Canada Out Of Afghanistan: How's About For Real, Eh?

I've been saying this for quite a while now (one example here). Hell, this is no more a matter of insurgency, but one of insurrection - of civil war - where it now looks like the Taliban ends up being funded by ... the USA!

Although Canada's top commander announced that all Canadian soldiers will withdraw from this never-ending quagmire by 2011, I remain skeptical of this for three reasons:

1) Our Prime Minister Poseur is too much enamored with the idea that military might means "being taken seriously" - to the point that his government introduced a new citizenship guide that puts greater emphasis on military history;

2) On this past Remembrance Day, our Prime Minister Poseur could not help himself from actually reiterating the following Bushie, tripe, asinine and insane rationale for our presence in Afghanistan: "Canada has always answered the call to stand up for freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law. Our commitment to these values is being tested yet again in Afghanistan, and Canadians are rightly proud of the work our brave soldiers are doing to help those less fortunate than us." Yes indeed - we're not just about Peacekeeping anymore, and we apparently still have to fight them over there so that we don't have to fight them over here (sigh);

3) Harper and his Harpies have kept hinting at extending in one way or another the presence of our military in Afghanistan:"The government has insisted Canada's military mission will end in 2011. But its ministers and staff — including Defence Minister Peter MacKay — have suggested Canadian soldiers could remain in Afghanistan beyond that deadline, though perhaps not in combat. Speaking before a parliamentary committee last month, MacKay said they would shift to a role that focuses on more development, reconstruction, training and helping Afghans enhance their own security. As well, the prime minister's spokesman Dimitri Soudas told CBC News last month that Canadian soldiers would remain in Afghanistan. He suggested a force much smaller than the 2,800-troop mission currently in Kandahar". Hell, they haven't changed their discourse a bit in this regard since whenever.

So, that is why I convey herein the following "call to action alert" (via Rabble):

ACTION ALERT: Demand the immediate, safe and orderly withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan

The war in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of 133 Canadian soldiers, affected numerous more with life-altering physical injuries and mental traumas, and will cost an estimated $18.1 billion.

It is a war that has claimed the lives of thousands of Afghans, hundreds of coalition soldiers, and has left the country less secure for development work. It is also a war that does not have the support of the majority of Canadians, and, despite these heavy sacrifices, very likely cannot be ‘won’.

In their book The Unexpected War: Canada in Kandahar, political scientist Janice Gross Stein and Eugene Lang write that General Rick Hillier pushed for Canadian troops in Kandahar to impress the Pentagon and then-U.S. president George W. Bush.

Globe and Mail columnist Lawrence Martin has written that, “A former, highly placed Defence Department official (says) the reason the Liberals took up the mission was not out of any great noble purpose. It was principally because they had no choice. They had to appease Washington for not having joined the invasion of Iraq.”

In August 2006, the Council of Canadians issued a statement calling for the immediate, safe and orderly withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan. At that point, 20 Canadian soldiers had been killed in the war.

In March 2008, after the deaths of 79 Canadian soldiers, the House of Commons voted to extend the war in Afghanistan past 2009 and for the military mission to conclude in December 2011. Our action alert against this extension of the war can be read here.

As of this Remembrance Day, the mandated end of the military mission is still a full two years away. At the current rate of casualties that could mean the deaths of another 60 Canadian soldiers.

And already the Harper government has indicated that an unspecified number of Canadian troops may remain in Afghanistan in a training and support role past December 2011, and speculation continues that the United States will press for Canada to maintain its current war-fighting role.

(Keep reading ...)