The Canadian Army Journal

THE UNEXPECTED WAR: CANADA IN KANDAHAR
STEIN, Janice Gross. and LANG, Eugene. Toronto, Penguin Group, 2007. 304 pages
$35.00 CAD HC, ISBN 10: 0-670-06722-9
Reviewed by Captain Jonathan Hubble
The deployment of Canadian Forces to Kandahar has
become a cause célèbre for journalists, editorialists,
coffee room conversationalists, armchair generals and the
public. Rarely has this much attention been paid to a
Canadian Forces overseas mission. Canadian politicians
are usually content to squabble over the distribution of
regional industrial benefits, crumbs from the table of the
defence procurement system. For a Canadian public that
knows very little of its own defence policy, this highly
accessible book is an eye-opener. While books about
Canada’s campaign in Afghanistan have already begun to
surface, they largely tell personal and tactical level stories.
The story told in The Unexpected War: Canada in
Kandahar also lends itself to a serious study of Canada’s
political culture and its implications for our defence policy. 1
From a historical perspective, the interview data is an
important contribution to the field of Canadian defence
history. This book will hopefully be part of a larger renaissance of writing and thinking
regarding Canadian defence policy and Canada’s overseas engagements. This review
will concentrate on analyzing this book’s contribution to our understanding of Canada’s
recent foreign and defence policy.
Two Authors, Two Books
The two authors write two scripts, interwoven to make one book. The first script is
the story of a senior aide to Liberal defence ministers John McCallum and Bill Graham,
providing a first-hand apologia for defence policy under his watch. The story is
compelling because it is the account of an insider. It is a rare and timely glimpse into the
decision making of senior government officials. It is mesmerizing in its detail and its
drama. Well written, we get first-hand accounts of very crucial moments in policy
formation. The account is a gold mine of data for researchers looking to understand the
bureaucratic politics and historical processes involved in Canada’s recent foreign policy
ventures. The second script is an exposition of the strategic problem facing Canadian
foreign policy, defence policy and our Afghanistan mission. This script is clearly the
contribution of Janice Gross Stein, University of Toronto foreign affairs expert and well
known commentator on foreign and defence affairs. Her contribution is in the analysis
of the strategic situation facing Afghanistan and the possibilities for cooperation, counterinsurgency
and reconstruction in a seemingly unforgiving land. Both scripts provide
important contributions to a contemporary understanding of Canadian involvement in
Afghanistan, nested in a larger chronology of defence and foreign policy issues facing
contemporary Canadian governments. The broad range of topics covered, from
Afghanistan, ballistic missile defence, NATO policy, counter-insurgency and Canadian
bureaucratic politics, sacrifice in-depth analysis for a fast paced and compelling historical
narrative as told by the principal actors themselves.
Canadian Army Journal Vol. 11.1 Spring 2008 135