Why is Canada in Afghanistan?

Ever wondered what Canada’s role in the Afghanistan war is? As we know, there has been a continuing debate on whether or not Canada should partake in this combat of arms.

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, Minister of National Defense Art Eggleton advised Governor General Adrienne Clarkson to deploy Canadian Forces to America and be involved in Afghanistan. Their purpose was to stop Al-Qaeda and the Taliban because both organizations are believed to be behind the attack and are into global terrorism ‚ without even asking for any monetary exchange ‚ and that is the scary part.

During the first few months of the invasion of Afghanistan that began in October 7, 2001, Canada did not have a significant role and the first contingents of regular Canadian troops only arrived in Afghanistan on in January ‚ February 2002.

Their contribution to the Afghanistan invasion was during 2006 when NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) including Canadian Forces had to take over the most dangerous part of Afghanistan ‚ the southern part. It was called Operation Athena and 2000 Canadian soldiers were called to serve. The effect of this war has been in several debates among Canadian politicians and people in the parliament for the benefit of Afghanistan.

Former Liberal Deputy Prime Minister John Manley reminded them of the reason why the troops are there. It may be a military action but then, there are other reasons why Canadian troops are to remain in Afghanistan. One of the reasons is that Afghan people, the innocent citizens need to be protected. They are doing that for them. Another fact is that, being in the area promotes talks on reconstruction and efforts of diplomacy; all for the betterment of Afghanistan.

In other words, if the Canadian government were to abort its mission for reconciliation, the immediate military withdrawal from Afghanistan would cause more harm than good.