In March 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper affirmed his government's commitment to Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan, telling hundreds of soldiers there that Canada won't "cut and run" so long as he's in charge. "You can't lead from the bleachers. I want Canada to be a leader," he told Canadian troops at the Kandahar airfield base the day after he arrived.
With no victory in sight, following a decision by the Harper government the bulk of Canadian forces will, regardless, within a year have left Afghanistan. It seems Harper no longer cares if Canada is a "leader" on the world stage, that Canadians should now be content to merely sit out events in "the bleachers" far from the decision-making levers of power. The won't-cut-and-run Stephen Harper of 2006 would surely hold this more reasonable and accommodating 2010 version of Stephen Harper's political persona in low regard.
Source: [url=http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/03/13/harper_afghanistan060313.html#ixzz0vMJx4YVi]http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/03/13/harper_afghanistan060313.html#ixzz0vMJx4YVi[/url]
Sincerely,
Orest Slepokura
Strathmore, Alta
