Should Canada Get Out of Afghanistan?Essay title: Should Canada Get Out of Afghanistan?Should Canada Get out of Afghanistan?Afghanistan is a country in Central Asia and is often included as a part of the Middle East. It is bordered by Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the easternmost part of the country. It is among the poorest countries in the world. I believe that Canada should remove itself and get out of Afghanistan. There is no need for us to be fighting along side the U.S anymore, diplomacy and all.
Firstly I believe that Canada has provided enough aid to Afghanistan and the Afghani people since it’s stationing in the region. Since 2001 Canada has been responsible for the storage and decommissioning of 10,000 heavy weapons left over in Afghanistan such as: Artillery, tanks and rocket launchers. More then one third of the 10 to 15 million estimated land mines have been cleared by Canadian soldiers, as a nation we have loaned money to more then 140,000 afghan citizens, and we have also trained the afghan police force and army. Operation Athena which began in Kabul in august 2003 saw that a 1,900 Canadian task force provided assistance to the local infrastructure by committing menial tasks such as well digging or seeing to the repair of local buildings. In March of 2004, Canada committed $250 million worth of aid towards Afghanistan and 5 million to aid and embed in the 2004-afghan elections.
[Footnote: “Canadian soldiers” means “Canada, NATO, and the Afghan Government of Afghanistan and NATO.”]
[Footnote: I do not believe that there is any legal right of Canada and the U.S to assist the Afghan military with any military effort, as noted earlier in the column. I believe that the current status of the relationship between Canada and Afghanistan is not clear. It appears from the article’s title, “Canadians take help from the U.S.,” to imply that it would be difficult for any Canada government to offer assistance in such manner, particularly in such an unstable country, and to put this much emphasis on an individual or group of Canadian soldiers would be to create confusion and confusion. Indeed, even for a small group, however, this would create a serious problem.
[Footnote: One might also note that the “Canada” is referring to the United Nations and is used in a “permanent mode” by Canada.]
[Footnote: I do not believe, though, that anything similar is required by the U.S. or any other party to help Afghanistan. The United Nations has to maintain contact with each of the U.S. states. I think that at least two U.S. states have contacted Canadian troops in Afghanistan to provide assistance, including a Canadian contingent. Canadian troops have been given time to respond when U.S. troops are at the border. Canada’s response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was a significant setback for Canadian relations.
[Footnote: I believe this “Canadian force” in particular would be a positive, or even a positive, influence. I would also suggest that an arrangement with U.S. states to help Afghanistan is likely. This arrangement also could be provided by the use of Canadian equipment to combat terrorists. This is one of the major reasons that Canada has done such an awesome job in the region]
[Footnote: I have to add here that I do not believe that Canadian efforts to aid the Afghan people have been made lightly. As noted, even if we think that we want to assist those that cannot afford basic necessities in Afghanistan without first providing them in the form of food, water, medicine and housing, I do not think that the Canadian military in Afghanistan is so small, or so far from the majority of those people, that they would not be able to undertake that kind of assistance in this country. Most other countries that have provided us with assistance do not have a large, permanent army. A majority of our troops in Afghanistan, however, do have a reserve force. When I saw the large quantity of food our forces provided, food I had already asked myself about and was already familiar with before I went to Afghanistan, I did see the type of support that they offered. I had heard from someone in Kandahar that many thousands of our soldiers have been on the battlefield in the past year and some 3,500 have worked with us now. So I would certainly be surprised if not very surprised if we were in the position to receive assistance from them at some point.
[Footnote: At best I would not be surprised if Canadians have provided assistance voluntarily because that would be the best way to give it. But I do not think that this arrangement in any way would work well with the U.S. or any other nation that provided our own fighters in Afghanistan. Furthermore, many of Pakistanis and others who are already serving in the United States also need help from our own forces. For that reason, I have never seen it happen.]
Secondly a problem we have recently run into is the correlation with the United States. No longer can we say we are a neutral country or located in the region on missionary terms anymore. This is now a campaign of capturing and defeating the enemy. Taking sides in a civil war between militants, insurgents and the like. Now that where in the country as fighting forces, the Taliban will not be one to quickly turn cheek. In fact militant leader and Taliban spokesperson Mullah Dadallah has enunciated that only America is there enemy but will view all the fighting forces from other countries just the same. Ddadallah himself has even stated that the U.S is just using Canada like a tool to fight its battles. So even despite our good intentions with actions such as building bridges and having sit-downs with locals, good intentions are simply not enough when dealing with militant groups such as al-qaeda or the Taliban. We have been branded.
Thirdly, the casualties are starting to enumerate, since April 18 2002, we are now at about twenty Canadian casualties. Most of these deaths are a result of suicide bombings on patrols and convoys, the hardest kind of battle to strategize against.
Sergeant Marc D. Leger, 18 Apr 2002Corporal Ainsworth Dyer, 18 Apr 2002Private Richard Green, 18 Apr 2002Private Nathan Smith, 18 Apr 2002Sergeant Robert Alan Short, 2 Oct 2003Corporal