Monday, March 02, 2009

"Afghanistan Facts"

Letter of mine in the Barrie Examiner:
Dear Editor,

Brennan Cruse has a very thin grip on recent history ("Life as a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan", Feb. 27). He claims that after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that "the president of the United States launched an invasion of Afghanistan". But there was no "invasion" of Afghanistan.

Before the fall of Kabul to the insurgent Afghan Northern Alliance in November 2001, and the consequent collapse of the Taliban regime, no significant numbers of foreign troops entered Afghanistan. The Northern Alliance did receive air support and assistance from special forces (both U.S. and British); that however is not an invasion. Substantial foreign ground combat forces only arrived after the Taliban had already deposed by indigenous Afghan forces.

Mr Cruse also writes that "...in January of 2002, Canadian troops were sent to Afghanistan to perform a peacekeeping mission...They thought it would all be over in two months."

Hardly. Canadian troops were deployed to Kandahar province for six months in early 2002 on a mission that clearly involved combat. Canadian soldiers then left. They returned to Afghanistan in large numbers in the summer of 2003 in an essentially peacekeeping role at Kabul. That mission ended in the fall of 2005.

Meanwhile, in August 2005, a fairly small Canadian Provincial Reconstruction Team was installed at Kandahar. Then, in early 2006, the Canadian Forces took on a new, major, mission at Kandahar that had a serious combat role, that continues to this day.

In sum: the United States did not invade Afghanistan; the Canadian Forces did not first go into the country on a peacekeeping mission; and there never was any indication that any of the various Canadian missions would be over in two months.

I suspect Mr Cruse's uncle Casey, now serving in Afghanistan with the Canadian Forces, knows these basic facts. I'm rather amazed that his nephew does not know, and has not bothered to learn, them.

Mark Collins

Ottawa

References:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/nov/13/afghanistan.terrorism15

http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/view-news-afficher-nouvelles-eng.asp?id=1661

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050804/cda_afghanistan_050804?s_name=Autos&no_ads=

http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/prb0719-e.htm
Topic thread at Milnet.ca here--Brennan Cruse seems to be rather young.

2 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Hi Mark,

This is Brennan's mother here. I'm quite upset and disappointed that you felt the need to waste your time dragging my young son's name through the mud, with your negative comments on his Afghanistan speech.  Brennan did a LOT of research for this speech, gathering his facts from the internet, which is quite an accomplishment for a young boy of his age.  I would expect that someone of your age (as I'm assuming you are much older and more mature than he) would be PROUD that one of our young Canadian children wanted to speak out to the public on an issue that is dear to his heart. I would hope that, someone in your position and of your age, would want children this courageous to be the children of our Canadian future.  Furthermore, his uncle Casey DID serve in Afghanistan (did you???!!!) and was kind of preoccupied serving his country while Brennan wrote his speech!!  I'm certain that Casey COULD provide Brennan with the exact facts, however, no doubt he was so proud of his accomplishment, that he didn't feel the need to correct the small imperfections.  I find it VERY troubling that you feel the need to bash a young boy's writing, and I do hope my son never sees what you have written on the internet.  You should be ashamed of yourself!! 

5:18 p.m., November 27, 2009  
Blogger Mark, Ottawa said...

Haley:

The facts were wrong. No "small imperfections" as they were crucial to your son's line of argument. There was no mud dragging in my letter.

Being young and interested is no excuse for being without knowledge. At your son's age I had read a number of books on military history and was just starting to get a grasp. I also knew a great deal about modern military aircraft at the time, the mid-50s.

The Internet only provides facts if one is already able to assess the validity of the sources.

Your son's letter was published in a newspaper and deserved a factual rebuttal. Check the references.

Asking whether or not I served in Afstan is a cheap, ad hominem, slur. I am 62 and have had an artificial leg since the age of four; I had no chance to be Douglas Bader--if you are unaware of him I suggest you Google.

By the way our son is serving in the Canadian Forces.

Any shame may lie elsewhere.

Mark
Ottawa

8:21 p.m., November 27, 2009  

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