Canadian troops are playing a new role in Afghanistan. Our military is now exposed to much more dangerous missions and the results of the dedicated men and women's hard work are paying off -- their dead bodies are being returned home to Canada.

People from all over the world have respected Canadians as peacekeepers and looked at us as an unthreatening group. When travelling overseas it is common to be praised and almost treated like a god when locals find out you are Canadian.

Now with over 2200 troops in the Kandahar region of Afghanistan, Canada is being grouped with the militarist state nation to the south and many aren't impressed. At home and overseas, Canadians are looked at differently -- and it's not a good way.

Instead of seeing video of the soldiers playing with area children and bringing joy to others' lives, we see images of crying comrades carrying caskets. Soldiers aren't being chased by children with toy guns, they are being attacked by axe-wielding Taliban insurgents, as reported by the Canadian Press.

National polls show that Canadians are split on a decision as to whether or not troops should pull out of the mission or continue the dangerous fighting in Afghanistan. Perhaps polling companies should conduct more research in the coming days as the death toll rises among the Canadian military. But for a nation that can't elect a majority government - the people who run this country - are we in any position to be determining what sort of fighting should happen overseas when we can't control it in our own country?

"If (George) Bush wants to send troops out and not care for their wellbeing, let the Americans fight the war in Afghanistan. Aren't they the ones who started it?" asked Canadian Mike Dowdry. "Why are we getting involved in something we had nothing to do with? That's the American way, not Canadian."

Not even two weeks into the mission and already two fatalities and over a dozen injured. In all, 10 Canadian soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan since 2002. Last week I spoke with an editor at the Washington Post and she told me the death toll for American troops in Afghanistan (as of February 4, 2006, with information provided by the Department of National Defense) was 255 since March 19, 2003. And those numbers along with Canada's have probably changed from the time this was written to the time you are reading it.

It was reported that the Canadian military is reviewing its tactics in Afghanistan following the first deadly week of combat.

"We have to be 100 per cent behind them," Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said. "We do not want to undermine any confidence in our soldiers by backing away from that commitment."

It's not that Canadians aren't supporting the troops, who should be honoured every minute they are overseas, but rather a nation is concerned for the safety of its loved ones. Many people are not confident that Canada should be getting involved in such an intense mission. Many people feel that the peacekeeping role Canada's military played in Afghanistan was doing good work. While danger could still have presented itself, the role the military held was different.

Canadians are now being viewed as a threat to residents of Afghan towns. When citizens in those communities are threatened they act out in violence. The result of that violence is evident as one by one the bodies of fallen heroes return home to Canada.