Canadian participation in the war in Afghanistan

The use of the Canadian Armed Forces in the war in Afghanistan is divided into Operation Apollo, which began in 2001, and Operation Athena , which continues from 2003 to the present day. Canada thus participated in both the United States-led Operation Enduring Freedom and the international ISAF mission .

commitment

The Canadian Armed Forces and humanitarian aid operations in Afghanistan are led by the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command . In addition, there is the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command , which is responsible for the deployment of special forces.

From 2001 to October 29, 2011, 158 Canadian soldiers died in Afghanistan.

Some major military operations with Canadian involvement are:

• Operation Harpoon (2002) March 13 - March 19, 2002
• Operation TORII May 4-7 , 2002
• Operation Archer OEF February 2006
• Operation Mountain Thrust May 15 - July 31, 2006
• Operation Medusa September 1-20, 2006, Canadian leadership of the operation
• Operation Falcon Summit , December 15, 2006 - January 2007
• Operation Baawar , December 5, 2010 -?
• Operation Dragon Strike , September 19-26, 2010 - December 31, 2010

history

Canadian soldiers, July 2002

The Canadian government under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (until December 12, 2003) dispatched Joint Task Force 2 special forces to Afghanistan in December 2001 as part of a multinational military operation called Task Force K-Bar .

On February 22, 2002, 750 Canadian soldiers were transferred to Kandahar as part of Operation Enduring Freedom . The number of soldiers rose to over 850 on March 7th. On March 13, the first US-Canadian operation led by Canadians took place in which three opponents were killed. On April 17, 2002, during a night exercise, a serious incident called the Tarnak Farm incident occurred in which a laser-guided bomb was dropped from a US fighter aircraft, killing four Canadian soldiers and wounding eight. In July 2002 the Canadian soldiers were withdrawn.

From 2003 to 2005 a phase followed in which in 2004 the maximum of 1700 soldiers were deployed to Camp Julien in Kabul under a mandate from the ISAF . Canada was responsible for Kabul's western territories. During this time Paul Martin was Prime Minister (December 12, 2003 to February 6, 2006). From February to August 2004, the Canadian General Rick Hillier was the commander of the ISAF force in Kabul.

From 2003 to 2009 Canadians use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Sagem , which on the airport of Kandahar were stationed. IAI Heron drones were then used, among other things .

From 2005 the focus shifted back to Kandahar, with the number of soldiers increasing from 1000 (2005) to 2500 (2007). On August 16, 2005, Canada took over the leadership of a Provincial Reconstruction Team under an OEF mandate , which is based at Camp Nathan Smith near Kandahar. Since August 2005, Canadian Operational Mentor and Liaison Teams have been supporting the training of a maximum of 3000 soldiers in the 1st Brigade of the 205th Corps of the Afghan National Army . Since 2007 there has also been a similar program for the Afghan police.

Until 2005/2006, Canada's civil aid was around $ 100 million a year. In 2006/2007 this sum rose to $ 250 million.

On February 1, 2006, all Canadian overseas operations were combined in the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command. ISAF then took over responsibility for Kandahar Province in July 2006 . The South Regional Command has rotating leadership between Great Britain , Canada and the Netherlands . Canada provided the commander from February 28, 2006 through November 2006 and 2008. In 2006 there were approximately 6,000 soldiers in the regional command from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark , the United States, Romania and Estonia. As early as March 29, 2006, there was the first Canadian soldier killed in action.

Pan-Canadian Day of Action, October 27, 2007

On May 17, 2006, the House of Commons decided to extend the Canadian civilian and military operations in Afghanistan until February 2009 and to provide additional assistance worth $ 310 million from 2007 to 2011. The government increased civil assistance by another $ 200 million on February 26, 2007.

After heavy fighting in the summer and autumn of 2006, Canada relocated Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Afghanistan. This became necessary because the Taliban gathered hundreds of fighters in Panjwai district . With the Operation Medusa the danger was averted in heavy fighting that the provincial capital Kandahar was conquered.

The Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper (since February 6, 2006) ordered a review of Canada's engagement in Afghanistan on October 12, 2007. The so-called Manley Commission Report, presented to the government on January 22, 2008, by Chairman John Manley was created . He named the main task of shifting the focus from military to civilian action and making the Afghans more responsible for their own security.

The Arghandāb River in Kandahar Province is used to irrigate the fields with the help of the Dahla Dam, which is to be repaired from 2008 and is located 34 kilometers north of Kandahar, and the canal system connected to it. The dam is also used to generate electricity. The Canadian government planned for 2008 with a cost for this project of about 120 million US dollars.

The reinforcement of 30,000 US soldiers announced by US President Barack Obama on December 1, 2009 , was largely stationed in Kandahar Province. This made it possible for the Canadian soldiers to concentrate on only two districts: Daman (Dand?), In the south of Kandahar, and Panjwai , in the west.

In 2011, Canadian troops withdrew from combat missions. Since then, only Afghan security forces have been trained.

costs

Canada's aid to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2011 amounts to C $ 1.9 billion Canadian dollars (US $ 1.8 billion). The total financial outlay is estimated at 7.5 billion Canada dollars.

literature

Banerjee, Capstick, Hayes: The Canadian Case . In Mark Sedra, Geoffrey Hayes (Ed.): Afghanistan: Transition under Threat . Laurier University Press 2008, ISBN 978-1-55458-011-8 , pp. 241-298.

Web links

Commons : Canadian Forces in Afghanistan  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Government of Canada: Canada's Engagement in Afghanistan
• Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan (PDF; 2.0 MB)
• nationalpost.com: Canadians fought two different wars, June 2011
• Government of Canada: Canada's Engagement in Afghanistan - Quarterly Report to Parliament for the Period of July 1 to September 30, 2010
• thestar.com: Canada's Afghan legacy: Failure at Dahla dam, July 14, 2012

Individual evidence

1. ↑ icasualties.org: Coalition Death's Canada
2. ↑ cbcnews: JTF2 - Canada's super-secret commandos
3. ↑ CEFCOM: "Eyes over the desert" sets a new milestone  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ CEFCOM: ( Memento of the original from September 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ CEFCOM: Canadian Forces Transformation - From Vision to Mission  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ CEFCOM: Canadian Officer responsible for Regional Command South in Kandahar  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ CEFCOM: Four Canadian and three coalition forces casualties following attack northwest of Kandahar  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ dailycommercialnews.com: Canada will spend $ 120 million to build Afghanistan's Dahla dam ( Memento of the original from July 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ CEFCOM: Bridging the gap on the road to the Dahla Dam  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
10. ↑ Canadian Army: Canada announces new role in Afghanistan ( Memento of the original from September 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
11. ↑ Reuters: Canada says boosting and refocusing Afghan aid
12. ↑ thestar.com: Afghan mission $ 1B over budget