Friday, July 08, 2011
Commander of Canadian Forces Brigadier General Dean Milner (photo: AFP)
The war in Afghanistan is over for the armed forces of Canada, which will pull out all of its remaining personnel before the end of the year.
After nine years of combat, the remaining 2,800 Canadian troops recently began turning over their districts to U.S. forces and shipping home. Canada represents the first major contributor to the war effort to withdraw completely from the country.
The Canadian government estimates that it spent $11.3 billion on its Afghan mission since 2001 and 157 members of its armed forces died.
The United Kingdom is also downsizing its commitment by sending 500 soldiers home, leaving about 9,000 left in Afghanistan.
The U.S. is planning to reduce its forces to pre-surge levels of around 68,000 by fall of 2012 with a handover to Afghan forces scheduled for 2014.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Cost of the Afghanistan Mission 2001-2011 (Government of Canada)
Britain to Pull 500 Troops from Afghanistan (Agence France-Presse)
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