After all, terrorism was a timeless tactic of the weak. 1
However, the world did change on 9/11. The attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center, which was as symbolic as it was destructive, struck at the very core of Western values in a way that the world had never experienced. Moreover, it was an attack against Americans on U.S. soil. Not since the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor, on 7 December 1941, had the U.S. suffered casualties due to a foreign hostile act on its homeland.
Not surprisingly, the response was immediate and all-consuming. In retaliation, then-American President George W. Bush declared a global war on terrorism. His first target was the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, accused of harbouring and abetting the terrorist, Osama bin Laden, who was deemed responsible for the attack on American soil. Bush subsequently launched Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), designed to topple the Taliban and capture or destroy bin Laden and his fellow al Qaeda senior leaders and fighters.
The Europeans, albeit reluctantly, responded in support of their American ally. The reality was that they had little choice. For over half a century the Americans stood on guard at great expense to protect Europe under the NATO alliance. With the assault against the Americans, the Europeans had to live up to the NATO mantra: an attack on one member is tantamount to an attack against all members of the alliance.
The Canadian response was also immediate, if somewhat slow to actually galvanize. Ships were deployed within weeks, special operations forces were on the ground by the end of December 2001, and a light infantry BG was deployed to Kandahar Airfield in February 2002. Allwere deployed to assist their American counterparts in operations that supported OEF.
Accordingly, the Canadian decision to support the Americans in Afghanistan seemed simple enough, as did Canadaâs continued contributions to the region. Prime Minister Jean Chrétienâs decision to deploy Canadian Forces (CF) personnel and equipment to Afghanistan as part of OEF in 2001â2002 was linked to Canadaâs commitment to NATOâs solidarity and to fighting international terrorism as authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1368. 2 Chrétien decided to return troops to Afghanistan in August 2003, after a brief one-year hiatus, to assist the newly established NATO ISAF mission in Kabul. Two years later, in August 2005, his successor, Prime Minister Paul Martin, approved the redeployment of troops from Kabul in the north to the more volatile and dangerous Kandahar Province in the south as part of ISAFâs expansion throughout Afghanistan. Subsequently, Canada assumed command of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) for the area, as well as responsibility for an infantry BG that was tasked with providing security in the region.
By the spring/summer of 2005, Canadians were heavily engaged in combat with the Taliban. That level of commitment, particularly the loss of soldiers in heavy fighting, earned Canada the respect of its coalition partners. It also secured Canadaâs position as a major player in Afghanistan. At no time was that role more evident than in the summer and early fall of 2006, when Canadian troops fought pitched battles in the Taliban heartland of Pashmul in Kandahar Province to destroy insurgent forces were poised to launch a major attack to capture Kandahar City, thereby threatening the tenuous hold the central Government of Afghanistan (GoA) held over the country.
Operation Medusa, from 1â17 September 2006, represented the climax of that struggle. This epic combat engagement was NATOâs first battle in its nearly 60 years of existence. Importantly, it was fought primarily by Canadians. As one senior officer acknowledged after the operation, âwe were basically told, youâre on your fucking own for while.â General Rick Hillier, the chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), later acknowledged,
However, the world did change on 9/11. The attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center, which was as symbolic as it was destructive, struck at the very core of Western values in a way that the world had never experienced. Moreover, it was an attack against Americans on U.S. soil. Not since the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor, on 7 December 1941, had the U.S. suffered casualties due to a foreign hostile act on its homeland.
Not surprisingly, the response was immediate and all-consuming. In retaliation, then-American President George W. Bush declared a global war on terrorism. His first target was the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, accused of harbouring and abetting the terrorist, Osama bin Laden, who was deemed responsible for the attack on American soil. Bush subsequently launched Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), designed to topple the Taliban and capture or destroy bin Laden and his fellow al Qaeda senior leaders and fighters.
The Europeans, albeit reluctantly, responded in support of their American ally. The reality was that they had little choice. For over half a century the Americans stood on guard at great expense to protect Europe under the NATO alliance. With the assault against the Americans, the Europeans had to live up to the NATO mantra: an attack on one member is tantamount to an attack against all members of the alliance.
The Canadian response was also immediate, if somewhat slow to actually galvanize. Ships were deployed within weeks, special operations forces were on the ground by the end of December 2001, and a light infantry BG was deployed to Kandahar Airfield in February 2002. Allwere deployed to assist their American counterparts in operations that supported OEF.
Accordingly, the Canadian decision to support the Americans in Afghanistan seemed simple enough, as did Canadaâs continued contributions to the region. Prime Minister Jean Chrétienâs decision to deploy Canadian Forces (CF) personnel and equipment to Afghanistan as part of OEF in 2001â2002 was linked to Canadaâs commitment to NATOâs solidarity and to fighting international terrorism as authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1368. 2 Chrétien decided to return troops to Afghanistan in August 2003, after a brief one-year hiatus, to assist the newly established NATO ISAF mission in Kabul. Two years later, in August 2005, his successor, Prime Minister Paul Martin, approved the redeployment of troops from Kabul in the north to the more volatile and dangerous Kandahar Province in the south as part of ISAFâs expansion throughout Afghanistan. Subsequently, Canada assumed command of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) for the area, as well as responsibility for an infantry BG that was tasked with providing security in the region.
By the spring/summer of 2005, Canadians were heavily engaged in combat with the Taliban. That level of commitment, particularly the loss of soldiers in heavy fighting, earned Canada the respect of its coalition partners. It also secured Canadaâs position as a major player in Afghanistan. At no time was that role more evident than in the summer and early fall of 2006, when Canadian troops fought pitched battles in the Taliban heartland of Pashmul in Kandahar Province to destroy insurgent forces were poised to launch a major attack to capture Kandahar City, thereby threatening the tenuous hold the central Government of Afghanistan (GoA) held over the country.
Operation Medusa, from 1â17 September 2006, represented the climax of that struggle. This epic combat engagement was NATOâs first battle in its nearly 60 years of existence. Importantly, it was fought primarily by Canadians. As one senior officer acknowledged after the operation, âwe were basically told, youâre on your fucking own for while.â General Rick Hillier, the chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), later acknowledged,
Similar Books
