Afstan: Layton's simple or willful ignorance; Hillier's economy with the truth
Blue Blogging Soapbox points out a number of facts that Mr Layton has seriously wrong about the timing of the change to the Canadian Forces' mission in Afstan (facts which have been repeatedly brought up at this site, along with the failure of our media adequately to cover them).
The incompetence and laziness of our media and of many politicians passeth understanding. It's almost as though they have yet to learn how to do research on the Internet.
The Liberal government, for its part, certainly tried to downplay the fact that our troops at Kandahar would initially be under US Operation Enduring Freedom. The Conservative government--and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Hillier--are still following this approach, which is simply disingenuous.
An obfuscating exchange (from video clip Question Period: Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier) March 12 between CTV's Craig Oliver and Gen. Hillier:
OLIVER: I think that there has been some confusion in the minds of many Canadians about exactly whose mission it is, so I'd like to know whether, and this is what the options are in the minds of people. First, is it part of the American Enduring Freedom anti-terrorism, is it part of a UN operation which is always more palatable to Canadians, or is it a NATO mission? Which is it exactly?
HILLIER: Well, Craig, I would say this. It's a Canadian mission. It's a Canadian mission in support and helping Afghans. Afghans who, as I mentioned earlier, have had their lives wrecked for 25 years, millions dead, millions dispossessed of their country and their home and their families. It's a Canadian mission helping Afghans. But we are part of a greater mission here. We're in support of a United Nations Security Council resolution in support of the United Nations mission here in Afghanistan, and I think in fact the Secretary-General Kofi Anan was very eloquent as he articulated the need and the value of international military forces coming here to help Afghans and to help that United Nations mission. We're part of an international cooperation here of about 35 countries under a NATO mandate to actually help Afghans. So this is a Canadian mission with multi-national partners, large numbers of them, supporting a UN mandate, helping Afghans.
H/t to David Pugliese of the Ottawa Citizen for the Question Period interview.
Update: More on Layton's distortions.
Cross-posted to Daimnation!
The incompetence and laziness of our media and of many politicians passeth understanding. It's almost as though they have yet to learn how to do research on the Internet.
The Liberal government, for its part, certainly tried to downplay the fact that our troops at Kandahar would initially be under US Operation Enduring Freedom. The Conservative government--and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Hillier--are still following this approach, which is simply disingenuous.
An obfuscating exchange (from video clip Question Period: Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier) March 12 between CTV's Craig Oliver and Gen. Hillier:
OLIVER: I think that there has been some confusion in the minds of many Canadians about exactly whose mission it is, so I'd like to know whether, and this is what the options are in the minds of people. First, is it part of the American Enduring Freedom anti-terrorism, is it part of a UN operation which is always more palatable to Canadians, or is it a NATO mission? Which is it exactly?
HILLIER: Well, Craig, I would say this. It's a Canadian mission. It's a Canadian mission in support and helping Afghans. Afghans who, as I mentioned earlier, have had their lives wrecked for 25 years, millions dead, millions dispossessed of their country and their home and their families. It's a Canadian mission helping Afghans. But we are part of a greater mission here. We're in support of a United Nations Security Council resolution in support of the United Nations mission here in Afghanistan, and I think in fact the Secretary-General Kofi Anan was very eloquent as he articulated the need and the value of international military forces coming here to help Afghans and to help that United Nations mission. We're part of an international cooperation here of about 35 countries under a NATO mandate to actually help Afghans. So this is a Canadian mission with multi-national partners, large numbers of them, supporting a UN mandate, helping Afghans.
H/t to David Pugliese of the Ottawa Citizen for the Question Period interview.
Update: More on Layton's distortions.
Cross-posted to Daimnation!
posted by Mark, Ottawa at 10:40 a.m.
1 Comments:
Layton always does that. When the Americans invaded Iraq in 2003 he went all purple about the fact that Canadians serving in exchange positions would stay with their US units. He went on to say, "There were no Canadians serving with the British in the Falklands."
He knew better.
He's playing a game in an attempt to score points with his deaf constituency, which is apparently working judging by the recent post over at the Babylon Project which recently made a big deal of Canadians who have been there all along.
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