As 2008 wound down, Canada had its deadliest month of the year in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, over at the NDP website... no statement on any of the recent deaths.
Is the federal NDP really willing to leave Afghanistan 'off the table' in pursuit of a now-unlikely coalition with the Liberals?
Just as the Afghan issue had been lost amidst the headlines around Canada's political crisis (with the Liberals making clear that the war was "not in the table" for the opposition coalition), three soldiers were killed by an IED in Kandahar, bringing the Canadian soldier casualties to 100.
With news of this milestone, the father of the first female soldier killed in Afghanistan questioned the "mission":
"On Friday, Cpl. Mark Robert McLaren, Pte. Demetrios Diplaros and Warrant Officer John Robert Wilson all died in a roadside bomb blast, bringing Canada's death toll to 100 since the Afghan mission began in 2002.
Three fatalities on Sept. 3 took place in the area where Goddard's daughter was killed, making him wonder whether the Canadian mission is meeting its stated objectives.
'We're still losing soldiers in the same geographical location and that makes you wonder how successful we're being in imposing security on that area.'"
At the time, other family members of soldiers fallen in Afghanistan questioned "if anything had changed."
The Canadian Peace Alliance, meeting in convention in Toronto December 5-7, held a vigil Friday night with the Toronto Stop the War Coalition to reiterate the demand of the Canadian anti-war movement to bring the troops home now.
