Canada at War

It's been building up all summer, as Canadians see the death toll of their troops in Afghanistan piling up: the uncomfortable transition from being a peacekeeping nation to a war-fighting nation, with soldiers in active, dangerous combat.

With Canada's parliament set to begin its fall session, a wide divide on the issue is opening up between the minority ruling Conservative party and the three main opposition parties.

An opinion poll taken over the summer showed that just 39 percent supported sending troops to Afghanistan, while some 56 percent opposed.

For some Canadians who had been used to seeing their troops in recent conflicts act as peacekeepers, seeing them in active combat has been tough to swallow.

In 2002, Canada took part in the International Security Assistance Force, mandated by the United Nations. But that ended in 2005 and Canada committed in early 2006 a battle group. More than 2,000 Canadians are now part of a NATO force fighting the resurgent Taliban.

It's divided the country politically, with one opposition party calling for the all-out withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan and another calling for an emergency debate.

The way Canada adjusts further to its role as a war-fighting nation will be further shaped. Soldiers are committed for at least two more years and even if the battle in Afghanistan is one that seems rather forgotten in the United States, Canadians are reminded daily of everything that's going on in the country's that's taken the lives of 36 soldiers.