[Alex Blair (RIP)]

With these kinds of "Friendly "fire attacks it is no wonder that sniveling,two faced,running dog Canadian polititions are calling for a return of our troops from Afghanistan..
God bless our troops and give 'em hell...Put them with their 70 Virgins...
I can think of nothing worse than to be with 70 Virgins for eternity..70 ex-virgins after I got there would be worth going..

Les Perreaux, Canadian Press
Published: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 Article tools
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Font: * * * * PANJWAII, Afghanistan (CP) - The sun lifted into a clear sky with the usual haze of dust at 5:30 a.m. Monday while two U.S. A-10 Thunderbolts swept down the narrow Arghandab River valley, blasting away at supposed Taliban positions.

A young corporal from Newfoundland glanced toward the heavens, noting one aircraft's sickening low-pitched moan as it shattered the ground with a 10-second burst of about 300 shells the size of a pop cans.

It's far from the rat-tat-tat usually associated with a machine-gun.

"It's like the noise a whale makes when it runs into a ship," said Cpl. J. R. Smith from Mount Pearl, N.L.

An hour later, the soldiers found out more than 30 Canadian soldiers, including Pte. Mark Graham who died, were the unintended targets at the bottom of that strafing run. A giant Chinook helicopter was needed to ferry out all the wounded.

Immediate anger gave way to resigned frustration. Smith's unit was mounted up for an attack but the soldiers knew they were likely going to cool their heels for a while as their commanders dealt with the wounded and came up with a new plan.

Smith described friendly fire as "the worst thing that can happen."

"It hits us hard. But in a mission like this with the terrain as tough as it is, close air support is a huge factor. It gets their heads down so we can make our moves," Smith said.

Other soldiers had questions and remembered the friendly fire incident four years ago when a U.S. plane bombed Canadians on a training exercise, killing four of them.

"It's not forgotten for me, and it's not forgotten for the public, either," said Cpl. Pablo Mckelvey of Montreal.

"They will want answers. We have so much equipment to prevent this sort of thing, all kinds of protective measures. I can't understand why an incident like that can still happen."

Canadian commanders say all but five of the wounded are expected to return to duty.

In the previous 48 hours, the A-10s had fired thousands of shells trying to dislodge dug-in Taliban fighters. Canadian mortars and artillery, other U.S. and NATO warplanes and helicopter gunships also thundered down on the rebel positions.

The first attempt at a ground assault from the south on Sunday was pushed back by fierce Taliban resistance. Four Canadian soldiers died and six others were wounded.

While those deaths seemed to stiffen the resolve of Canadian solders, many seemed more rattled by the friendly fire.

"It's enough that we have to deal with the threat coming from the outside and a very well-known enemy," said McKelvey.

"You never expect you're just going to be around your carrier and you're going to get friendly fired. You don't expect it. You never expect it."

Taliban forces continued to probe for Canadian weaknesses Monday, setting up ambushes and getting blasted in a couple attempts to sneak behind Canadian lines. No Canadians were hurt and several Taliban were killed in the action.