Read then pass on to others

Expand your perspectives and then help others to do the same.

Eight excellent articles on Afghanistan (5 English, 3 French) in the most recent issue of Policy Options. I'm still struggling through the three French articles via Google translate. (I know it's not perfect, but it gives me the general idea and motivation to sign up for those French courses I've been putting off).

Here's one sample.

Afghanistan Comes Home (.pdf)

The global stakes are high, and it is important they be more clearly communicated in Canada, because Canadians know how to aid, build and develop, which we must do, but we cannot do without also providing essential security via our armed forces until Afghans can take over. The immediate requirement is to increase force presence, not decrease it.

Locally, as winter sets in, the fighting will for a time wane. By the time spring arrives, both Afghans and Canadians need to see a brighter picture.

There is no magic bullet to make the Taliban simply disappear. But they can be discouraged by evidence of greater confidence on the part of the Afghan public in their security and hope for a different future. Afghanistan has been an extremely challenging country to govern at any time. It needs our help. All countries, including Afghanistan’s regional neighbours, need to row together, for global reasons as well as for those closer to home.

Jeremy Kinsman was a Canadian foreign service officer from 1966 until August 2006. He has served as minister to the UN and in Washington, and from 1992 until 2006 he was Canada’s ambassador to Moscow and Rome, high commissioner to London, and ambassador to the EU in Brussels. He is now principally a consultant and commentator with CBC News and lives on Vancouver Island.