KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Industry Minister Tony Clement attended Remembrance Day ceremonies in Kandahar.
They joined representatives of the families of seven deceased soldiers, Kandahar Governor Tooryalai Wesa and military commanders in laying wreaths by a cenotaph commemorating the 133 Canadian soldiers who have died as part of the Afghan mission.
Task Force Commander Brig. Gen. Jonathan Vance compared the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan with those of previous generations.
“We are reminded today that former generations have had to fight, have had to endure hardship and have sacrificed to win freedom from Canada and people around the world,
“They set high standards and won respect for the total
Vance says he hopes the efforts of Canadian troops will help bring about a time when the conflict in Afghanistan is also the subject of remembrance.
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It is important to honour the dead. It is also important to acknowledge that the mission they died for is a complete failure, and will continue to be so.
In six years, beginning in 1939, we went from raising an army, to sending it overseas to wage war, to achieving victory, to demobilising. In nine years in Afghanistan, we have gone from toppling a government, to waging war with insurgents, to recognising that the military situation is deteriorating each year. Coupled with a failure to advance political reform in that country, and an inability to obtain necessary military commitments from Allies, one is left to wonder why anyone would believe that the NATO mission is worth the bones of a single soldier.
According to the radio, the ceremony on Parliament Hill today was one of the largest Remembrance Day ceremonies of all time. Perhaps it was the unseasonably warm weather but, regardless, I see this as good news. Lest we forget.