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billonlogan
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Check out combat footage involving Canadian infrantry in Afghanistan. Its intense stuff, lots of bullets flying and explosions. While we sip our coffee and drink our beer our boys are kicking some Taliban ass!
Canadian Forces dawn raid on a Taliban compoud (July 13,2006)
Canadian Forces Ambushed in Afghanistan (July 15, 2006)
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Combat clips raise alarm
Unauthorized Web videos of soldiers
Liberal critic: `They could pose a danger'
Aug. 10, 2006. 06:54 AM
STEVE RENNIE
STAFF REPORTER
www.thestar.com
Unauthorized combat videos of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan surfacing online may be endangering the safety of the troops, says an opposition MP.
Reached by the Star last night, Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh said, "It is quite likely that they could pose a danger," if they disclose operational tactics.
He was referring to a growing number of videos popping up on YouTube.com, a website that allows users to post video clips online.
Entering the search terms "Afghanistan," "Canadian Forces" and "Taliban" yields several videos of what are alleged to be Canadian troops in Afghanistan in a firefight with the Taliban. Some of the videos, posted by a user identified as Capit, identify the soldiers as "Alpha Company, 2nd Platoon, `Red Devils' from Edmonton, Canada."
Those videos are credited to "Scott Kesterson." A link to Kesterson's myspace.com website reveals that he appears to be a freelance photojournalist from Oregon embedded with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. It's uncertain if Kesterson posted the videos on YouTube.com and he could not be reached for comment last night.
Searching for related videos on Capit's YouTube page turns up thousands of related videos, many showing similar combat footage of Canadian soldiers.
Dosanjh called on the Canadian Forces to investigate the source of the videos to ensure the troops' safety isn't in danger.
"In these kinds of situations, if there's any possibility, even the remotest possibility or likelihood, that our troops may be endangered — they're already in a very difficult situation— we should be very vigilant about protecting their safety," he said.
A Department of National Defence spokesman said it's the Forces' understanding that Kesterson, who is not Canadian, was one of several journalists embedded in Afghanistan with a multi-national brigade that was authorized to shoot video footage of the Canadian troops.
However, Lieut. Adam Thomson said there's not much the Forces can do to stop unauthorized videos from popping up on websites like YouTube. "We really can't control it once it's out there," Thomson said. "Once it's put on the Internet, it's going to be widely circulated. It's pretty difficult to pull it off a website if it's already out there in the public domain."
Thompson said some of the footage is similar to that on Combat Camera, the government's official military video website. He said the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, which is responsible for Canadian Forces operations outside Canada, must approve all Combat Camera footage shot abroad.
Dosanjh said Canadian soldiers should not be punished if they post videos on sites like YouTube, claiming it's the government's obligation to ensure the troops aren't exposed to undue risk. "I can't really criticize the soldiers doing this kind of thing. They themselves ought to know if it could be dangerous for them," he said.
A departmental spokesman said Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor would not comment until he had watched the videos.
Canadian Forces dawn raid on a Taliban compoud (July 13,2006)
Canadian Forces Ambushed in Afghanistan (July 15, 2006)
--------------------------------------------------
Combat clips raise alarm
Unauthorized Web videos of soldiers
Liberal critic: `They could pose a danger'
Aug. 10, 2006. 06:54 AM
STEVE RENNIE
STAFF REPORTER
www.thestar.com
Unauthorized combat videos of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan surfacing online may be endangering the safety of the troops, says an opposition MP.
Reached by the Star last night, Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh said, "It is quite likely that they could pose a danger," if they disclose operational tactics.
He was referring to a growing number of videos popping up on YouTube.com, a website that allows users to post video clips online.
Entering the search terms "Afghanistan," "Canadian Forces" and "Taliban" yields several videos of what are alleged to be Canadian troops in Afghanistan in a firefight with the Taliban. Some of the videos, posted by a user identified as Capit, identify the soldiers as "Alpha Company, 2nd Platoon, `Red Devils' from Edmonton, Canada."
Those videos are credited to "Scott Kesterson." A link to Kesterson's myspace.com website reveals that he appears to be a freelance photojournalist from Oregon embedded with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. It's uncertain if Kesterson posted the videos on YouTube.com and he could not be reached for comment last night.
Searching for related videos on Capit's YouTube page turns up thousands of related videos, many showing similar combat footage of Canadian soldiers.
Dosanjh called on the Canadian Forces to investigate the source of the videos to ensure the troops' safety isn't in danger.
"In these kinds of situations, if there's any possibility, even the remotest possibility or likelihood, that our troops may be endangered — they're already in a very difficult situation— we should be very vigilant about protecting their safety," he said.
A Department of National Defence spokesman said it's the Forces' understanding that Kesterson, who is not Canadian, was one of several journalists embedded in Afghanistan with a multi-national brigade that was authorized to shoot video footage of the Canadian troops.
However, Lieut. Adam Thomson said there's not much the Forces can do to stop unauthorized videos from popping up on websites like YouTube. "We really can't control it once it's out there," Thomson said. "Once it's put on the Internet, it's going to be widely circulated. It's pretty difficult to pull it off a website if it's already out there in the public domain."
Thompson said some of the footage is similar to that on Combat Camera, the government's official military video website. He said the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, which is responsible for Canadian Forces operations outside Canada, must approve all Combat Camera footage shot abroad.
Dosanjh said Canadian soldiers should not be punished if they post videos on sites like YouTube, claiming it's the government's obligation to ensure the troops aren't exposed to undue risk. "I can't really criticize the soldiers doing this kind of thing. They themselves ought to know if it could be dangerous for them," he said.
A departmental spokesman said Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor would not comment until he had watched the videos.
