Apr 19, 2002 4 min read

TORONTO (AP) – Many Canadians questioned their military involvement in Afghanistan Thursday after four Canadian soldiers were killed accidentally by a U.S. bomb. Prime Minister Jean Chretien pledged an investigation, but said the deaths were the cost of defending freedom. The story of how the four were killed – and eight of their colleagues were wounded – by a 500-pound bomb during a Wednesday night training exercise in a clearly marked area has dominated newscasts here and sparked both sympathy and anger.

“Canadians are never attacked by terrorists so Canadians shouldn’t be there,” said Richard Sella, manager at Toronto’s 97 Bistro. “Why are we sending our own people over there to be killed? There is no reason (for us) to be in Afghanistan.”

Vyphi Vyphilin, owner of Nick’s bar in Toronto, said, “Four Canadians died for no reason.”

Some Canadians are rethinking their country’s role in the U.S.-led war on terrorism prompted by the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

Canadian forces are fighting alongside U.S. and European troops seeking to hunt down remnants of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist organization and holdouts from Afghanistan’s former ruling Taliban militia.

“I initially supported sending our troops over there,” Toronto real estate agent Carolyn Curren said.

“I still support some involvement in terms of peacekeeping and helping to organize a new regime. But I don’t support the ongoing war as it exists at the moment.”

But Chretien said during a Thursday speech to the national Parliament in Ottawa that the deaths reminded Canadians of the “precious cost that comes with the standing up for the rights and freedoms that we hold so dear.”

Nonetheless, he pledged to investigate the deaths near the southern Afghan city of Kandahar during a live-fire training exercise.

“We have so many questions,” he said. “Extensive training for combat is meant to save lives. How does this happen? In this awful case it took so many lives, and I want to assure the families and the people of Canada that these questions will be answered.”

Flags on Parliament Hill flew at half mast.

The bodies of the four victims likely would be flown to Ramstein Air base in Germany on Friday, said Airman 1st Class Julie Weckerlein, spokeswoman for the 86th Airlift Wing based there.

Canadian Defense Minister Art Eggleton said Thursday that one of the wounded had life-threatening wounds and the seven others were in stable condition. Six of the injured soldiers were flown to Ramstein Thursday night for treatment.

Chretien spoke with President Bush Wednesday night, and Bush said the two nations will investigate how the accident occurred. He also praised Canada’s participation in the Afghan war.

“Canada is a vital member of a mighty coalition against terrorism and hatred,” Bush said Thursday in a written statement. “It is shouldering great burdens and making tremendous sacrifices to make the world a safer place for all people. It is doing so in defense of the values that define the Canadian nation and that unite our two peoples.

U.S. officials in Washington said Thursday an American F-16 pilot apparently mistook Canadian soldiers for enemy forces and thought he was acting in self-defense when he dropped the 500-pound, laser-guided bomb.

A key, unanswered question was why the Americans didn’t know the Canadians were training in the area.

“Given today’s technology, I just don’t understand how that could have happened,” said Walter A. Blunt, a veteran of both the British and Canadian armies.

The victims were identified as Sgt. Marc Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Pvt. Richard Green and Pvt. Nathan Smith. The soldiers were members of the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, which is based near Edmonton, Alberta.

Brig. Gen. Ivan Fenton did not give their hometowns, but said two victims were from Edmonton; one from Hamilton, Ontario; and another from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Chretien said Canada owed the troops a “debt of gratitude that is beyond mortal computation.”

The deaths were the Canadian military’s first in a combat zone since the Vietnam War. The United Nations says 106 Canadian troops have died during U.N. peacekeeping missions since 1948.

Deborah Wandal, a Toronto bookstore clerk, said the effect of the deaths might be to “harden people’s resolve or it might make people think twice about what we’re doing there.”