December 5, 2008 [LINK / comment]

Canadians KIA in Afghanistan

In the middle of a turbulent political crisis in Ottawa, it was announced that three more Canadian soldiers had been killed in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan, raising to 100 the total number of Canadian military fatalities in that country. It was a dreadfully commonplace action: the soldiers' vehicle was destroyed by an "improvised explosive device." See the Toronto Globe and Mail, which provides telling details on the heroism of the troops under fire. We Americans often neglect our very worthy and noble neighbors to the north, and in a world that seems to be turning more hostile all the time, such lack of appreciation -- or even attention -- is most distressing.

Russian anniversary

It was sixty seven years ago today -- Dec. 5, 1941 -- that the Soviet Red Army began its winter counteroffensive, pushing German forces back from the gates of Moscow. It was a startling reversal of fortune, the first defeat suffered by the Wehrmacht in World War II. Six months later, the Germans were on the offensive once again...