Photo by Bullneck

We had to read through this article from Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail three times before we decided it wasn’t necessarily an elaborate prank. According to reporter Paul Koring, it seems that during a two-day military conference set to convene at the Embassy of Canada in Washington Sept. 23-24, Canadian officials plan to stage a mock Afghan village in the courtyard of the embassy, in which they will set off a series of fake explosions. The pyrotechnical spectacle is apparently intended as a demonstration of Canadian military might, and especially their troops’ activities in Afghanistan. The paper reports that American military officials, U.S. Congressmen and Afghan experts are expected to attend the conference. Here’s what they’ll be treated to:

The mock village, complete with a small souk and peopled by nearly a dozen Afghan actors, will be created in the courtyard of the Canadian embassy, halfway between the Capitol and the White House. A handful of Canadian soldiers and, Col. Martin hopes, U.S. Marines will arrive to “see the village leader” just as the IED blows up, “critically injuring” at least one Afghan, who will get immediate first aid from a Canadian medic.

“It should provide the full flavour of hyper-realistic training,” said Col. Martin, adding: “Absolutely, you are going to hear it out on Pennsylvania Avenue.”

It is difficult to imagine, regardless of however much effort the Canadian Embassy eventually puts into warning the public that this is merely a simulation – and we should note that so far, there’s been almost none – that tourists and D.C. residents alike in the area will not be shaken up by this. The notion of bombs going off mere blocks from the Capitol and the National Mall make the recent Air Force One photo op over the New York City skyline debacle sound like a harmless schoolyard prank.

A call to the Embassy of Canada in Washington was not immediately returned, though in the Globe and Mail article, embassy officials claim to have “a green light from the Secret Service, the State Department and the D.C. fire marshal.” D.C. Fire Marshal Bruce Faust is out of the office for planned training until Tuesday, and when reached for comment, Acting Fire Marshal Lawrence Dipietro said he wasn’t sure of the current status of the application in question, but he thought that it might still be under review, with a final decision planned for Tuesday.