Posted on 05/23/2002 5:59:20 AM PDT by Clive
A few years ago, Canada's then chief of defence staff bluntly said Canada's army was unfit to fight in a major war.
This week, we learned we cannot even sustain our role in the war against terrorism which is being led by our American allies.
News from the Liberal government that Canadian troops are withdrawing from Afghanistan this summer after just six months of duty, and despite a request from our American allies to stay, is an international embarrassment.
To be clear, it's in no way a reflection on our 850 soldiers now serving there, most from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, who have done an admirable job, as always.
When Canadian commander Lt.-Col. Pat Stogran got them out of bed late at night to deliver the good news and joke that "the decision is that it will only be a six-month tour - bummer, eh?" the happiness and relief expressed by our soldiers was totally understandable. These troops , after all, have done their duty, served their time, and were due to be relieved. But that's the point.
As Defence Minister Art Eggleton admitted, our Armed Forces are now simply stretched too thin to be replaced. He also cited "funding challenges," an interesting way of tacitly admitting the Jean Chretien regime is now paying for nine years of neglecting our military.
Now it's crunch time and we can't answer the call. As Alliance defence critic Leon Benoit said, "It's a real black eye for our country."
Other Canadian troops will remain in the region - a small Special Forces task force and three navy ships - but the key group is leaving.
This is particularly embarrassing because Canada asked to join the U.S.-led mission after being turned down for a peacekeeping force by Britain and other nations, likely due to concerns about our ability to deliver our troops to the field quickly.
Increasingly these days, our soldiers have to hitch rides.
Then again, Eggleton insists, "We're not bailing out," and, hey, we might send ground forces back into Afghanistan in the spring of 2003.
Apparently, we're planning to fight the war against terrorism on the instalment plan.
When it comes to gutting the defence of the realm in favour of patronage and social engineering, our 'ti Jean could have given lessons to Buba.
The "Devils Brigade" - The First Special Service Force, a joint American-Canadian unit that saw service in the Second World War, and which became perhaps the world's best special operations unit, being trained in mountain fighting, amphibious warfare, and use of explosives and weapons of all types.
It is sad to see a once great military reduced to such a state. My sympathies to our Canadian neighbors.
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