By arthur Weinreb
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Last week, Pervez Musharraf gave an interview to the CBC. In between plugging his newly released book, the Pakistani president said that basically Canadians are whining about their minimal losses incurred in the war in afghanistan. He said, "You suffer two dead and you cry and shout all around the place that there are coffins. Well, we have had 500 coffins." Musharraf estimated that Canada has lost four or five lives in combat in afghanistan whereas the actual death toll since 2002 stands at 39.
Musharraf's statements pose two questions. Where did he get the idea that Canada is not prepared to suffer casualties from the war and are his views simply his views, or is he stating what is a common perception of Canada and Canadians?
Musharraf's notion that Canada is not prepared for the cost of this war in human terms comes from Canada's left, most notably NDP leader Jack Layton. It's certainly not coming from the government. and although some members of the previous Liberal government are calling for the afghanistan mission to be debated in the House, it is unlikely that this fact alone is giving the impression that Canada is weak when it comes to fighting the war on terror. Layton's constant harangue; that we should support the troops by bringing them home and his continual comments that he and his party speak for all Canadians, give credence to the belief that the country really wants to "cut and run" as Layton suggests.
It is highly unlikely that Musharraf is alone in his views. Constant statements about cutting and running because this is what Canadians want are bound to embolden the Taliban terrorists who are at war with our troops. Contrary to what many on the left like to believe, the Taliban are not all primitive cave dwellers that have never heard of Canada. Through the magic of the Internet, they have just as much access to Smilin' Jack's face as those of us in this country do.
The left love to believe that the attacks by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda took place because of american foreign policy, most notably their support for Israel or because, as bin Laden said, the infidels were allowed to station troops in Saudi arabia, where Islam's most notable shrines are located. This type of analysis misses the point; while these may be reasons for bin Laden to "want" to attack the United States, they are not what gave him the belief that he could "successfully" attack the U.S. according to bin Laden, he was convinced that the United States was weak and could be beaten after Clinton cut and ran from Somalia after suffering the loss of a few troops. The cut and run crowd are definitely emboldening the Taliban in their war against Canadian and NaTO troops in afghanistan. and they are giving the impression to Pervez Musharraf and others that Canada is simply not up to fighting a real war.
Musharraf should at least be credited with one thing; acknowledging that Canadians are in afghanistan to fight and not to keep the peace or carry out social work. Very few Canadians, even those who really do support the troops are willing to admit this fact. a good example is Joe Warmington, the Toronto Sun columnist who organized last Friday's "Support Our Troops" rally. Warmington wrote in part, "Sometimes they die. They die so we don't have to die. They die so schools can be built for young afghan children who only dream of the kind of life we have here in Canada." as pro troops as Warmington is, he makes it sound like the soldiers that he is referring to all died in construction accidents. Very few Canadians are willing to acknowledge that our troops are risking and sometimes giving up their lives, to protect Canadians from the threat of Islamofascism. It's just not the politically correct thing to do.
Time will tell whether or not the views of Pervez Musharraf are merely his personal views or are the way much of the world views Canada.
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2024 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2024 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement