3 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan
1 hour, 35 minutes ago
VANCOUVER (CBC)
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/080821/c ... n_soldiers

Three Canadian soldiers were killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb detonated near their armoured vehicle on a notoriously dangerous stretch of highway in southern Afghanistan, the Canadian military said Thursday.

The soldiers were conducting a patrol in the volatile Zhari district in Kandahar province when an improvised explosive device exploded about 10:30 a.m. local time, Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson said at a news conference late Thursday morning in Kandahar.


A U.S. military convoy was bombed in roughly the same spot on April 15, an attack that left two marines dead and two seriously wounded.


Wednesday's attack killed Sgt. Shawn Eades, Sapper Stephan John Stock and Cpl. Dustin Roy Robert Joseph Wasden.


Another Canadian soldier was wounded, and is said to be in serious but stable condition.


The soldiers were members of the 12 Field Squadron, 1 Combat Engineer Regiment based in Edmonton, and were attached to the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group while in Kandahar.


Wasden, interviewed by CBC News in June 2007, acknowledged that risks are part of a soldier's job. At the time, he had just learned of the deaths of three of his comrades overseas, but he said that wouldn't deter him from leaving on his own upcoming tour in Afghanistan.


"It's part of the job, it's what you do. It's one of the things that's a risk when you sign up," said Wasden, who was married and had a five-year-old daughter.


He grew up on a family farm near Leoville, which is close to the town of Spiritwood, in west central Saskatchewan.


The names of Wasden and Stock were released later on Thursday, and few details about the two men were available. The Vancouver Sun reported that Stock, 25 was from Campbell River, B.C.


Many details did emerge about Eades, 33. Thompson described him as a veteran soldier and a devoted father, one who always shared stories of his two children with his colleagues and friends.


"[He] was respected by his subordinates, peers and superiors for his outstanding professionalism and his operational experience and his competence," Thompson said.


Eades, who grew up in Hamilton, Ont., and joined the military at 18, was on his third tour in Afghanistan.


Interviewed before departing for the country in 2005, he told CBC News: "We are just raring to go. We've been basically building up to this point for the last 31/2 months. We just want to get going, get working on our job and come home."


Lisa Eades told the Canadian Press that it was her husband's dream to help people by serving in the military and that he believed strongly in the Afghanistan mission.


Still, she said it was hard for him to leave his family, especially his two daughters, Breanna, 7, and Nyia, 4.


"He loved his girls and it was very hard for him to go away," she said when reached in Edmonton.


Eades and the other two slain soldiers were part of a tight-knit crew of combat engineers who were en route to a site to survey a route for use in a future operation, said Thompson.

Combat engineers perform one of the most dangerous roles in battle - clearing paths and roadways of mines so infantry and support convoys can safely move through the area. Combat engineers also hunt through vehicles and the countryside looking for planted explosives.

"As combat engineers, they were proud, resourceful and armed with the technical knowledge that they generously used to assist the mission in helping the people of Kandahar province," said Thompson.

Thompson said the three deaths, and other NATO deaths this month, are not a sign that the Taliban are gaining strength, but he acknowledged they have become more aggressive.

He said roadside bombs planted by the Taliban, which account for many foreign soldier fatalities, inflict casualties, but don't indicate that the Taliban are holding that ground.

"They're not holding any of the ground that they attack us on," he said.

"So really the net effect is zero, other than it whittles away at our resolve," said Thompson, but he added that it is not affecting Canadian soldiers who remain resolved to continue the mission.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Wednesday's attack cowardly, and reaffirmed that Canada's commitment to the Afghan mission won't waver. He praised the slain soldiers for the contributions they made in the fight to bring peace and security to Afghanistan.

"Today, all of Canada mourns the deaths of three brave soldiers killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan," he said in a written statement.

"These three soldiers were exceptional Canadians who made a selfless choice to serve their nation. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten. We will honour their sacrifice by continuing on with this vital mission."

The latest deaths come during a deadly month for both Canadians in Afghanistan and foreign troops stationed in the war-torn country as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

Ten French soldiers died Tuesday in a gun battle near the capital, Kabul, in the largest single loss of life for any of the international forces engaged in combat in Afghanistan in more than three years. Three Polish soldiers also died Wednesday in the central Ghazni province.

Word of the Canadian deaths came as troops gathered in Edmonton for the funeral of another soldier killed in Afghanistan earlier this month, Master Cpl. Erin Doyle.

Doyle, of B.C., died Aug. 11 when insurgents attacked his combat outpost in the Panjwaii district in the province of Kandahar.

His death came two days after Master Cpl. Josh Roberts of Saskatchewan was killed in a firefight with insurgents in Zhari district.

On Aug. 13, two Canadian aid workers were shot dead when insurgents ambushed their SUV in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province. Jacqueline Kirk of Montreal and Shirley Case of Williams Lake, B.C., were killed, along with Trinidadian-American aid worker Nicole Dial and the group's Afghan driver, Mohammad Aimal.

With the latest three deaths, the number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan has now risen to 93. Canada launched its Afghan mission in February 2002, and about 2,500 Canadian soldiers are now serving in the war-torn country, most of them in the volatile south.

_________________
Survival of freedom requires a moral people. Absent this, the Constitution has no meaning, no matter how well written. ~ Ron Paul
http://kitchener911truth.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/Steeper33

Secret to Arctic emergency response is anticipation: Natynczyk
1 hour, 46 minutes ago
By Bob Weber, The Canadian Press
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0808 ... _natynczyk

Canada's military must learn to anticipate crises before they happen to operate effectively in the Arctic, says the new chief of defence staff.


Speaking from Iqaluit, Nunavut, where he is overseeing the latest set of military manoeuvres in the North, Gen. Walter Natynczyk said effective response to situations from an oil spill to a fire on a cruise ship is as much a function of command culture as it is of equipment.


"What I'm describing is a culture, it's not so much a capability that you need this or that," Natynczyk said Thursday. "It's a culture where commanders know they have authority to react to requests or circumstances which would suggest that a crisis is about to unfold.


"You anticipate requirements.


"What I'm saying to commanders is that, as a culture of operation, anticipate, lean forward, in order to ensure that Canadians know that the Canadian Forces can support them."


Natynczyk said the military is capable of responding within 12 hours to an Arctic emergency.


Part of that is anticipating where situations are likely to develop, he said. That's why northern exercises are held in the summer - that's when the shipping occurs.


"The Canadian Forces are here to support all the other government departments in the Arctic and we've got to be able to fill any of the blind spots (those) departments may have."


Operation Nanook is bringing the army, navy and air force together this week in the south Baffin area to practise moving across the land and water and responding to a variety of civilian agencies. New equipment is already making that job easier, Natynczyk said.


Electronic surveillance of the Arctic from satellites and land-based monitoring is getting tighter all the time, he said


As well, the new C-17 Globemaster heavy lift aircraft made its first visit to Iqaluit this week in preparation for the exercise. The fact it can carry five times the cargo of a Hercules at higher airspeeds allows quicker reinforcements and resupply, he said.


New Chinook helicopters and unmanned surveillance aircraft are also coming.


Civilian observers have long held that Canadian response capabilities are insufficient to respond to the sorts of crises likely coming to the North. There are record numbers of cruise ships and private pleasure craft in northern waters this summer, and commercial shipping is also expected to increase in coming years.


Last week, the Danish officer in charge of Greenland Command said that new cruise ships in the Arctic are so large that no country's military is capable of mounting a sufficient rescue operation.


But Natynczyk held that Canada's military is capable of mounting a response.


"We're there now," he said. "Domestic operations are come as you are."

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[font=Georgia]There is way more to this than meets the eye![/font]

_________________
Survival of freedom requires a moral people. Absent this, the Constitution has no meaning, no matter how well written. ~ Ron Paul
http://kitchener911truth.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/Steeper33

Public support for Afghan mission lowest ever: poll
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/09/ ... fghan.html

Do you strongly approve or somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of Canada’s participation in military action in Afghanistan?
Answer %
Strongly approve
14
Somewhat approve
27
Somewhat disapprove
22
Strongly disapprove
34
Don't know/No answer
3

In March 2008, the federal Conservatives and the federal Liberals came to an agreement that they would both support keeping Canadian Forces in Afghanistan until the year 2011. In your opinion was this a good agreement or not a good agreement?
Answer %
Good
41
Not Good
54
Don't know/No answer
5

Do you think in the end the Canadian mission in Afghanistan is likely to be successful or not successful?
Answer %
Successful
28
Not successful
65
Don't know/No answer
7

The number of Canadians who disapprove of the country's military action in Afghanistan is at its highest point since 2002, according to the results of a new poll sponsored by CBC News.

The survey, conducted by Environics between Friday and Tuesday, found that 34 per cent of respondents "strongly disapprove" of Canada's participation in military action in Afghanistan, while 22 per cent "somewhat disapprove," making a total of 56 per cent.

By comparison, 41 per cent of respondents were in favour of military action, with 14 per cent saying they "strongly approve" and 27 per cent "somewhat approve."

The latest figures stand in contrast to previous responses to the same survey question, posed in March 2008, where 54 per cent of respondents said they disapproved and 44 per cent said the opposite.

The March numbers had represented the highest level of disapproval since polling began in 2002, the same year Canada launched its military mission in Afghanistan.

"Overall, the level of disapproval of our involvement is at its highest point that we've seen in our tracking, and support is at its lowest," Donna Dasko, senior vice-president of Environics Research Group, told CBC News on Friday.

"So we can see the public is clearly, at this point, leaning against the mission."

A total of 2,505 people from across the country were surveyed by telephone for the latest Environics poll. It is considered accurate to within plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Also down is the number of Canadians who think the Canadian mission in Afghanistan is likely to be successful.

Only 28 per cent of respondents said they think the Canadian mission in Afghanistan is likely to be successful, compared with 34 per cent who responded affirmatively during a November 2006 poll.

The current number of Canadians who said the mission wasn't likely to be successful was 65 per cent, compared with 58 per cent in the 2006 poll. In both instances, seven per cent of people said they did not know.

These findings, Dasko said, are important because they could affect people's overall level of support for Canada's military intervention in Afghanistan.

"Canadians, I think, can sustain a certain number of casualties and they can sustain that if they think that the mission is worth doing and if the mission is going to be successful," she said.

"And when we start to see pessimism about the success of the mission increasing, which we see here, that to me is what is behind the overall slow erosion of support for Canada being [in Afghanistan]."

When asked whether they approved of the agreement reached by the federal Conservative and Liberal parties in March 2008 to support keeping Canadian Forces in Afghanistan until 2011, the majority — 54 per cent — of Canadians said it was not a good agreement.

Poll results showed 41 per cent of respondents said it was a good agreement, while five per cent didn't know.

These responses are particularly important given the likelihood that Canadians will face a federal election this fall, Dasko said.

"By agreeing to keep the troops there, the Liberals have kept the issue off the table and actually eroded their own ability to build support by opposing the issue.

"It could have been a wedge issue for them, but it's not. So they removed it as a possible issue for them to use in an upcoming election."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to visit Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean at 9 a.m. ET on Sunday and ask her to dissolve his minority Conservative government.

Canadians would then go to the polls on Oct. 14.

Dasko said the lack of support for the agreement had fewer implications for the Conservatives, considering that 61 per cent of people who said they would vote Conservative in the next election approved of Canada being in Afghanistan.

By contrast, 65 per cent of those who said they would vote Liberal said they disapproved of the Afghan mission.

"Support is eroding but at the same time, [the Conservatives'] core supporters support Canada being there," Dasko said.

"So in fact, they're in sync with their own supporters who think that Canada should be there. So it doesn't hurt them that much."

When Canadians were asked which political parties could best handle a variety of heated issues in Canada, including Afghanistan, the choice was most often the Conservatives, as reported by CBC News on Thursday.

Those responding to the poll said they believe the Conservatives are best able to deal with the economy, provide honest government, deal with crime and justice, represent the interests of people’s home provinces in Ottawa and deal with Afghanistan.

By comparison they thought the Liberals could best deal with environmental issues like global warming and environmental pollution. The Liberals are also best suited to handle national unity issues, respondents said.

_________________
Survival of freedom requires a moral people. Absent this, the Constitution has no meaning, no matter how well written. ~ Ron Paul
http://kitchener911truth.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/Steeper33

$490 Billion defense road map rollout, blacked out by media
http://www.dominionpaper.ca/weblogs/amy_miller/2060
September 8, 2008

You would think something like a detailed road map of ‘the modernization of the Canadian forces’, at the big fancy 8th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas (CDMA) would elicit some sort discussion or analysis from the Canadian media/ chattering class. At the conference, Peter Mackay began to spin links between the need to respond to ‘natural disasters’ and ‘security of the Olympics’ with armed security. The highlight of the conference was the release of Canada's 20-year, $490 billion “Canada First Defense Strategy,” a detailed plan to modernize its armed forces and its military industry. McKay also signed a Memoranda of Understanding with his counterparts in Honduras, Guatemala and Bolivia, which falls under the Military Training Assistance Programme (MTAP). Yet hardly a boo, has been published about this week long conference, as the Republican convention in St Paul and the buzz around the soon to be announced election provided a nice blackout about things that were going on, that the media and lobbyist just aren't so interested in regular folks to know about.

So what do we know happened this week in the luxury resort of Banff where the delegates from 34 countries met under the theme of ‘Co-operation and Collaboration”?
According to CP Canadian Defense Minister and host of the conference, Peter MacKay addressed the crowd by stirring their shared belief that "Now more than ever, we are all connected and need to cooperate to achieve the security, democratic development, and prosperity we all desire”.

Mackay was quoted in CP as saying that “Ministers will discuss how to co-operate on providing armed security during natural disasters such as hurricanes or major national events like the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver”. (emphasis added)

US Defense Secretary Robert M. Iran Contra Affair Gates added his two cents to further this argument of ‘natural disaster and national events’ blending of security measures with "We have a collective dream: a free, prosperous and secure hemisphere. By working together, we can transform that dream into reality and embrace the great promise and potential of the Americas...... Sub-themes for this year's gathering include generating military assistance for regionally or nationally hosted events like the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada and peacekeeping support in places like Haiti. CDMA's final communiqué may address the need to create a multi-nation disaster task force.” Gates also briefly mentioned the 'cooperation programs' of the very new Merida Initiative involving a U.S.-Mexico-Central America partnership which is suppose to fight drug-related violence, the Caribbean Community efforts to improve security on Caribbean waters, and the proposed South American Defense Council. The next meeting of the CDMA will be held in Bolivia in 2010.

We also know that the merging/collaboration of important economics-trade-military issues was discussed at the conference from an article by 'america.gov', who wrote “Carlo Dade, executive director of the Canadian Foundation for the Americas in Ottawa, told America.gov that hemispheric military police relations are a subject of special interest to Canada."

This 'special interest' is important to same right wing lobbyist think tank that published the report last month called “ Alberta Oil Sands: Sustainable Energy Security for the Americas?” which aptly ties in the need for military and economic cohesion between Canada and the US. "The oil sands hold the promise that both North and South America can rely on Alberta and its energy resources for decades to come, as trade within the Americas grows and Canadians become more fully integrated into pan-American economic and cultural streams." We can assume other important lobbyists were in attendance but exactly who is simply speculation without access to a list of the participants, but I am willing to guess that anyone with an interest in securing some of the contracts for the next few years, was there, starting with Lockheed Martin Canada.

The Canadian government didn’t waste any time in starting to put forward that $490 billion dollars, ‘Defense First Strategy’ as the Tories plan on giving a $1 Billion contract to upgrade the navy’s frigates to Lockheed Martin Canada this week, according to David Pugliese in his Sunday article published in the Ottawa citizen. As well the open secret Canadian mercenaries JTF2 will be moved to Trenton at a price tag of $300 million. Another $200 million will be used to revamp infrastructure in Trenton and another $140 million will be used to improve conditions at CFB Gagetown, N.B.
The Military industrial/corporate complex in Canada is happy this first week of electioneering that is for sure! As the rest of Canadians probably never heard about this conference, with the 500+ military and war makers in attendance, not much debate is expected.

The Conservative message on the North? Militarize it.
http://www.dominionpaper.ca/weblogs/dawn/2043
August 30, 2008

The Conservatives have already identified seven issues for what seems like an imminent election this fall: Health Care, Child care, Tackling Crime, Lower Taxes, Environment, Accountability and Arctic Sovereignty.

Afghanistan, according to the Conservatives, isn't an election priority for Canadians. Filling the North with soldiers, warplanes, and tanks, apparently, is.

Snippets from Conservative messaging on the Arctic, meant to be sent by Canadians as letters to editors, include:

"I’m glad our government is finally seeing the potential of the Canadian Arctic and is making real plans to protect and defend it... A serious military presence is what we need and that’s what Stephen Harper is giving us... we have to show the world we have the military means to assert our sovereignty... Conservatives are talking about respect for our Northern governments, economic development, environmental protection and increased military presence as means to assert sovereignty in our Arctic..."

Don't Vote Conservative
This video isn't telling you to say, vote Liberal or Communist or anything, but simply telling you, or harshly urging you, to NOT vote for the Conservative Party of Canada.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsZmhw4XDmA

CANADA VOTES 2008 HARPERS CANADA
Enough is enough, are we really going to do this for 100 years. Our troops will do the job but do you really want them to. Harper hasn't even inform NATO we are out in 2011. Will he after the election maybe yes maybe no.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU8EKLJBQSY

_________________
Survival of freedom requires a moral people. Absent this, the Constitution has no meaning, no matter how well written. ~ Ron Paul
http://kitchener911truth.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/Steeper33

Thanks OC!

I just reposted this on the front page of the Canada Truth Blog.

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Canada Wants 9/11 Truth
http://canadawantsthetruth911.blogspot.com

No problem, I'm still really really pissed off that my kids are going to have to pay this $490B back. All for war.

_________________
Survival of freedom requires a moral people. Absent this, the Constitution has no meaning, no matter how well written. ~ Ron Paul
http://kitchener911truth.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/Steeper33

I know. I really really hate this man. I'm going on a massive DO NOT VOTE Stephen Harper campaign.

_________________
Canada Wants 9/11 Truth
http://canadawantsthetruth911.blogspot.com

How can you hate this guy?

_________________
Survival of freedom requires a moral people. Absent this, the Constitution has no meaning, no matter how well written. ~ Ron Paul
http://kitchener911truth.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/Steeper33