As if a stricken economy, a crumbling infrastructure and a health-care mess weren't enough problems awaiting Barrack Obama's attention when he becomes president, there are also the two 600 pound gorillas, AKA Iraq and Afghanistan, waiting for him in the Oval Office, And how he handles Afghanistan will have a major effect on Canada's military presence in that Asian quagmire. John McCain sneered at Obama's promise to talk with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, but it was Israeli General Moshe Dayan who said: "If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies."
And John F. Kennedy was of a similar opinion when he said: "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate." Even old warhorse Winston Churchill said that to Jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war. Of course, Obama should also remember Teddy Roosevelt's advice about carrying a big stick.
William Bedford
Toronto, Ontario
