GET THEM OUT OF AFGHANISTAN, and you out of ottawa

when stephen harper became canada's prime minister, he upgraded canada's peacekeeping mission in afghanistan. he visited the troops in afghanistan, assured them he was behind them (a far far distance behind them) stressed that the mission was shifting from peacekeeping to warmaking, and reinforced that the troops were committed to afghanistan for the long haul.

the 60 canadians who have died since canada entered afghanistan in 2002 never got the opportunity to be in this war for the long haul did they, mr harper? or even this life.

in the past 72 hours, six canadian soldiers were killed in afghanistan.

corporal jordan anderson, of edmonton's 3rd battalion, princess patricia's canadian light infantry, was a yellowknife boy.

corporal cole bartsch was a good friend of my sister's.

and although i have no personal connection to this family, my heart breaks for five-month-old vienna bason, whose father, master cpl colin bason, died in the vehicle bombing as well.

capt. jefferson francis, capt. matthew dawe, and pte. lane watkins, round out the six who were killed.

col jon vance, safe in edmonton, said, "the families are well aware that there is a debate in this mission. no matter what your opinion is, these soldiers are working on behalf of all Canadians. they are pursuing a mission they believe in and, in fact, to the reasonably well-informed, has demonstrated some progress."

what is attempt to link my opinion to the soldiers are working on behalf of all canadians?  nice wordsmithing attempt. yes, it is true being in their army was their chosen profession, the soldiers aren't there because of automatic conscription. they chose to carry guns, and to many in afghanistan, if you're carrying a gun, you don't represent peace. but don't make these soldiers into further pawns, all right?

moving on, what debate on the mission could that be?

1) these soldiers are working on behalf of all canadians.

because the government believes they are better off in afghanistan with poorly equipped vehicles known as nyalas? this isn't the first time canadian soldiers were killed in similar attacks....remember trooper mark andrew wilson?

2) has demonstrated some progress.

their justification as to why the mission has demonstrated some progress? because the taliban folk are now using roadside bombs.

yes, two canadians, brig-general tim grant and lt-col jean trudel, chief of staff for the national command element of joint task force afghanistan, said the growing use of ied's suggests a loss of control by the taliban.

let's not forget that the use of those roadside bombs, as desperate a sign as it may be, have claimed 19 of the 22 lives of the canadian soldiers killed this rotation. but ever the optimist, grant said,

"Clearly they have managed to kill six great young Canadians today which is an absolute tragedy, but the other parts of this is that they are killing lots of Afghans," brig-general tim grant said.

so we're supposed to be happy that the taliban is so desperate they're using bombs that are killing greater number of canadians? government, stop while you can.

the aim of this peacekeeping mission was to win the hearts and minds of the afghan people. thanks to a variety of reasons i am not "reasonably well informed" enough to describe, i can't tell you. but here are some websites. some articles written by journalists "over there". others by the government themselves. read what the government is doing, or hasn't done.

has canada's presence in afghanistan made a difference?

on days like today, i have to say only to the families and friends of the 60 soliders who won't be coming home. when canada finally packs up and leaves, will the taliban be completely wiped out? gone forever? will all the hearts be won, 100%

when people, especially the young die, in war related causes, it tends to make people hesitant to question the war (or pseudo peace keeping). questioning why they died does not make these six men, the 60 canadians who have died in afghanistan, any less heroic.

i cannot say the same for their country, for my country, canada, and that fills me with deep deep sorrow.

http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/search/label/War

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=10224

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/06/20/afghan-nato.html

http://mostlywater.org/node/6306

Canada must move quickly to assist the Afghan people with food, shelter, and medical ..... institutions has rendered Afghanistan a failed state. ...
www.cmi.no/pdf/?file=/afghanistan/doc/CCHS_Bulletin-Afghanistan_Jan_2007.pdf -

http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/search/label/War

Comments

[joeinvegas]

Gee, changing two words makes it sound like some posts of mine. Total agreement, just because you are in office doesn't mean that your opinions are the same as mine.

[Scott Kohlhaas]

Hello.

Yes, it is important to note that no conscription (force) was used to get these soldiers to join up!

Would you be willing to spread the word about www.draftresistance.org? It's a site dedicated to shattering the myths surrounding the selective slavery system and building mass civil disobedience to stop the draft before it starts.

Our banner on a website, printing and posting the anti-draft flyer or just telling friends would help.

Thanks!

Scott Kohlhaas

PS. When it comes to conscription, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!