Just not our thing anymore, actually.  In Canada it now seems the rule for politicians, pundits and the public that the Army really doesn’t engage in combat if the dead go over 100–unless perhaps it truly is a situation of clear and supreme national interest, or else a clear and convincing victory is won with rapidity.  See the posts from Daimnation! in late 2005 and early 2006 here and here (so much for the prime minister as a war leader).  I think I had the finger on the country’s pulse then, such as it is.

Americans do not have the peacekeeping-obsessed (that’s what we will be doing in Afstan, eh?) culture Canada has in spades, Nor do the Brits.  In fact I venture that “peacekeeping” has almost zero, er, resonance in either country, and very little in Australia.  Canadians have been brainwashed, in large measure by our own governments seeking to reflect (correctly) perceived popular sentiment.

Anyone want to bet that any Canadian government will put the Army into any real combat during the next decade, if not longer, even should a situation arise that might well make it seem the right thing to do?

Not that most Euros, Danes aside, are any different.  The conclusion of an earlier post:

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It is a sad reflection of Canadian realities that this country of 33 million will not fight for more than five and half years, can only deploy just under 3,000 CF personnel to do so, and cannot tolerate it when the death toll moves past 100.

Predate: There was brief moment when attitudes were more robust–but then soldiers died:

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Defence analysts and politicians from the NDP and the Conservative Party said it is time for a military leader like General Rick Hillier, who speaks from the heart about the role of the Canadian Forces in the war on terror.

“Controlled anger, given what’s happened, is an appropriate response,” NDP Leader Jack Layton said [emphasis added, worm turned] . “We have a very committed, level-headed head of our armed forces, who isn’t afraid to express the passion that underlies the mission that front-line personnel are going to be taking on.

“A bit of strong language in the circumstances, I don’t find that to be wrong.”..

In a media briefing two days ago, Gen. Hillier laid out the mission for the more than 2,000 troops who are headed to Afghanistan in the coming year: provide security in the country and, more importantly, go on the hunt for terrorists.As part of the deployment, the Canadian Forces are sending commando soldiers from Joint Task Force 2 with the expectation that they will be involved in combat.

“We are going to Afghanistan to actually take down the folks that are trying to blow up men and women,” Gen. Hillier said.

He also gave a blunt assessment of the role of the Canadian Forces, which he said are designed to protect Canadian interests at home and abroad.

“We’re not the public service of Canada, we’re not just another department. We are the Canadian Forces, and our job is to be able to kill people,” Gen. Hillier said…

We’ll not hear anything like this again from anyone in government service about our enemies for quite a while:

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“These are detestable murderers and scumbags. I’ll tell you that right up front,” said Hillier…

Mark
Ottawa