Remember the Taliban, and Stay the Course ... Ret. Canadian Major-General Lewis MacKenzie

'Do you support Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan?" asks a typical Canadian poll. The response comes in with 50-plus per cent responding "No!" and those of us who support the soldiers and the mission get even more frustrated. If none of the professional polling firms are prepared to ask the less misleading and more relevant questions, then let me give it a try.

"Do you support letting the Taliban return to power in Afghanistan?" If your answer is Yes, please go on to the next questions.

"Do you support beheading teachers in front of their class if they permit even one girl to attend?" "Do you support denying all Afghan women the right to visit a doctor, as there are no female doctors permitted by the Taliban and male doctors are not allowed to inspect female patients?" "Do you support the government's right to execute women by blowing out their brains in front of thousands of cheering onlookers in a football stadium because the victims were seen in the company of men other than their husbands?" "Do you support the actions of a suicide bomber who, just before he blows himself up beside elderly Muslims waiting to obtain papers for a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca, picks up a child and presses her against his explosive vest before detonating himself?"

I assume most Canadians would answer No to these questions -- which means they probably don't remember the history of the Taliban regime before the United Nations-authorized intervention that followed 9/11. Or they are prepared to remove Canadian troops from the conflict and let others do the dirty work and, yes, to "cut and run."

Speaking of doing the dirty work, the very survival of NATO -- as the most capable multinational military alliance in the world and a potential force for good as the UN stumbles from one security crisis to another, leaving a string of apologies in its wake -- is at stake in Afghanistan.

All too many countries have decided not to show up, while some who have dared to send contingents have added caveats regarding the employment of their troops by the NATO commander. Restrictions such as "no night operations" and "no combat" make a joke of the NATO article that states that an attack against one member is an attack against all. The after-action report once the Afghan mission is over will not be kind to the alliance in general and many of its members in particular. Canada will not be included in the criticism.

Has anyone noticed that the category of Canadians expected to be critical of the mission and call for our troops to come home is by far the most supportive? The most compelling and convincing support for the Afghan mission has come from the families of the killed and seriously injured soldiers.

Consider how much more dangerous the world would be if we had done nothing after 9/11 and joined the pathetic chorus that said it was all our fault. Al-Qaeda would be freely operating in Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Indonesia and God knows how many other countries. Transnational terrorism would be much better financed, and sleeper cells would be under little scrutiny even in Canada.

With a free rein to proceed, ingenious attacks on us, the infidels, would make 9/11 seem like a pinprick.

Retired major-general Lewis MacKenzie was the first commander of United Nations peacekeeping forces in Sarajevo.

"Hello all of my Friends

So I propose to you this question, what do you do when the Taliban have
you
surrounded, and you hear over icom that they are laughing at you because

they have you surrounded, and think today is the day they take back the
Panjawaii district from NATO forces ? You contact C Troop of Echo
Battery
from 2nd Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. If the Taliban were
scared of our gun troop durring OP Medusa then they must be shitting
there
pants after yesterday. Over 60 sixtey taliban had American and ANA
(Afghan
National Army) surrounded as they were conducting a patrol just outside
our
FOB (Foward Operating base) just under 3 km away. Over icom chatter we
could hear the taliban laughing and plotting there plans for the day to
try
and take back Panjawaii which we own. Little did they know our OP
(observation Party 23) could see it all and contacted C troop for
assistance, over 30 Point detonating and Proxcimity fuzes later from the

M777 howitzer and 30 81MM mortar rounds, along with a little help from
some
apaches we blasted the a hole in taliban line allowing our guys to
escape
almost certain capture and or death, then proceeded to chase them down
with
our rounds and push them back into their compounds, where OP23 called in

fast air from NATO planes which proceeded to drop three 500Ilbs bombs on

their compounds then straif them with 33mm rounds from the A 10s. All
the
while we kept shelling any movement and keeping them from escaping. In
the
end early estemates had over 25 Taliban dead including one leader, along

with one leader crying over icom about how we had killed all his men,
then
we zeroed in on his transmition then dropped a couple of rounds on his
compound. ( there was no more icom chatter from him again). Last but
certainly not least Canadian snipers also had there fill firing from
there
locations all over picking off survivors and driving home the point that
we
(NATO and ANA) own this area and refuse to give it up because the
infantry
and special forces did one hell of a job taking it. So ends another fun

filled day in afghanistan no casualties on our end lots on theres
estemated
now over 40 to 50 and who knows how many more dying of their wounds in a

cave somewhere, and as one american observer put as a description I see
buzzards circleing the target, good shooting guns. I hope you enjoy our

little experience here and this story.

Cheers Lucas
"You YELL we SHELL 24hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year."
"Contact C, instant TAliban relief"."

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.