Tuesday, May 02, 2017

What Harjit Sajjan Really Did


Canada's defence minister, Harjit Sajjan, has landed in hot water for claiming he was the architect of Canada's major combat mission during the Afghan War, Operation Medusa. The Tories rather mendaciously attacked Sajjan, demanding his resignation for the crime of "stolen valor."

Back in 2006, the Canadian general who commanded our forces in Operation Medusa, David Fraser, wrote this account of then Major Sajjan:

Maj Sajjan was specially selected for that demanding and challenging task of acting as the Liaison Officer of the Afghan National Police on behalf of the Combined Task Force (CTF) Aegis HQ because of the civilian skillset he has brought to the table as an undercover narcotics officer. His job further changed into being a special intelligence officer working direct to Commander CTF Aegis because of his ability to understand and exploit criminal networks. He consistently provided the most timely and accurate intelligence available, and he personally fused broad sources of information into an extremely coherent picture upon which most of the formations major operations were based. Not only did he display a rare high level of intellect and experience in his analysis, he also demonstrated remarkable personal courage in his collection efforts, often working in the face of the enemy to collect data and confirm his suspicions, and placing himself almost daily in situations of grave personal risk. His products were cogent and demonstrated a profound understanding of the Taliban (TB) and tribal networks which were critical in making formation and unit operations successful. He was the best single Canadian intelligence asset in theatre, and his hard work, personal bravery, and dogged determination undoubtedly saved a multitude of Coalition lives. Through his courage and dedication, Major Sajjan has single-handedly changed the face of intelligence gathering and analysis in Afghanistan.

He tirelessly and selflessly devoted himself to piecing together the ground truth on tribal and Taliban networks in the Kandahar area, and his analysis was so compelling that it drove a number of large scale theatre-resourced efforts, including OPERATION MEDUSA, a large scale conventional combat operation that resulted in the defeat of the largest TB insurgent cell yet identified in Afghanistan, with over 1500 Taliban killed or captured. I rate him as one of the best intelligence officers I have ever worked with - fearless, smart, and personable, and I would not hesitate to have him on my staff at any time in the future. I have advised my chain of command that the Canadian Forces must capture his skillset, and seek his advice on how to change our entire tactical intelligence training and architecture to best meet the needs of future deployed units fighting in extremely complex battle space.

Stolen valor, really? Or is this just how low can a Tory go?





7 comments:

Deacon Jester said...

And didn't the news boys just line up and salute.

Toby said...

It all seems to be a tempest in a teapot. My criticisms of Harjit Sajjan are, like the rest of the Liberal lackeys, political. He is too much of a war monger, too in tune with the American war machine, doesn't appear to understand that defense of Canada ends at our borders, never answers direct questions with straight answers, etc. But the Medusa claim? It's just political bravado. They all do it.

The Mound of Sound said...


Well, I think, Toby, that you give short shrift to our obligations to the United Nations, NORAD and NATO for starters. These are commitments we've had for generations and I personally think it's unwise to take them lightly.

rumleyfips said...

Semantics , or Swiftboating ?

Lawrence Tierney said...

I personally Know People that served with him during his last tour in Afghanistan where he was employed as a so-called Special Intelligence Advisor to the Force Commander Gen Fraser. These people are still serving members, so I will not mention names and their credibility to me is beyond reproach. The kindest thing they had to say about this individual was that he was extremely incompetent.


Sajjan was AT NO TIME ever a Military Intelligence Officer nor was he ever a member of the Intelligence Branch. During his tour, he used his position to steal, credit for the work of others while undermining the credibility of the All Source Intelligence Cell (ASIC) as well as the Serving G2.

The Mound of Sound said...

Well then, Lawrence, I guess that makes David Fraser a complete liar. Not only that but Fraser must have sold out his troops if this is true. And why do you think the commander of America's 10th mountain division, Lt. Gen. James Terry, had Sajjan seconded to his command? Were the Americans running low on incompetents?

I can believe he got a few noses out of joint, including your friends' apparently, but, in light of the known facts, the unreserved praise of Gen. Fraser (2006, note) and the decision of Gen. Terry to bring Sajjan into his staff, my only conclusion is your friends are peddling starched collar bullshit. There's a Latin phrase that lawyers are especially fond of, res ipsa loquitur. You might want to look it up.

Anonymous said...

How does lying become embellishing? He lied twice. It is the same as Justin lying about changing the voting system.