 Canadian troops capped a deadly and dangerous 12-year mission in Afghanistan on Wednesday, hauling down the Canadian flag at NATO headquarters in Kabul during a ceremony that was held under heavy guard. "We were quite explicitly told today in Kabul that we could not even report on this ceremony until after it was done because of security concerns," CBC correspondent Paul Hunter said from Kabul on Wednesday. The war cost the lives of 158 soldiers, one diplomat, one journalist and two civilian contractors. (The Canadian Press) 
 
 "It is said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing. British Lt.-Gen. John Lorimer, the deputy commander of NATO in Afghanistan, said the Canadians "repeatedly proved their courage and capability" alongside coalition and Afghan troops, especially in Kandahar "where you not only fought hard, but you fought smart." "It's a capable Afghan national army and police force that's getting ready and absolutely capable of dominating a resilient Taliban force," he said.
– After 12 years and 162 deaths, Canada formally ended its involvement in Afghanistan yesterday, hauling down the Canadian flag at NATO headquarters in a low-key ceremony journalists were ordered not to report on at the time because of security concerns. Canadian soldiers joined the hunt for Osama bin Laden in late 2001 and more than 40,000 rotated through the country in the following years. The last remaining Canadian personnel, who had been training Afghan forces, will leave the country at the end of this week, reports the CBC. "Canada played a critical role in securing Kandahar Province and had a strategic impact across the country with their contribution to the NATO training mission," the top US commander in Afghanistan said at the flag-lowering ceremony. But at home, the public had long questioned Canada's involvement in what turned out to be the country's longest war, and its biggest overseas deployment since 1945. "Canadian troops fought bravely," writes Thomas Walkom at the Toronto Star. "But they were ill-served by political masters who could never quite figure out why we were in this particular war."