"Not lonely in Afghanistan‏"

A letter sent to the Globe and Mail and not published:

The situation of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan is badly misrepresented in your story May 30 about the appearance in Toronto of former U.S. presidents Clinton and Bush ("For $2,500, jokes from leaders who 'used to believe in free speech" [different title online]). The story states that "until recently Canada has been battling alone" in that country and that Mr. Bush's "impregnable rhetoric...has made the last four years lonely for Canadian soldiers." Hardly.

Four years ago in May 2005 our military mission was based at Kabul and was essentially engaged in peacekeeping, not combat. Many other troops from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were in the area; one doubts ours felt especially alone.

Then, in early 2006, the Canadian Forces assumed a combat role as the lead country for Kandahar province in Regional Command South. Our strength was some 2,500 personnel (now 2,830 with a recent increase in Air Force personnel). That was a large individual contingent by ISAF standards, but only a small proportion of NATO's total forces.

Moreover we were hardly alone fighting in the provinces of Regional Command South. A British force (now some three times larger than the Canadian) was established around the same time in neighbouring Helmand province, together with a Dutch force in Uruzgan province that is somewhat smaller than ours. Significant numbers of Danish troops have been fighting with the British and Australia has sent a major contingent to help the Dutch. And, for about a year, there has been a Romanian battalion in Zabul province.

Of course there have been many further thousands of ISAF forces in the other Regional Commands: East, West, North and Capital (Kabul).

We have not been that lonely at Kandahar itself. For some time a British battalion has been based at Kandahar Air Field as a battle group for Regional Command South as a whole. Since August last year about half the combat strength of Canadian-led Task Force Kandahar has been contributed by a US Army battalion.

Now some 10,000 American forces are deploying to Kandahar province--some ordered there by President Bush and some by President Obama.

Some loneliness. With such sloppy reporting in "Canada's National Newspaper" it is little wonder that many Canadians are ill-informed about our Afghan mission.

Regards,

Mark Collins
Ottawa

References--see bottom of these ISAF placemats of country troops strengths:

Jan. 2007:
http://www.nato.int/isaf/docu/epub/pdf/placemat_archive/isaf_placemat_070129.pdf

Feb. 2008:
http://www.nato.int/isaf/docu/epub/pdf/placemat_archive/isaf_placemat_080206.pdf

Dec. 2008:
http://www.nato.int/isaf/docu/epub/pdf/placemat_archive/isaf_placemat_081201.pdf

April 2009:
http://www.nato.int/isaf/docu/epub/pdf/placemat.html

Placemats for other dates:
http://www.nato.int/isaf/docu/epub/pdf/placemat.html

Denmark (note per capita contribution)
http://www.ambottawa.um.dk/en/menu/InfoDenmark/Denmark+in+Afghanistan/
http://www.ambottawa.um.dk/en/servicemenu/News/DenmarkincreasesitssupporttoAfghanistan.htm

Netherlands:
http://www.minbuza.nl/en/themes,international-cooperation/afghanistan/militaire-inzet

Australia:
http://www.defence.gov.au/opEx/global/opslipper/index.htm

Romanian battalion:
http://english.mapn.ro/cpresa/continuarearhiva.php?id=3010

UK battalion:
http://www.army.mod.uk/news/13851.aspx

British generally:
http://www.operations.mod.uk/afghanistan/summaryarchive2.htm

US battalion:
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2008/08/that-us-army-battalion-for-kandahar-has.html
http://www.comfec-cefcom.forces.gc.ca/pa-ap/ops/fs-fr/jtfa-foia-eng.asp#e

US forces, Bush and Obama
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2009/05/afstan-us-forces-increase-under-obama.html

Canada in Afghanistan:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/02/10/f-afghanistan.html

Here's a letter the Globe did print:

Something to declare

Donald Dawson
Ottawa

I fear Friday's visit by two former U.S. presidents (A Presidential Showdown: Leno Versus Letterman - May 30) reveals more about us than them. How arrogant and ill-informed we must be to really think that "until recently Canada has been battling alone" in Afghanistan. How superior we must feel to mill about outside, judging George Bush and Bill Clinton war criminals while inside gasping at their ignorance regarding waiting times on this side of the border. We never seem to have trouble feeling superior to our neighbours to the south.