Operation Athena was the Canadian Forces' contribution to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The operation was divided in two phases: the first one took place from July 2003 to July 2005 in the Kabul region and the second one from August 2005 to December 2011 in the Kandahar area. The operation's main objective was to improve Afghanistan's security and governance. Operation Athena in Kandahar constituted the longest combat mission in the history of Canadian Forces.
Context
Following the terrorist attacks on 9/11 in New York City, the United States started a military campaign against the Taliban regime and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Canada officially joined this campaign on October 9, 2001. Operation Athena was an integral part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan created by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 on December 13, 2001. Thereafter, other United Nations Security Council Resolutions have extended the ISAF's mandate.
Purpose
Operation Athena's objective was to assist the Afghan government in order to help it govern better in a more stable environment.
Its purpose was to deploy 5300 Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, within a coalition of about forty countries.
In this context, the ISAF was in charge of fighting the insurgents, and on a wider scale, was also responsible of the development and maintenance of security; Canada was, in terms of number of troops provided to the ISAF, the fifth country after the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. It represented the Afghan government before the Province's local authorities.
The very same day, Major General Andrew Leslie was appointed second in command of the ISAF.
The ISAF's main role in 2003 was to establish and to maintain security in Kabul when the new constitution was being written by the Loya Jirga, symbolizing the end of the Taliban regime. On February 9, 2004, Lieutenant-General Rick Hillier was appointed Commander of the ISAF. Thus, the Canadian Forces played an important role in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous regions. This second phase constituted the Canadian Forces' first participation to an oversea operation as an actor of a government-wide deployment.