No Lack of Courage is the story of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization's Operation Medusa, the largely Canadian action in
Afghanistan from 1 to 17 September 2006, to dislodge a heavily
entrenched Taliban force in the Pashmul district of Afghanistan's
Kandahar Province. At stake, according to senior Afghan politicians and
NATO military commanders, was nothing less than the very existence of
the reconstituted state of Afghanistan, as well as the NATO alliance
itself. In a bitterly fought conflict that lasted more than two weeks,
Canadian, Afghan, and Coalition troops defeated the dug-in enemy forces
and chased them from the Pashmul area.
In the end, the brunt of the fighting fell on the Canadians, and the
operation that saved Afghanistan exacted a great cost. However, the
battle also demonstrated that Canada had shed its peacekeeping mythology
and was once more ready to commit troops deliberately to combat.
Moreover, it revealed yet again that Canadian soldiers have no lack of
courage.