Canada in list 2...that comment forgot all about Afghanistan
Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in the United States, Canada became the third-largest contributor to the NATO-led invasion of Afghanistan, behind the United States and the United Kingdom.
2001–2002 initial deployment
After the attacks on September 11, 2001, the Canadian Forces immediately deployed its elite special operations unit Joint Task Force Two. It was used in a vital role in calling airstrikes and directly confronting Al-Qaeda and Taliban positions. Once the regular forces were on the ground in January-February 2002 the Canadians were used supporting the war effort until Operation Anaconda began. During the operation, a Canadian sniper team broke, and re-broke, the kill record for a long distance sniper kill set in the Vietnam War by a U.S. Marine, Staff Sgt Carlos Hathcock. Operation Anaconda was also the first time since the Korean War that Canadian soldiers relieved American soldiers in a combat operation. Although not participating in the opening days of the invasion, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced on October 7 that Canada would contribute forces to the international force being formed to conduct a campaign against terrorism. General Ray Henault, the Chief of the Defence Staff, issued preliminary orders to several CF units, as Operation Apollo was established. The Canadian commitment was originally planned to last to October 2003.
[edit] 2002–2005
In March 2002, three Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry PPCLI snipers fought along side U.S. Army units during Operation Anaconda. Canadian forces also undertook Operation Harpoon in the Shah-i-Kot Valley. Other forces in the country provided garrison and security troops.
On April 18, 2002, a friendly fire incident caused Canadian casualties when an American F-16 jet dropped a laser-guided bomb on a group of Canadian soldiers. The Canadians were conducting night-time training on a designated live-fire range, and the American pilots mistook their gunfire for a Taliban insurgent attack. Four Canadians were killed and eight were wounded in the bombing (see Tarnak Farm incident).
In 2003, the Canadian Forces moved to the northern city of Kabul where it became the commanding nation of the newly formed ISAF. In the spring of 2005 it was announced that the Canadian Forces would move back to the volatile Kandahar Province as the U.S. forces handed command to the Canadians in the region.
[edit] 2003–2005 Operation Athena
In August 2003, Operation Athena began outside Kabul as part of ISAF, with a 1,900-strong Canadian task force providing assistance to civilian infrastructure such as well-digging and repair of local buildings.
In March 2004, Canada committed $250 million in aid to Afghanistan, and $5 million to support the 2004 Afghan election.[2]
On 13 February 2005, Defence Minister Bill Graham announced Canada was doubling the number of troops in Afghanistan by the coming summer, from 600 troops in Kabul to 1200.[3]
Operation Athena ended following the national elections in December 2005 and the fulfilment of the stated aim of "rebuilding the democratic process" in Afghanistan.[4]
[edit] 2006 renewed commitments: Operation Archer
Operation Archer followed Athena beginning in February 2006. By the spring of 2006, Canada had a major role in southern Afghanistan, with Task Force Afghanistan being a battle group of 2,300 soldiers based at Kandahar. Canada also commanded the Multi-National Brigade for Command South, a main military force in the region. In May 2006, the Canadian government extended Canadian military commitments to Afghanistan by two years, replacing earlier plans to withdraw soldiers in 2006.
Additionally, Foreign Affairs Canada stated that the commitment was more than just military, employing a "a whole of government approach", in which a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), utilizing personnel from the military, Foreign Affairs, the Canadian International Development Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, would provide a dual role of security as well as reconstruction of the country and political structure.[4]
On 28 February 2006, command of the forces in southern Afghanistan transferred from U.S. Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry to Canadian Brigadier-General David Fraser in a ceremony at Kandahar Airfield.
[edit] 2006–present
When the Canadian Forces returned to Kandahar after being deployed to Kabul in 2003, the Taliban began a major offensive, and the Canadians were caught in the middle. After a spring in which a record number of attacks against Canadian soldiers had been set, which included six deaths to the CF, the Taliban in Kandahar and Helmand provinces were massing.
Operation Mountain Thrust was launched in the beginning of the summer in 2006. Canadians of the 2 PPCLI Battle Group were one of the leading combatants and the first fighting when the Battle of Panjwaii took place. Complex mud-walled compounds made the rural Panjwaye District take on an almost urban style of fighting in some places. Daily firefights, artillery bombardments, and allied airstrikes turned the tides of the battle in favour of the Canadians. After Operation Mountain Thrust came to an end, Taliban fighters flooded back into the Panjwaye District in numbers that had not been seen yet in a single area in the "post Anaconda" war.
The Canadian Forces came under NATO command at the end of July, and the 1 RCR Battle Group replaced the PPCLI. Canadians launched Operation Medusa in September in an attempt to clear the areas of Taliban fighters from Panjwaii once and for all. The fighting of Operation Medusa led the way to the second, and most fierce Battle of Panjwaii in which daily gun-battles, ambushes, and mortar and rocket attacks were targeting the Canadian troops. The Taliban had massed with an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 fighters. The Taliban were reluctant to give up the area, and after being surrounded by the Canadian Forces, they dug in and fought a more conventional style battle. After weeks of fighting, the Taliban had been cleared from the Panjwaye area and Canadian reconstruction efforts in the area began.
On 15 September 2006, the Canadian government committed a squadron of Leopard tanks from Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), and an additional 200 to 500 troops to Afghanistan. Canada is the only nation so far to deploy armour to Afghanistan.[5]
On 1 November 2006, Dutch Major-General Ton van Loon succeeded Brigadier-General David Fraser as head of NATO Regional Command South in Afghanistan, a post which he will retain for a six month period. [1]
On 15 December 2006, the Canadians launched Operation Falcon Summit into Zhari District, to the North of Panjwaye. The operation was the Canadian involvement in the NATO-led Operation Mountain Fury. During Op Falcon Summit, the Canadians gained control of several key villages and towns that were former Taliban havens, such as Howz-E Madad. During the first week of the operation, massive Canadian artillery and tank barrages were carried out in a successful attempt to clear pockets of Taliban resistance. The operation concluded with plans to build a new road linking Panjwaye with Kandahar's Highway 1 that runs east-west through Zhari.
In February 2007, the 2 RCR Battle Group took over to carry on with combat operations in several districts in Kandahar Province.
On 15 July 2007, units from CFB Valcartier near Quebec City were sent to Afghanistan and now form part of the 2,800 troops stationed there.
On 29 January 2008, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Canada will extend its military mission in Afghanistan to 2011, only if another NATO country puts more than 1,000 soldiers in the dangerous southern province of Kandahar. This is due to the European allies' refusal to deploy to Afghanistan's dangerous south and east, this has opened a rift with Britain, Canada, the Netherlands and others which, along with the United States, have borne the brunt of Taliban violence.
