I just stumbled upon this page on the National Post:
http://afghanistan.nationalpost.com/
It outlines the past 10 years in Afghanistan. Reading some of the articles from 2001 are interesting:
Quote:
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Even if we do deploy some troops to Afghanistan, they will likely have to go without their infantry support vehicles — as the Forces lack the airplanes and ships necessary to transport them. We would also have to rely on other nations’ militaries to provide our troops with food, water and munitions. We could send planes, but might have to beg other air forces for spare parts, as we did in Kosovo in 1999. To add insult to neglect, Mr. Chretien, in an interview aired Christmas Day on Global TV, pronounced our military “well equipped” and dismissed those who press him to end his fiscal abuse of the Forces as working hand in hand with defence contractors.
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http://afghanistan.nationalpost.com/...ary-impotence/
Emphasis added.
Harper has put funding back into the forces and they are something Canadians can be proud of. Reading that certainly showed how much we depended on the US 10 years ago. Bring the Canadian Forces back to respectability Harper deserves credit for. The soverignty of this nation is up to no one but ourselves. We should be able to defend ourselves while being ready to respond if called upon.
Also, some great sketches here:
http://afghanistan.nationalpost.com/illustrations-2/