Operation Medusa left a mixed legacy
As opposition politicians continue to hammer Canada’s defence minister for trying to claim credit as “the architect” of a major Afghan war operation, some in and out of uniform are questioning why anyone would want to have what, is arguably, a dubious honour.
In some military circles, the 2006 Canadian-led Operation Medusa is seen as a failure.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, himself an Afghan veteran, has faced calls for his resignation after claiming credit for Medusa, which he said “removed about 1,500 Taliban fighters off the battlefield.”
Sajjan, who contributed to the operation as an intelligence officer, has since apologized for embellishing his role. But a U.S. investigation, which included more than 33 interviews with planners and those Canadians who fought in the battle, concluded Medusa was a defeat for coalition forces and a tactical victory for the Taliban.
Retired Canadian Maj.Gen. Charles Sullivan, involved in the investigation, said in an interview with Postmedia Tuesday he was surprised the minister sought credit as the architect of the operation. “(Medusa) showed how ill- prepared the Canadian Army was, as well as all the deficiencies that existed as it went into an operation it could not execute,” Sullivan said.
In 2006, Sullivan was a copresident of the investigation to look into the U.S. friendlyfire incident involving Canadian soldiers during Medusa. The probe, parts of which are still secret, was expanded to include the planning of Medusa and how it unfolded.
The result was a brutally honest assessment and a wake-up call for a Canadian military that went into the operation believing it was headed to victory, said Sul- livan, who later served as NATO’s deputy chief of joint operations in Afghanistan.
The study, which included 500 pages of interview transcripts, chronicled incredible bravery of the Canadian troops who went up against a Taliban force estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000.
But the soldiers weren’t hesitant to point out flaws in the planning and execution of Medusa.
Three days of planned airstrikes on the fortified Taliban positions were cancelled. No reason was given.
With only hours to pre- pare, the Canadian troops were given new orders to cross a river and conduct a direct assault. Battlegroup commanders protested the last- minute changes to the plan, but to no avail.
Fifty Canadian soldiers advanced as ordered. The insurgents were waiting, hidden in trenches and fortified buildings. Four Canadians were killed, 10 wounded and at least six became stress casualties. Six soldiers received medals that day.
Shortly after, a U.S. aircraft strafed Canadian troops in a friendly-fire incident, killing one and wounding 36.
“Sadly, less than 24 hours after being initiated, the strike phase of Operation Medusa was over with a total of five soldiers killed, almost 50 wounded, vehicles destroyed, and a clear tactical victory for the regional Taliban commander and insurgent forces,” Sullivan wrote in a history of the air war in Afghanistan published in 2014 by the U.S. Air Force Research Institute.
That, however, did not stop some journalists and Canadian and NATO senior officers from declaring Me- dusa a tremendous success.
Their claims of large-scale Taliban casualties caused by the operation have also been called into question, Sullivan wrote.
“The guys I met and interviewed, the front- line fighters that actually executed the operation, were the most courageous and dedicated group of military members I have seen,” he added.
But, according to Sullivan, they were the ones who raised questions about the accuracy of the extensive Taliban casualty estimates being touted.
Instead, the bulk of the Taliban force melted away, only to return later with new and improved tactics that put emphasis on roadside bombs and synchronized smaller attacks. That resulted in both increased coalition and civilian casualties, Sullivan said.
Sajjan has apologized for his “architect” claims and has stated that “Operation Medusa was successful because of leadership of MGen (Ret’d) Fraser and the extraordinary team with whom I had the honour of serving.”
Retired Canadian Maj.Gen. David Fraser has in the past disputed criticisms of the operation. Fraser said Medusa eliminated the threat of the Taliban in the Panjwai district and paved the way for reconstruction.