This very un-Canadian display of pride in our martial prowess included marching bands, aircraft flypasts and special recognition for Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard, the Canadian military mastermind who led the NATO air armada against the Libyan army.
At the time, some critics questioned the scale of the demonstration by saying the Canadian Forces put more aircraft in the skies over Ottawa than they ever put over Libya. The more pragmatic cynics wondered how much the military exhibition cost Canadian taxpayers.
Now that the final bill has been tallied, Defence Minister Peter MacKay tells us that it was money well spent. The pilots flying in ceremonial formation low over the Peace Tower would have otherwise been engaged in training flights at bases across Canada. Of course, such training would involve professionally challenging flying — such as engaging ground targets — or practising evasive manoeuvres rather than flying in a straight line.
But who am I to question MacKay’s judgment on such matters?
What was interesting about the newly released details on the cost of this event was the fact the Privy Council Office first authorized the expense on Oct. 2, 2011. Those with a keen eye for detail will remember that, as of that date, Moammar Gadhafi and his loyalists were still holding out against rebel forces.
While he had been driven out of Tripoli on Aug. 20, Gadhafi’s followers still held the cities of Sirte, Bani Walid and Sabha as well as the vital oil shipping port of Brega. It wasn’t until 18 days after the Harper government authorized the lavish Canadian victory party that Gadhafi was captured while fleeing Sirte and subsequently executed by the rebels.
Originally, the planned celebrations were to include the awarding of special medals to all the Canadian personnel who took part in the campaign. Unfortunately, it was soon realized that the number of decorations needed could not be produced in time. Instead it was decided to centre the attention on Bouchard by awarding him the Meritorious Service Cross.
Immediately following the ceremony, there were a few news stories noting that many of Canada’s Afghanistan veterans were a little miffed that Libya garnered such a high-profile public spotlight, whereas the combat mission in Kandahar was concluded the previous July with no official fanfare whatsoever.
During the 10-month campaign to oust Gadhafi, not a single Canadian soldier was killed, none were wounded and if the Defence Department is to be believed, no Canadian service member even set foot on Libyan soil until after Gadhafi’s murder.
By contrast, the Canadian commitment to Afghanistan has lasted more than a decade, cost the lives of 158 soldiers and left more than 2,000 service members injured or wounded, with many of them having been permanently disabled.
Government officials did point out that Canada is still committing nearly 1,000 troops to assist in training the Afghan army until 2014, thus they claim it would be premature to stage a Libya-style victory bash at this point for our Afghanistan veterans.
While that is certainly true, the odds of anyone ever declaring the Afghanistan intervention a "victory" are growing more remote by the minute.
The triple whammy of U.S. troops videotaped peeing on dead Taliban and the burning of copies of the Qur’an, followed by an American staff sergeant going amok and murdering 16 Afghan civilians have resulted in the Taliban quitting the fledgling peace talks and President Hamid Karzai demanding that all international troops withdraw from rural areas.
No one really believes that the Afghan security forces will be trained to self-sufficiency by 2014, and the international community is reluctant to continue funding the training effort beyond the planned pullout date.
Essentially, the best thing we can hope for now is that we can rely upon the Afghan army to hold the airfields until the last NATO soldier is safely evacuated.
While that is not exactly an objective worth celebrating, the sacrifice made by our soldiers in the service of Canada is something that should not go unrecognized — albeit in a far more sombre fashion.
Original Article
Source: the chronicle herald
Author: SCOTT TAYLOR
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