Canada's Sacrifices in Afghanistan

In 2001, the Government of Canada committed to participating in the NATO ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Canada would send 2,000 troops, six warships and six planes to Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf. Western allies allied with the Afghan Northern Alliance marched on Kabul and rousted the Taliban and their honoured guests, al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

Canada sent troops from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry to Kandahar, in early 2002, in Canada's contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom. They joined members of Joint Task Force 2 who had arrived in the country several months earlier. And for the next ten years Canada was deeply embroiled in the ongoing conflict, as the Taliban regrouped and resurged.

Since that time Canada lost 158 of its military, men and women, between 2001 and 2011. During that same period 636 soldiers were wounded in action, and another 1,412 injured in non-battle conditions. Eight percent of Canadian soldiers suffer now from Afghanistan-related post-traumatic stress disorder. And another 5.2% suffer from mental health issues related to their Afghanistan experience.

As additional military personnel leave the military within the next five years it is estimated that almost three thousand of those will report severe PTSD at some juncture. There are 39,558 Canadian veterans of the Afghan war, 4,181 of whom across the country are receiving disability benefits from Veterans Affairs.

Most of the Canadian military who lost their lives in Afghanistan met their death by exploding roadside bombs, IEDs. Canadians became adept at disarming these roadside bombs, but they were not always successful in locating their presence before they killed and maimed Canadian troops. The Taliban became ever more adept at building 'better' bombs.

The cost to NATO for prosecuting this war is held to be in the neighbourhood of $460-billion, while for Canada that cost is $22-billion, with an additional $3-billion estimated for the training mission of Afghan troops.

And the end result of all this sacrifice is ... not very much. Canadian soldiers met with village elders in Kandahar province, palavered at loya jirgas, built school houses and medical clinics, dug wells and interacted with villagers to demonstrate their friendliness and willingness to respect the customs and devout religious beliefs.

There were some inroads made, but foreigners will always be held with huge suspicion in Afghanistan, a country that has been invaded and occupied for most of its history, and because it is a poor country it will remain a backward society wedded to a strict interpretation of Islam. And because of its location it will be a target for Pakistan as a buffer against India.

And while the Taliban patiently awaits its entrance opportunity with the withdrawal of NATO, Iran too awaits its opportunity to spread its influence as well. All of this seems inevitable. And none of it represents the expectations that were uppermost in the minds of those who occupied the country to destroy the influence of the Taliban and bring civility and human rights to the country.

Once again Afghanistan will be abandoned to itself. And the sacrifice of countries like Canada has been for nothing, nothing at all.