Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Afghanistan: Canada divided as losses mount

By Lee Carter 
BBC News, Toronto  
 
Canada's direct combat role - and death toll - has made some uneasy 
Canadians are becoming used to the sight of coffins coming home from
Afghanistan. 
Each grief-stricken ceremony, almost always accompanied by the mournful
sound of military bagpipes, is given extensive coverage by Canada's TV
news. 
On Sunday, four Canadian soldiers died in a major Nato-led anti-Taleban
campaign called Operation Medusa. They were killed during fierce fighting
with Taleban insurgents. 
Then on Monday, another group of Canadian troops preparing to launch
operations from a temporary camp, found themselves strafed, without
warning, by two American A-10 Thunderbolt warplanes. 
In the so-called "friendly-fire" incident, one of the Canadian soldiers
died and 30 more were injured, five of them seriously. 
 
Who are the militants? 
Quick guide: Afghanistan  
But Canadian military officials have insisted that despite the losses, the
Nato operation, aimed at purging Taleban and al-Qaeda rebels in Panjwaii,
has been a success. 
They point out that an estimated 200 Taleban insurgents were killed and 80
captured during the weekend operation. 
Nevertheless, the five deaths are the highest number sustained by the
Canadian military, in a 24-hour period, since its troops were first
despatched to Afghanistan in 2002. 
Since then, one Canadian diplomat and 32 Canadian soldiers have died, many
during the last year. 
Hazardous mission 
About 2,500 Canadian military personnel are currently based in southern
Afghanistan, near Kandahar. 
 
Canadians are the third largest foreign presence in Afghanistan 
They represent the third largest international military presence of the
9,000-strong Nato contingent, behind the United States and the United
Kingdom. 
The deployment there has become a foreign policy cornerstone of Prime
Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government, which took
over the reins of power in Ottawa at the beginning of 2006. 
The government has shown its determination to demonstrate that Canada can
be a reliable Nato ally and a partner in the US-led "war on terror". 
But Canada's direct combat role has made some uneasy, in a country that
over several decades, has been traditionally known for its peacekeeping
efforts in conflict zones as diverse as Cyprus, Somalia, Bosnia and Haiti. 
Opinion polls reveal steadily declining support for the increasingly
hazardous Afghan mission. 
Mr Harper has made it clear he has no intention of abandoning the fight
against the Taleban, a sentiment that was robustly backed by the Canadian
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay. 
"You either take them on or surrender to them," he told CBC television
this week. 
Opposition divided 
But as the casualties mount, many opposition politicians say they are
frustrated by what they regard as a lack of discussion over Canada's
expanding role in Afghanistan. 
  I think we should stay in but we need to have a proper debate about
whether this is the right course of action in the future 
Ken Dryden
Liberal MP 
In an official parliamentary debate in May, the Harper government narrowly
won parliamentary approval for a two-year extension of Canada's mission.
As the country's parliament prepares to reconvene after a summer break,
some opposition politicians want to re-open that debate. 
They include Gilles Duceppe, the leader of the French-speaking Bloc
Quebecois, who is demanding an emergency debate on the direction Canada's
foreign policy is taking, including whether Ottawa should pull its troops
out of Afghanistan. 
But the country's official opposition, the Liberal Party, can't hide its
internal divisions over the issue. It has been hard for the Liberals to
oppose the Canadian mission, when it was they who originally sent Canadian
troops to Afghanistan in the first place. 
The party is also rudderless, in the throes of a leadership race that will
not be completed until the end of the year. 
Liberal MP Ken Dryden acknowledges the divisions but says they simply
reflect public opinion. 
"I think we should stay in but we need to have a proper debate about
whether this is the right course of action in the future. What is our best
role in the world? Is our only security, military security?" Mr Dryden
said. 
'Muted response' 
Only the left-wing New Democratic Party has unequivocally demanded that
Canadian troops to be brought home. Its leader, Jack Layton, says the
objectives of mission have not been well-explained. 
 
Many Canadians are immensely proud of their troops' role 
"The prime minister won't even use the word 'war', even though it's
obvious that's what Canada has now declared. There is no exit strategy
that's ever been offered and there's no comprehensive plan to achieve
peace." 
It is difficult to assess how much influence any of these stands are
having on Canadian public opinion because it tends to be nuanced. 
For instance, polls appear to show that while Canadians may have some
misgivings about their soldiers engaging in direct combat, most are
immensely proud of the mission. 
And there appears to be a gradual shifting of sentiment. 
Monday's mistaken US attack on Canadian soldiers immediately provoked
memories of another similar incident in April 2002, when an American F-16
pilot dropped a bomb on Canadian troops conducting night-training
exercises, killing five of them. 
That incident caused widespread outrage in Canada and a chill in relations
with the US. 
This time the response has been much more muted. 
It could be that Canadians are developing an immunity to the once-shocking
sight of coffins draped in the maple leaf flag, and the mournful sound of
those military bagpipes
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Io inizio a chiedermi dove sia finito Amalric .......
Temo che nel suo recente soggiorno londinese qualche milady gli abbia
consegnato una penna bianca,sinbolo di vilta',e che il poveraccio per
lavare l' onta sia andato a combattere in Afganistan.........
Speriamo che ritorni indietro,tutto intero possibilmente <g>

 lavare l' onta sia andato a combattere in Afganistan.........
lol

> gli deve essere caduto la Osram sopra la testolina.
cosa che non ti arrecherebbe nessun danno..


spero di no ,di recente aveva detto di essere un intellettuale,un colpo
sulla zucca potrebbe pregiudicare il suo futuro rendimento <g>

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