statism watch

CBC News
December 5, 2008

Three Canadian soldiers were killed and two were wounded in separate incidents in Afghanistan on Friday, raising to more than 100 the number of Canadians who have died while serving in the war-torn country.

Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, commander of Canadian troops, identified two of the latest casualties as Cpl. Mark Robert McLaren and Pte. Demetrios (Dip) Diplaros, both based in Petawawa, Ont. They died after the armoured vehicle they were in struck an improvised explosive device (IED).

The name of the third soldier who died was being temporarily withheld at the request of the family, Thompson said.

The blast occurred at about 9 a.m. local time, said the CBC’s David Common, reporting from Kandahar.

“We can presume it was a very large device because, of course, this was an armoured vehicle,” said Common.

In the second incident, the two soldiers were seriously injured in an explosion while on foot patrol in Zhari district, west of Kandahar City.

Ninety-seven Canadian soldiers and Canadian diplomat Glyn Berry had lost their lives before Friday.

The three deaths are the first for the new rotation of troops, who arrived in Kandahar in September.

Diplaros was on his first tour of duty. McLaren was a veteran of Afghanistan, where he was wounded in 2006, Thompson said.

“[Cpl. McLaren] was anxious to return and assist the Afghan national army to bring peace and stability to this country,” the general said.

“A few weeks ago, Mark risked his life by crawling towards an Afghan soldier who had been shot in order to provide him with first aid under fire.”

Optimism among troops ’shattered’

Before Friday, the last Canadian death reported was Sept. 7, when Sgt. Scott Shipway was killed under similar circumstances after his armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device during a security patrol.

“To have gone for three straight months gave soldiers here perhaps a little bit of cautious optimism,” said Common.

“That optimism, of course, shattered … tonight, as there are many solemn faces.”

Friday’s deaths are unlikely to have an impact on Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, Mercedes Stephenson, a military analyst, told CBC News.

“Certainly it is difficult for the soldiers. They have lost three brothers — possibly sisters — in arms,” she said.

“There’s a lot of anger and sadness after something like this, but [the soldiers] are professionals [who are] trained to deal with it and will continue with their job at hand, as they believe the soldiers who have been killed would have wanted them to.”

Thompson said: “Canada lost three fine soldiers today, and two more were seriously injured.

“Already there is talk of numbers and milestones, but it is my hope that the focus remains on the lives and the sacrifices of these brave soldiers as they serve Canada in the effort to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan,” he added.

Canadian soldiers have been fighting in the Arghandab district, a hotbed of insurgent activity, for many months.

The past summer was a particularly violent one in Afghanistan, with insurgents carrying out several high-profile attacks on troops from the NATO-commanded International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

As the temperature dropped, militant attacks subsided with it.

Forces pursuing more aggressive strategy

Canadian forces are hoping to take advantage of the lull in insurgent activity.

Canada’s top soldier in Afghanistan, Brig-Gen. Denis Thompson, said in October that Canadian and other ISAF forces would be stepping up their attacks on insurgents in the winter, with the help of a more experienced Afghan army.

The strategy marks a change in approach from previous winters, when fighting traditionally died down due to harsher weather.

A month before Thompson’s announcement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledged to bring home the bulk of combat forces in Afghanistan by 2011.

Harper said at the time that Canada will have “done its bit at that point.”

The rising costs of the Afghan mission likely played a factor in his decision.

Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page tabled a report in October that said the price tag of the Canadian mission could be as high as $18.1 billion by 2011.

There are about 2,500 Canadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan, largely in the volatile Kandahar province. The mission first deployed to Afghanistan in 2002.

They are part of an international force that numbers 50,700 soldiers, including from the United States, Britain, France and Germany.

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