moment in Canada’s involvement in the Invasion of Afghanistan. Intended to secure the authority of the democratic government of Afghanistan in the south of the country, the Canada-led offensive was the largest battle fought by Canadian troops since the country’s involvement in the Korean War. Fraser was sent to the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, where, as Commander of Regional Command South, he controlled thousands of NATO troops in the southern Afghan provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Uruzgan, Daikundi and Nimroz. The battle spanned a stretch of the Arghandab River valley west of the city of Kandahar. The Taliban amassed on the north side as NATO forces pushed forward from the southern bank. The operation was generally considered successful as it maintained NATO’s credibility within the region and overwhelmed the Taliban forces, which suffered heavy losses. These successes of Operation Medusa came at the cost of six Canadian and twelve British lives. Then General and Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier commented afterward on the toll of the first two days of the operation, underscoring the loss of life. Charles Company of the Royal Canadian Regiment was hit particularly hard. On September 4, an American A10 warthog aircraft mistakenly strafed the company as it was preparing to attack a Taliban position, resulting in one death and thirty injuries. Despite this and other unforeseen difficulties such as running out of ammunition, the Canadians prevented further advance of the Taliban within Afghanistan. In his book Operation Medusa: The Furious Battle That Saved Afghanistan from the Taliban, Fraser assessed the effect of the operation, calling it a costly yet necessary fight that enabled Afghanistan to continue as a western installed democracy. The efforts of the Canadians and their allies were instrumental in enabling western back Afghan leaders to develop a new constitution, to ensure free and democratic elections, to make it possible for more girls to go to school, and to initiate reform in defence, justice and finance structures within the country. Controversy Despite its success, the operation and its aftermath were not without controversy. In 2007 and 2008, newspaper reports revealed that the Leopard tanks sent to Afghanistan had been taken from Canadian monuments. Fraser had requested tanks for the operation to make advances into Taliban controlled settlements while minimizing collateral damage. According to the Canadian Forces, however, such reports were exaggerated since it retained sufficient numbers of functioning tanks in its