Lifestyle > Train of Thought

Canadian soldiers dying in Afghanistan 6 times as fast as U.S. soldiers in Iraq

(1/3) > >>

King Tech Quadafi:
OTTAWA -- Canadian soldiers in southern Afghanistan are six times more likely to be killed than U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq, according to a think-tank report released yesterday.

In a statistical analysis of casualties since Canada took on its current, more dangerous assignment in Kandahar province last February, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that a Canadian soldier is 4 1/2 times more likely to be killed than an American in Afghanistan, and three times more likely than a British soldier.

MORE U.K. TROOPS

More British troops have died than Canadians in Afghanistan, but the centre's figures take into account the fact that there are more than twice the number of British troops there.

"Afghanistan is looking more like Iraq every day," said Steven Staples, the study's co-author.
 

In an interview with CTV Newsnet yesterday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said there is no surprise that the Afghanistan mission has become more dangerous.

"We are taking casualties because we are moving (the Taliban) from their very last bastions of strength and support," Harper said.

Not including the U.S.'s 269 deaths, the report found that Canada's soldiers account for almost one in four (23%) of the coalition's 139 casualties.

Based on current casualty rates, the think-tank estimates that 108 more Canadians will die before the country's current mission commitment expires in 2009.

The study didn't consider the four most recent deaths.

Staples called on the government to disclose any casualty estimates it has for the Canadian troops looking forward to 2009 so Canadians have a true picture of the assignment's cost.

24 SINCE FEBRUARY

Including yesterday's four deaths, 24 of Canada's 36 military casualties in Afghanistan have occurred since February.

Former Liberal defence minister Bill Graham said their government warned that casualties would rise once troops moved to the south, but no one predicted how high.

"It's a much more challenging mission than originally thought, no question about it," he said.

Until yesterday's suicide bomb, the most common killer of Canadians had been so-called improvised explosive devices, or roadside bombs (seven deaths), the report said
 
http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2006/09/19/1862049-sun.html
 
 


 

westkoastanostra:
soldiers dying over nothing....some sad shit

virtuoso:

Sorry to say this but this is what happens when you occupy a country for no reason other than to secure and protect the oil pipeline. We know there is no justifiable reason because the FBI have never indicted Osama Bin Laden for September 11 and yet this was their justification for dropping thousands of tonnes of depleted uranium on this country, that bin laden was the man behind all of this and that Afghanistan must be attacked because it is their government who are harbouring him. Now we witness the consequences its sad that these soldiers are dying in yet another act of deceit by the western governments but people on the whole can not face this truth and would rather look at the Taliban as being this evil terrorist organisation who is killing "the troops". It's also yet another example of how quickly the average person's history of the events disappears down the memory hole when even in 2001 before the date of september 11, the taliban referred to america as their friend and ally.

TraceOneInfinite:
Canadians and Canada like to think of themselves as being such peaceful people, but they are nothing more than another lap dog in the United States Empire.  Killing innocent people just to kiss Bush's ass.  They don't give a damn about Afganistan.  They just want to impress their masters.

7even:
^ I think they are under pressure tho

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page