'Somebody' should do something
Denis Coderre thinks Canada has done enough:
British Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells doesn't seem to think much of that approach:
Bailing out of Kandahar and hoping that another country steps up to fill the vacuum that Canada would leave is just about the most irresponsible course of action we could take.
We all know what would happen. The Yanks and Brits - and maybe the Aussies and Poles - would sigh and step up their own commitments. We wouldn't be encouraging other European NATO allies to participate in southern Afghanistan. We'd simply be shifting more of the burden to those nations who were already engaged there. The same workload, spread over fewer players.
It would be an embarrassment and a disgrace.
Update: Just once I'd love someone to challenge Canadians on the consequences of their largely uninformed opinions on this matter: "So you want to bring our soldiers home - what do you think happens to the Afghans then?"
And, by the way, both the Liberal and Conservative governments that initiated and embraced this mission should be taken to task for the lacklustre way they have communicated its importance to the voting public. This poll result is a damning indictment of their feeble and ineffective efforts.
Denis Coderre, the Liberal defence critic, said his motion will call on the Conservative government to immediately serve notice of the withdrawal plans to NATO allies.
He said the Afghan people will likely want the Canadians to stay, but added the burden needs to be spread around.
"We feel for the Afghan people," he said. "We're spending billions for the Afghan people, but we need also to have an agenda that will see all the countries participate."
He said other NATO countries should be taking a more active combat role in the war-torn country.
Some European members of NATO - notably France and Germany - have refused to send their troops in Afghanistan to the volatile southern region to confront Taliban insurgents.
Coderre said by 2009 Canada will have done its bit in Afghanistan.
British Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells doesn't seem to think much of that approach:
"My comment on it is entirely from a British point of view, which is that the Canadians and the Americans are amongst our strongest allies and it's very difficult to imagine who would move in behind the Canadians pulling out," Mr. Howells said in a wide-ranging interview at the British High Commission in Ottawa.
"Who has the skill to do it? Who has the courage and the will to do it?" [Babbler's emphasis]
Bailing out of Kandahar and hoping that another country steps up to fill the vacuum that Canada would leave is just about the most irresponsible course of action we could take.
We all know what would happen. The Yanks and Brits - and maybe the Aussies and Poles - would sigh and step up their own commitments. We wouldn't be encouraging other European NATO allies to participate in southern Afghanistan. We'd simply be shifting more of the burden to those nations who were already engaged there. The same workload, spread over fewer players.
It would be an embarrassment and a disgrace.
Update: Just once I'd love someone to challenge Canadians on the consequences of their largely uninformed opinions on this matter: "So you want to bring our soldiers home - what do you think happens to the Afghans then?"
And, by the way, both the Liberal and Conservative governments that initiated and embraced this mission should be taken to task for the lacklustre way they have communicated its importance to the voting public. This poll result is a damning indictment of their feeble and ineffective efforts.
posted by Babbling Brooks at 10:14 a.m.
4 Comments:
A comment on your update in which you state “…consequences of their largely uninformed opinions on this matter…”. I know you are close to this matter and may have spoken a bit quickly but I think this might be an affront to a number of people who have a whole host of varied informed and legitimate opinions on this issue that differ from those in which you believe. I do, though, agree that your subsequent question is more to the point and would likely generate some constructive discussion.
Fotis, if they can answer my subsequent question, I may be more inclined to retract my comment about the quality of their opinion. But until someone can give me a reasonable answer to the "what then?" question, I choose to believe that the trend in Canadian public opinion stems from a lack of information rather than stupidity or indifference to the plight of the Afghan people.
"It's someone else's problem" doesn't qualify as coherent, mature foreign policy in this instance.
"...it's very difficult to imagine who would move in behind the Canadians pulling out,"
I'll second that statement. Canada pulling out will not automatically mean other NATO countries (currently not involved in the south) would step up.
Further to this: Let's say we do pull our soldiers out of Afghanistan either before or at 2009.
My questions would be:
Does leaving at that time fufil our commitment under the Afghanistan Compact?
Will leaving be abandoning our NATO allies before the job is done?
What will we ask of our military when our commitment is either finished in Afghanistan, or pre-maturely ended?
Will we send them to Darfur instead, or some other war-torn country that is equally, or more dangerous than Afghanistan?
IMHO--I don't see any point in pulling our soldiers out of Afghanistan before the job is done, just to commit them to another war torn country where they will likely take just as many if not more casualties. It just doesnt make sense to me.
A little off-topic here, but I just wanted to post this article from the Globe and Mail--take a look at the comments:
Almost unbelieveable:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070424.lphoenix24/CommentStory/lifeMain/home#comment
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