Fact check
A little known fact is that while Canada, wisely, opted out of military engagement in Iraq, it did commit troops by the thousands to the war in Afghanistan. So it’s a little unsettling today to read Roger Cohen’s op-ed today in the Times, which begins:
In Afghanistan there’s the United States, Britain and then the rest. Britain has lost 85 soldiers this year, more than all other European NATO allies combined. For both countries the annual death toll has been rising steadily since 2006, and with it the drumbeat of public opposition to the war. In all, more than 1,100 U.S. and British troops have died.
Now, I’m not one for jingoism. I’m not too patriotic. Maybe it’s the Canadian in me, I don’t know. But let’s get the facts right, shall we. Since the war began, 131 Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, the last in mid-September. As for Cohen’s “the rest,” may they rest in peace.
And another thing: While I like Cohen in general on foreign policy matters, particularly in regards to Israel and Iran, he could do better than to argue for a troop surge in Afghanistan on the exclusive advice of British secretary David Miliband, the only direct source quoted in the piece, from an hour-long conversation.
