Mr. Sanchez,
Getting back to the text of your article from the original post in this thread... I see that you mentioned speaking to soldiers of this nation or that nation, but I don't see you mentioning speaking to a Canadian soldier. You did mention Canada's involvement in this war but only through a small inflamatory piece that, well... (I've just re-read that paragraph on Canada and there just isn't anything substantive in there - other than a quantity of, what? conjecture, I guess?)
I guess by using the word 'conjecture', you may think that I'm attempting to be inflamatory. Nope, so I'll list a few things to illustrate my point.
You say:
- "According to critics in the media" but you don't name any.
- "politicians pretending to care for the welfare of the troops" but how do you or I know what politicans are pretending or not pretending to do?
- "support for the Afghan Mission is failing around the globe." what is around the globe? 4 people in 4 different time zones around the earth, or tens of thousands marching in the streets of 15 world capitals? ...or something, somewhere in between?
- "Canada has lost 66 soldiers in five years and they're already crying uncle." How does a country 'cry uncle'? Once defined, then where is reported that Canada is doing that?
hmm, I was going to keep going down through that paragraph and asking further questions about it, but, as I pause and re-read my post, I find that it's getting too long and starting to look like I'm demanding that you respond to all of those things. Nope. I was just trying explain my use of 'conjecture'. Sorry, way too verbose.
So, back on track. I was wondering if you would like to gain a better understanding of what Canadian troops are doing to fight this war. We have a small army. Of that small army, we have a large percentage here, engaged in combat operations, training a new Afghan army, and assisting with the rebuilding of this country.
If you do indeed want to gain a better understanding of what it's like to be in the small "disciplined, trained, professional" Canadian army and fight proudly on behalf of your country, please ask. Or, ask the US or British forces that I fought with in Helmund province. They might also shed some light on the subject for you.
regards,
Mark