A dark day for Canada

By Michael J.W. Stickings

I won't get into whether or not we should be there, or for how much longer, but, needless to say, our presence in Afghanistan is taking its toll. And today -- today was one of the worst days yet:

A roadside bomb has killed six Canadian soldiers along with their Afghan interpreter, as the Taliban continue to launch bold attacks in an area the military considers largely pacified.

The explosion happened around 11 a.m. local time on a gravel road about 20 kilometres southwest of Kandahar city. The troops were travelling in an RG-31 Nyala, a vehicle manufactured in South Africa and specifically designed with a boat-like armoured hull to withstand mine blasts.

This brings to 19 the number of Canadian soldiers killed this year by so-called improvised explosive devices, which have emerged as the greatest threat to foreign troops in Kandahar province. In total, 66 Canadians and a diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002.

The question is, is it worth it? Is the cause worth the cost, and especially the human cost?

There is no easy answer -- Afghanistan is not Iraq, after all, and I do believe that we are doing some good over there, that there is some justice to the war there.

And yet. And yet. One wonders.