Louise Slaughter: “I rise today to express my humblest condolences to our Canadian neighbors on the deaths of four Canadian soldiers who…”

“I rise today to express my humblest condolences to our Canadian neighbors on the deaths of four Canadian soldiers who died on April 17, 2002. The people of Canada and their Government have offered their stalwart support to our country in the international war against terrorism. We are indebted to the Canadian people and wish to express our deepest gratitude for their efforts. On April 17, four Canadian soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group were killed and eight others were wounded in a ``friendly-fire'' incident in southern Afghanistan when they were mistakenly fired upon by American troops. These Canadian soldiers made the supreme sacrifice in defense of liberty and democracy. Americans are deeply grateful for Canada's staunch support and firm commitment to the war against terrorism. The friendship of the Canadian people has helped America through her own dark hours. I hope that our friendship and support will help the people of Canada through this dreadful event. We should do all we can to improve the safety of coalition troops in Afghanistan. I strongly favor the conduct of a thorough and timely investigation to determine how this terrible accident occurred in Afghanistan. Casualties due to friendly fire have been called the ``unfortunate part of war.'' We should do whatever it takes to prevent these tragedies and to eliminate this most unfortunate part of war.”