By Arthur Weinreb
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Canada's commitment in Afghanistan is currently due to expire in February, 2009. Political parties that are represented in the House of Commons all have differing views on both the deployment of troops and the exact nature of the mission. The NDP want all the troops out NOW. The Bloc Quebecois, for what it's worth, think along the same lines as their socialist brethren in the rest of Canada. The Liberals, who were in power when the troops were first deployed, want them to stay in Afghanistan as long as they engage in reconstruction and rebuilding, but not necessarily to fight the Taliban who are engaged in destroying all the reconstruction and rebuilding.
Until recently, it was the position of the Conservative government that the troops should stay in Afghanistan until they complete their mission. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was quoted in the Globe and Mail as saying as recently as last month that we "can't set arbitrary deadlines and hope for the best. We can't just put down our weapons and hope for peace." The Globe also quoted Harper saying last September that the only exit strategy would be success. "There will be no conditions under which this government leaves Afghanistan. We will succeed in our security mission and we will see that country moving in irreversible progress to being an economically prosperous and peaceful society. That is the only way this government will leave."
Well, that was then and this is now. Last Thursday, when Harper lowered himself to speak to the national media after Parliament recessed for the summer, he changed his tune. The mission will not be extended past February 2009 unless the opposition parties agree to it. Unless there is "a consensus". The PM doesn't want to deploy troops on the mission if the opposition is going to undercut the mission, as if this is something new.
It's really no surprise that Harper has changed his mind. He needs Quebec in his quest for a majority government and 2000 troops from Quebec's Van Doos are about to be deployed. That regiment will undoubtedly suffer casualties and since the province of Quebec doesn't have the stomach for any type of combat operations, Harper is prepared to give up on the mission in order to placate the voters that he needs in order to form a majority government.
With the Conservatives position on climate change and now Afghanistan, it's becoming harder and harder to distinguish Canada's "New Government" from the NDP and the Greens, let alone the "Old Government". Governing on how the wind is blowing seems to be the order of the day.
There never will be a consensus that can be arrived at to extend the mission beyond early 2009. Of all the opposition parties, the NDP will never waiver in their position. They want all the troops out of Afghanistan and they want them out now. This position is not going to change even if the Taliban were to come to Canada, blow up all of Toronto's bicycle lanes and behead the lovely Olivia.
Despite reconstruction and rebuilding and all the talk about winning hearts and minds, our soldiers are involved in a war. It's not a hockey game where no matter what the score is, the players keep on going until the clock runs out. At least hockey players have ways of protecting themselves from injury when the score is 9 to 1 and there is a minute remaining in the game. Perhaps Steve should take a page out of his predecessor's playbook and let Jack Layton run things. If the object of Afghanistan is get a consensus rather than complete the job then Harper should just bring the troops home now. It's one thing to ask a soldier to risk his or her life in order to complete the mission, or as they used to say in the old days, to win the war. It's quite another to see young men and women give up their lives because it's not yet 2009 or because we're waiting to reach a consensus with the NDP.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But the threat of losing power corrupts even more.
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