Do Canadians realize we are at war? It doesn't seem like they do. Recently the discussion here at Hack House has turned to the topic of fallen soldiers and the way our government handles the deaths. First I would like to say that I support our troops in every way and when they are KIA I realize that they are killed because they fight for me and the freedoms I have. I mean them no disrespect.
In recent months the death toll in Afganistan has risen and our PM is taking heat for not lowering the flag to half staff and holding press conferences and having huge public memorials.
About 4 years ago we set a precendence in the way we handle the death of soldiers. 4 Canadians were killed in a friendly fire accident and we had a huge elaborate funeral for them and I thought...uh oh, this war just started and this is how we react when 4 soldiers are killed? What happens, I thought, if hundreds more are killed in Afganistan?
And now I can see that there is fallout from that. Canadians need to brace themselves for worse and we need to remember the reason that this war was started and we must finish our job there. We cannot back down and the media needs to stop wondering *if* Canadians think we should be there or not. We *are* there and will be for some time to come and I think it is a disservice to the memories of those who have fallen to ponder why the PM treats these deaths differently than in the recent past.
Does the Military have a protocol they follow for fallen soldiers? Why was that protocol not followed after the friendly fire incident? Public outcry? Short-sightedness on behalf of the liberals?
Although I try to understand the grief of families who lost their sons and daughters I know I cannot know their pain, but on top of must we subject the families to this pissing match over which soldiers get a fancy funeral and which don't? We've lost sight of the big picture here and I just wonder if we haven't set ourselves up for a huge problem as this war we are embroiled in escalates.
I think I have been watching too much West Wing (crack)....I wonder how much time the White House spends on having President Bush call the families of soldiers KIA.
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1 comment:
Weeds,
The new government is following the traditional protocol to a tee, Rememberance Day is the official recognition of fallen soldiers, lest we forget.
It was the Liberals pandering to knee jerk anti-Americanism that changed the procedure. They made a circus out of their deaths, remember the politically correct makeup of the pall bearers that took the caskets off the plane? Since they had to include a female for the cameras they were off balance and almost dropped one of the caskets on national tv.
The Liberals also played flag foolery on other occasions, notably the massacre at the L'ecole Polytechnique. No one argues it was a tragedy, but why are we ordering ships at sea to lower the flag 15 yr later if not to pander to the women's studies faculties?
Also, it has always been Commonwealth tradition to bury the fallen in situ, that's why we have all those cemetries in France and Belgium. The whole fly them home thing was copied from the Americans.
I watch my naive country from afar and wonder when the heads are eventually going to be pulled out of the asses. I can assure you that even the low level terrorism we experience here has provided a clarity of purpose that is sadly lacking in the "enllightened" west.
Duke
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