go unasked. For two hours, Enright’s expert panel debated the issues, first among themselves and then with members of the public gathered at the University of Ottawa. Little was resolved, but the views expressed — in equal measure by supporters, detractors, and those agnostic about Canada’s role or strategy — were thoughtful, considered, and sometimes revelatory.

There was one voice missing on the panel, however: a Canadian soldier, whether man or woman, back on home soil, with a leg or arm blown off in battle or not, clear in his or her views or not. Polemics about “staying the course” or withdrawing we hear enough of, and the leitmotifs employed by both sides too often simply hide, or attempt to hide, reductionist arguments. Rather, direct participants relating narratives of war, whether from the trenches, medical tents, or psych wards (where the recovery of combatants is anything but certain), or even on site at development projects, are what is needed.

This is the contribution made in this startling new book. Here, the voices of battle denote the ecstasy of survival, the thrill of engagement, and the crippling loss that accompanies the death of friends and compatriots. At times haunting and desperate and at other times playful, even lyrical, these unmediated dispatches are flesh and bone, mind and matter, and, above all, soulful to the last.

For observers of Canada’s national drama on the killing fields of Kandahar province [now that is a bit, er, polemical], Outside the Wire is a must-read. It ensures that our soldiers are heard — that they do not go missing in action.

Update: Here's the book's website; I suspect the link to The Torch pre-dated this post.