Friday January 20, 2012
Why was it Kandahar for Canada's troops?
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This report says Canada lobbied to get the tough assignment in Afghanistan's deadly Kandahar province. Photo/RUSI |
Why Kandahar for Canada?
In sending troops to secure that southern province of Afghanistan, Canada committed itself to its deadliest assignment since the Korean War.
A new report characterizes the Canadian effort as valiant and important, but also "flawed" and "ill-starred."
It says Canada didn't know how dangerous Kandahar was when it lobbied for the assignment, and it cut NATO out of the process to get there. Why?
Interviewing NATO partners on and off-the-record, Canadian analyst Matthew Willis thinks he found some of the answers.
They're in a chapter he prepared for the prestigious Royal United Services Institute, Britain's oldest defence and security think tank.
He joined us from London, England.
Matthew Willis's report, Canada In Regional Command South, appears in the book The Afghan Papers. It's available for purchase from RUSI.
His next report will deal exclusively with the Canadian campaign and will be published in the spring.
Categories: News Promo, The View from Here
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