Army Guy Posted May 24, 2007 Report Posted May 24, 2007 Keepitsimple: Polls are suggesting that Canadians are in favour of pulling out of Afgan and starting a new mission in Darfur. And like Afgan it would be an honorable mission that could save thousands of lives. But before Canadian citizens start jumping up and down raising thier hands in support of this new idea, much like they did for Afgan they should atleast do thier research, and ask all those questions and have all those debates before we enter into any deployments. I think that the below article addresses some of the problems in doing that. Darfur. Some of the problems that were not fully addressed in the article. The conflict is about religion, ethnicity, and the shrinking resources in a land slowly giving way to desert. None of these is changeable or subject to negotiation. Years of international pressure finally got Sudan to accept 20,000 African Union peacekeepers, lately replaced by 3,000 troops from the UN. Darfur is the size of France; the outsiders have not made significant improvements in the situation there. With all that is going on in the world right now, and only 3000 UN peacekeepers on the ground now even with a huge Canadian commitment those numbers might be able to double, where are they going to get the additional troops from , most reliable militaries are already stretched as thin as we are. so that leaves us outnumbered in a huge area of operations without the additional support we enjoy in Afgan like Fighter aircraft, Hvy arty support, recon assets like air, and land, Attack helos etc etc ...not a very tenable postion. and we don't need permission from Russia and China (permanent veto powers on the UN's Security Council) every time one of our soldiers takes the safety off his or her weapon. Un missions have a completly different setup, it's HQ is based in New York, not on the ground as NATO has in Afgan, It's chief players ( civilians) are only available during working hours, (8am to 4pm ) after that time you get a junior civilian who can not take action without contacting someone else first...How does that translate into a bad set up, imagine your self under fire talking on the radio, asking permission to return fire, or stop a serious crime ie murder from taking place, you finally get thru only to find out it's past 4 pm new york time and the rockie on the phone say's you have to wait until he can get ahold of someone more senior....even then nobody wants to make a decision in fear of making a bad one or slighting another country... Rules of engagement differ greatly, are far to restrictive, to the piont they put soldiers lives indanger. some will say this is good, but they forget the bad guys know the rules as well and by the time you get permission to stop a rape or murder the crimes done and they have moved onto something else. And those UN soldiers are force to watch it all unfold before them helpless... Yet just keeping 2,500 troops on the ground in Afghanistan -- maintaining those who are there, supporting and refitting those who have returned and preparing those about to go -- is stretching Canada's military to the limit. Not to mention the building of a new camp, purchasing new types of equipment more suited to jungle and desert warfare. Change of training and tactics. it will all cost large... Starting all over again on a new mission , just so we can escape Afgan is not a smart thing to do. Canadians have already proven they do not have the patients for a long term mission, so one would have to ask what we could accomplish in a short time, from scratch, in an eviroment similar to Afgan, out manned and out gunned. Darfur would cost Canada alot more than it's paying out in Afgan in equipment, soldiers, and aid. Quote We, the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have now done so much for so long with so little, we are now capable of doing anything with nothing.
Topaz Posted May 24, 2007 Report Posted May 24, 2007 The killings in this country is unthinkable! I've heard US citizens who have gone over there to help the people who have escaped alive. The killers kill everyone, women, kids, babies taken from the arms of their mothers! This is Germany WW2 all over again. ALL countries, in this pitiful world, should go in and take out the killers!! We need to go in not because we can get their oil or other materials , we should go in to save lives and kill the aggressors! Quote
Army Guy Posted May 24, 2007 Author Report Posted May 24, 2007 Do you really think Canadians would agree to that, remember these are the same people who insisted on a national inquiry because some Afganis terrorist were found with bruises on them....These killers you talk of are mostly child soldiers, that would make for some good media, Canadian soldiers standing over a few 10 year olds killed in a gun battle... What is happening over there is a very bad thing but we can not help everyone, nor can we help both... Quote We, the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have now done so much for so long with so little, we are now capable of doing anything with nothing.
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