A reminder that "training" = "safer" than K'Har but =/= "Safe"

[The Bread Guy]

Are there any reporters embedded with the training units?  I'm not seeing much MSM coverage, and this story's been written in "Ottawa" according to the placeline....

Canadian military trainers helped defend a NATO compound in Kabul last week when Taliban insurgents launched a dramatic attack against the U.S. Embassy and surrounding neighbourhood that killed 16 Afghans and wounded dozens more.

This revelation, combined with assertions from a senior military official on Thursday that the Canadian Forces considers the Afghan capital an “extremely violent” environment, has raised fresh questions about the risks Canadian soldiers are facing in what was originally billed a low-risk, “behind the wire” training mission.

According to a Defence Department spokesman, a small number of Canadian soldiers tasked with training Afghan counterparts were arriving at NATO headquarters in Kabul when the camp was attacked by insurgents.

Capt. Mark Peebles said that during the ensuing battle, the Canadians helped Afghan security personnel and other NATO forces beat back the attack, including returning fire against insurgents in a building located nearby.

Capt. Peebles said the incident was not publicly announced because no Canadians were hurt during the fight, and at no time did they leave the building as the operation was being managed by Afghan forces and the Canadians were only in a support role ....

Postmedia News, 22 Sept 11

Meanwhile, the CF InfoMachine is focusing on this.

 

[T.I.M.]

I was wondering if that would ever hit the news.

Made for an interesting day.  And a very large ammo cas. 

 

[PuckChaser]

Don't tell my wife! I still want to DAG Green.  >

 

[dogger1936]

If the media had to report every TIC you could forget reading anything else such as kate plus 8's new haircut or things like weather. This isnt a new or differnt thing. Troops get in TIC's. Nothing noteworthy there.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I was wondering if that would ever hit the news.

Made for an interesting day.  And a very large ammo cas. 

Hope you guys are all OK.

If the media had to report every TIC you could forget reading anything else such as kate plus 8's new haircut or things like weather. This isnt a new or differnt thing. Troops get in TIC's. Nothing noteworthy there.

If this was an isolated drive-by shooting of a place where Canadian soldiers were located, that's true.  However, this could be seen as part of a MUCH bigger cluster of attacks in Kabul that day, attacks that drew a lot of media attention.

This issue was also raised in Question Period yesterday:

Mr. Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre, NDP):  Mr. Speaker, today, Canadians learned that our military trainers in Afghanistan were involved in active combat last week when a NATO compound in Kabul came under attack.  The Prime Minister and the Minister of National Defence repeatedly told Canadians that this would be a non-combat mission. Clearly, that is not the case. This training mission is a combat mission that continues to put Canadian troops at risk.  Will the government now acknowledge that there is no non-combat military role in a war?

Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of National Defence, CPC):  Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, the combat mission in Afghanistan has now come to an end. We have transitioned to training. That training is taking place in and around Kabul. However, I do not think the member is naive enough to suggest that Canadian Forces are not going to protect themselves when in a volatile city like Kabul. They will return fire and protect themselves. That is what happened in this instance. The member and Canadians would expect no less.

Mr. Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre, NDP):  Mr. Speaker, this is holding the government to account that says one thing and then does the other.  This incident undermines Canadians' trust in the government. We were told this would be a non-combat role. That is clearly not the case. We were told that our troops would be out of harm's way. However, the Canadian Forces say that Kabul is an extremely violent environment.  We were even denied a chance to debate and vote on this mission in the House of Commons.  Why did the government mislead Canadians on this issue?

Hon. Peter MacKay (Minister of National Defence, CPC):  Mr. Speaker, I agree with some of what the hon. member is suggesting.  Yes, Kabul is a very dangerous environment. I have nothing but the greatest respect for the Canadian soldiers who are there, doing their fine work in training the Afghan national army and police.  Yes, Canadian Forces will in fact protect themselves in that environment. As I said, the hon. member would expect no less.  To suggest somehow that the Canadian government has said there will be no danger in Kabul is completely wrong and he is misleading the House.

Note to Mr. Dewar (and anyone else who thought this was going to be a cozy, safe go):  I guess you didn't hear the PM say the threat was never zero here, here and here.

 

[Franko]

A TiC in Afghanistan? Say it isn't so!

/sarcasm