Canadian Soldiers Killed by Suicide Bomber

Two Canadian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Monday when their convoy was struck by a suicide bomber. The names of the victims have not be released as of yet. Initial reports believed that there were civilian casualties, but it has been confirmed that the two soldiers were the only victims of this attack.



Since Canadian troops were deployed to Afghanistan in 2002, we have lost a total of 44 men and women. I believe in our soldiers and I hope that their lives were lost in a just cause. My problem is with the government behind the troops and our Canadian media.

If Canadians are interested in hearing of the ongoing issue in Afghanistan, we must resort to an American news station. The only news we hear of our soldiers on a Canadian broadcast is when there was a loss of life. I believe our soldiers are being hung out to dry, and their fight is going by the blind eye of the average citizen in Canada.

It is time for our administration and our media to lay more emphasis on our active soldiers. These individuals are giving their lives for us, they deserve a little more than a few paragraphs that simply announce their passing. The fact we no longer hang our flags at half-mast for lost soldiers is the ultimate insult, in my opinion.

According to the Canadian Press, the two soldiers were in a Bison, an eight-wheeled armoured vehicle, when the bomber drove his car, loaded with explosives, into the convoy and detonated the bomb.

I hope this is not a result of any ROE change, or perhaps lax regulations NATO set up in Afghanistan when they took over. Talk about a death wish. There is no reason that car should have been allowed to come within 10-15 meters of the convoy. If it did not stop after repeated warning shots it should have been destroyed.

I have to debate the OP here. I read the papers daily and there hasn't been a lapse in their reporting. They are telling us all that is available. Khandahar is a volitile area where pretty much only the Canadian troops have rein to fire on enemy combatants. There ARE other troops there from NATO but they are not allowed to engage. I'll look for the story, it was in the Toronto Star.

Well theres a problem there WP, sometimes the suicide bomber could have been coming from the other direction on the other side of the street, instead of trying to catchup with the convoy, he was most likely facing towards them and drove into them. Not much you can do there, unless you want to shootup every vehicle that is coming your way.

deltaboy, that may have been the case, if so, perhaps they should consider somehow closing the opposite lane until the large convoy passes by?

Found it:

Source.

Originally posted by WestPoint23
deltaboy, that may have been the case, if so, perhaps they should consider somehow closing the opposite lane until the large convoy passes by?

You mean having somebody drive far ahead and prevent vehicles from moving by making them park on the side of the road? Thats pretty tough, imagine a car coming at you every minute. Can't stop and go like that, probably cover a few miles in couple of hours if moving like that way.

My heart goes out to the families of these brave soldiers. I too, hope that the lives lost over there are indeed for a just cause but I suppose history will have to judge that. My prayers for the families.

That's what I was thinking, having an armored vehicle drive forward on the opposite lane with some type of dazzler on the roof. And having a chopper fly even further ahead scouting for any ambush or danger while announcing with a loudspeaker the situation to oncoming vehicles. Doesn't sound too effective but who knows. Unless in the city you don't really have to worry about heavy traffic in Afghanistan, it's not like Iraq.

Have someone close overthere as part of the NATO commitment. Seems to me there should be a lot more command and soldiers there than is at the moment.

Dallas

Originally posted by Dallas

Have someone close overthere as part of the NATO commitment. Seems to me there should be a lot more command and soldiers there than is at the moment.

Dallas

JFT2 is being deployed there on a regular basis. 2/3 of JTF2 were in southern Afghanistan just a couple of weeks ago. You can only rely on SF for so long though in an occupation.

Originally posted by intrepid
I have to debate the OP here. I read the papers daily and there hasn't been a lapse in their reporting. They are telling us all that is available. Khandahar is a volitile area where pretty much only the Canadian troops have rein to fire on enemy combatants. There ARE other troops there from NATO but they are not allowed to engage. I'll look for the story, it was in the Toronto Star.

Well, coming from a small town on the east coast with not much of a Military history, I guess I am a victim of my locality. I read my local newspaper here on a regular basis, a long with one from where I grew up my whole life, and very rarely does anything make the headlines of the ongoing issues overseas. Nine out of every ten articles that I read are stating a death or injury of a soldier.

I browse CBC and CTV on a regular basis as well, and reading articles on those sites is not exactly a daily observation either.

I admit my opening stance is a little broad on Canadian media, but after reading another article, of another death, of another one of our soldiers, my frustration boiled over.

I find it ironic that the one outlet that regularly discusses our soldiers on a regular basis has been Don Cherry with his Coaches Corner piece every Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada.

As I told our American cousins, in their thread about Afghanistan, if you want news, go to the
BBC