Toronto Star comment, It's not what you think

[Flip]

I swiped this from MilNews;

Soldiers fight while civilians fret

May 28, 2007 10:39 AM
Rosie DiManno

On the first day that this country enjoined in the Battle of the Somme, some 2,600 Canadian men died.

Newfoundland, not yet in the Confederation fold, had sent its precious youth into the fight at the beginning – July 1, 1916 – and about 250 of them fell, their blood spilled on foreign soil.

That anniversary approaches but July 1, Canada Day, means something else now, all balloons and festivity.

By the time the battle was over in late November – the Great War would grind on for another two miserable years – 24,713 Canadians and Newfoundlanders had been killed.

Ten times as many Canadians dead as are now serving in Task Force Afghanistan.

Corp. Matthew McCully, 25, became the most recent combat fatality on Friday, the 55th soldier lost since Canada deployed troops to Afghanistan in 2002.

A nation shudders.

But the angst is ours, not theirs, the soldiers who have most to fear and perhaps to doubt. They may rage at times over the enemy's tactics – ambushes, roadside detonations and suicide bombings that more often kill Afghan civilians – and occasionally their spirits sag. Yet they've never lost heart or resolve. Which is so much more than can be said for the hand-wringing Canadian public.

I've had the privilege of spending a great deal of time with Canada's soldiers overseas, including members of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team – the Omelet – of which McCully was a member. The Omelet is foremost tasked with instructing the Afghan National Army, turning out troops that will, inshallah, eventually be able to fight their own battles. Entire battalions of professional soldiers have already passed muster, with a goal of 70,000 national troops by 2010.

By then, more Canadian soldiers will have died. And the vast majority of Afghans are grateful.

It is facile, but maddeningly wrongheaded, to claim that Canadians are making little or no difference in Afghanistan. The difference is everywhere evident, from valleys in Panjwaii that are peaceful and populated to villages of refuge in volatile Zhari, where McCully was killed when he stepped on a land mine.

The neo-Taliban insurgency has shown more vigour in the past year but this is a fight they can't win militarily. That's not their aim. The war they are waging is here, in Canada, and other coalition countries. The militants aren't stupid; they recognize the soft ground.

It would be so easy for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to cave in to opinion polls, bring the troops home earlier rather than later. Such a decision might even give this Conservative government the majority it covets.

I have no partisan politics. But Harper is to be commended for continuing to do what's morally right rather than politically expedient, amidst the sophistry that passes for informed criticism, particularly among those who conflate Afghanistan with Iraq.

Canada has adopted Afghanistan. That means not giving it back when the ward becomes too much of a handful.

To do so would be dishonourable and disastrous – for Afghanistan's future and Canada's present. This country stands for something, which is why it has stood with Afghans, which is why Canadian soldiers recoil from the very suggestion that our troops should seek safer havens, whether in Kabul as a security force or in provinces calmer than Kandahar.

They do not want this. As hard as it may be for many Canadians to understand, combat troops thrive on soldiering. They hate being tucked in the safe sanctuary of the Kandahar Airfield. They routinely express disdain for allies that rarely venture outside the wire. It is a matter of pride and principle.

Pity that so many Canadians share neither that pride nor those principles.

God Bless Rosie DiManno.

Ooops! Here's the link.

http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/218349

 

[Cdn Blackshirt]

That's two in a row for the Toronto Star....

Big kudos....far superior and honest coverage than the G&M as of late.


Matthew. 

 

[gaspasser]

I swiped this from MilNews;


God Bless Rosie DiManno.

Ooops! Here's the link.

http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/218349

+1...doubly so..
Gee whiz, another Pro-military journalist added to the list of "who's money is no good in the mess".
Good to see that some papers are writing about the good we are doing over there and not "we're dying, let's go home" attitude.  Too bad Johnny Canadian civie doesn't also read about the schools, schools for girls!,  clean water, passable roads and a safe environment that they gladly enjoy here.  Take that away and see who B^&thes?! 

 

[Journeyman]

Gee whiz, another Pro-military journalist added to the list of "who's money is no good in the mess".

Well, for those of us who don't need to look at our watches when discussing "time in," and who have memories longer than two sound bytes long.....I (personally) will not stand in the lineup to piss on Dimano's grave, let alone allow her in my Mess.

Feel free to research her mindless anti-military comments, circa the 1995 Airborne disbandment. Maybe she's grown-up. Maybe she's simply cashing in on the Left's "I support the troops (while still despising the military)" mantra.

Bitter? Yep. She facilitated it; I still carry it; we're not on each others' Valentines card list.

 

[seamus]

I would have to agree were this is going. In the end all reporters want(or most)want, is to sell papers. Which way the winds blow that day usually directs their line of questioning or opinion.

 

[gaspasser]

Easy there, sir, I was only commenting on her present article.  I've not seen any of her other work.  If she's been a doughhead in the past, then she's come around some.  If she's only jumping on the band wagon, then that looks bad for her.  I was on base when the CAR was disbanded and claimed to myself that it was a sad day in history when the MND and CDS bow to political pressure of the benchwarmers {used in lieu of more colourful expletives}.  I watched a very proud regiment, some good people and some friends, go down in political disgrace.  A Black Day indeed!
I was also trying to bring to light some of the good things our troops are going overthere besides ducking and covering. 
And NO!!, I never have to look for my watch when asked how much "time in" I have.  Next week it'll be 23 years.  :warstory:

 

[FSTO]

I wonder if Jim Travers will even talk to her now?

Maybe the MSM is changing its tune?
Robert Fife on Question Period yesterday gave Black and Coderre the smack-down on their opinions,
Christie Blatchford has always had her head on straight.

Good work mud monkeys!  ;D

 

[gaspasser]

Would that be the same Robert Fife who talked about "greasy eggs, greasy bacon and stale bread" when he was over in KAF with the PM?  ;D
RF has always been a supporter of the troops, good for him for "smacking down" some Taliban supportin' jag offs.  ;D
CB is always on my list of "buy that person a drink">    Not sure I know who Jim Travers is??

I would have to agree were this is going. In the end all reporters want(or most)want, is to sell papers. Which way the winds blow that day usually directs their line of questioning or opinion.

I would have to differ on that one, some journalists don't swing in the breeze or change thier personal opinions and stick to the straight facts. 

 

[Exarecr]

Rosie DiManno is one of those who jumps around the political spectrum with the grace and assurance of a 95 year old triple jumper. This close to the American Memorial Day holiday and just after one of our own KIA is ample evidence of the shallowness and mock sympathy that is the norm for the Star and its writers. Today, for what ever reason, she got it some what right. Fortunately I don't read the star ,thus saving myself the presence of new throbbing veins and the absence of tums. I think I know of a TV show looking for another "Rosie". Cheers!

 

[ammo618]

A good article by Rosie Dimanno - http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/218349


Edit: "Shared in accordance with the 'fair dealing' provisions,
Section 29, of the Copyright Act - http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/info/act-e.html#rid-33409"



Soldiers fight while civilians fret 

May 28, 2007
ROSIE DIMANNO

On the first day that this country enjoined in the Battle of the Somme, some 2,600 Canadian men died.

Newfoundland, not yet in the Confederation fold, had sent its precious youth into the fight at the beginning – July 1, 1916 – and about 250 of them fell, their blood spilled on foreign soil.

That anniversary approaches but July 1, Canada Day, means something else now, all balloons and festivity.
By the time the battle was over in late November – the Great War would grind on for another two miserable years – 24,713 Canadians and Newfoundlanders had been killed.
Ten times as many Canadians dead as are now serving in Task Force Afghanistan.

Corp. Matthew McCully, 25, became the most recent combat fatality on Friday, the 55th soldier lost since Canada deployed troops to Afghanistan in 2002.
A nation shudders.

But the angst is ours, not theirs, the soldiers who have most to fear and perhaps to doubt. They may rage at times over the enemy's tactics – ambushes, roadside detonations and suicide bombings that more often kill Afghan civilians – and occasionally their spirits sag. Yet they've never lost heart or resolve. Which is so much more than can be said for the hand-wringing Canadian public.

I've had the privilege of spending a great deal of time with Canada's soldiers overseas, including members of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team – the Omelet – of which McCully was a member. The Omelet is foremost tasked with instructing the Afghan National Army, turning out troops that will, inshallah, eventually be able to fight their own battles. Entire battalions of professional soldiers have already passed muster, with a goal of 70,000 national troops by 2010.

By then, more Canadian soldiers will have died. And the vast majority of Afghans are grateful.

It is facile, but maddeningly wrongheaded, to claim that Canadians are making little or no difference in Afghanistan. The difference is everywhere evident, from valleys in Panjwaii that are peaceful and populated to villages of refuge in volatile Zhari, where McCully was killed when he stepped on a land mine.
The neo-Taliban insurgency has shown more vigour in the past year but this is a fight they can't win militarily. That's not their aim. The war they are waging is here, in Canada, and other coalition countries. The militants aren't stupid; they recognize the soft ground.

It would be so easy for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to cave in to opinion polls, bring the troops home earlier rather than later. Such a decision might even give this Conservative government the majority it covets.

I have no partisan politics. But Harper is to be commended for continuing to do what's morally right rather than politically expedient, amidst the sophistry that passes for informed criticism, particularly among those who conflate Afghanistan with Iraq.

Canada has adopted Afghanistan. That means not giving it back when the ward becomes too much of a handful.
To do so would be dishonourable and disastrous – for Afghanistan's future and Canada's present. This country stands for something, which is why it has stood with Afghans, which is why Canadian soldiers recoil from the very suggestion that our troops should seek safer havens, whether in Kabul as a security force or in provinces calmer than Kandahar.
They do not want this. As hard as it may be for many Canadians to understand, combat troops thrive on soldiering. They hate being tucked in the safe sanctuary of the Kandahar Airfield. They routinely express disdain for allies that rarely venture outside the wire. It is a matter of pride and principle.

Pity that so many Canadians share neither that pride nor those principles.

Rosie DiManno usually appears Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. rdimanno@thestar.com

 

[Mike Baker]

Very good article. I know that the Somme is still in the minds of us Newfoundlanders, as it should be. That battle wiped out, in a sense, a whole generation of young Newfoundlanders, and still touched nerves here. Now, the Afghan mission is touching our nerves nation wide, sometimes for the wrong reason (i.e. the 'Get out of Afghanistan, we don't need their oil' types). But, as we need to do back in the World Wars and other conflicts, we need to give our troops our full support. I know we all do (hopefully), and we need to show it. Yes, Canadian Troops have and will die, that is not good. But those we have lost in Afghanistan is a fraction of what we lost in WW1 and WW2, and back then, we never said 'Bring our troops home (some did, I know), it is Europe's (and Asia's) battle'. We should not say that about Afghanistan. They need us, and I hope we can finish our job over there, then bring our troops home, when we have totally helped the Afghan people to fend for themselves. But, that is just my opinion, and I hope many of you have similar opinions about the mission in Afghanistan.  :cdnsalute:

 

[Navy_Blue]

My thoughts exactly.  I wish more of us would understand. 

 

[Journeyman]

A good article by Rosie Dimanno.......

I can understand people being too lazy to search other threads before posting......but how did you miss the exact same article starting this thread...on the same freakin' PAGE?!  :

 

[George Wallace]

I can understand people being too lazy to search other threads before posting......but how did you miss the exact same article starting this thread...on the same freakin' PAGE?!   :

Because someone started it early in the day, in another forum, and I merged it...........

 

[Journeyman]

Because someone started it early in the day, in another forum, and I merged it...........

Mark your calendars folks.......

I apologize. 

 

[vonGarvin]

Mark your calendars folks.......

I apologize.   

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/62751.new.html#new

>

 

[Yrys]

Captain Sensible has leave you a nice thread for that...

Édith : ... and he is FAST!

 

[deedster]

Mark your calendars folks.......

I apologize.   

The full moon is just around the corner 

 

[retiredgrunt45]

A good article just the same, no matter which way she blows, because every bit of positive feedback by the media is another + for the mission.