"The honest anti-war position: Support"

Taking on the mindless, hate-filled, hard-leftists (via a tip from Terry Glavin):

New B.C. group aims to laud, not decry, Afghan mission

Brian Hutchinson, National Post

VANCOUVER -The rabble will gather again today, outside this city's main public art gallery on a large, downtown square, near clothing shops and record stores. A good spot for an anti-war protest.

As they always do, leaders of the group Mobilization Against War and Occupation

will distribute propaganda-filled leaflets. MAWO's message: Canadian soldiers deployed in Afghanistan are criminals, "battling a popular resistance movement of regular Afghan people."

The recent decision in Parliament to extend Canada's mission in Afghanistan "means two more years of plunder, two more years of destruction … we must demand an end to this cruel war drive," reads MAWO's latest pamphlet.

A poorly formed view, but not uncommon. Similar sentiments are expressed throughout the country. But a new countermovement has formed, one that lauds the Canadian Forces and its efforts in Afghanistan. Strange as it might seem, it's based here in Vancouver, where the political landscape tilts sharply to the left.

Founders of the Canada Afghanistan Solidarity Committee [more here] include poets, environmentalists and local authors who will never be mistaken for conservatives, such as Terry Glavin and Stan Persky. Among the many books Mr. Pesky has written is Boyopolis: Sex and Politics in Gay Eastern Europe; one can assume it is not on Rick Hillier's bedside table.

Other founding members include "academics, gay rights activists, student activists, Afghan-Canadians and feminists," according to a recent CASC press release. "We are united under the premise that we must honour our obligations to the cause of solidarity with the people of Afghanistan … The only honest 'anti-war' position is to support Canada's military engagement in Afghanistan."

Not such an easy sell, admits CASC member Jonathon Narvey, a 33-year-old journalist and editor. "A lot of our members are lefties," he says, but "it's a bit of a grind" getting across the message that the war in Afghanistan is worth fighting. Much of the effort is used "reminding people of the facts."

The committee takes direct aim at MAWO, warning students and activists to steer clear of it, and describing it as "a bizarre cult-like group" whose demands for an immediate withdrawal of military from Afghanistan are "simplistic, ignorant and morally disgraceful."

Human-rights consultant and CASC founding member Lauryn Oates, 26, does not apologize for the strong language and condemnations; she says they are necessary and long overdue. MAWO, she says, "is despicable."..

MAWO members deny their organization resembles anything like a cult. "I am familiar with this kind of slander and gossip campaign," said Kira Koshelanyk in an interview this week. "This kind of thing, honestly, we don't pay a lot of heed to that."

But when it comes to Afghanistan, MAWO members do not speak from any direct experience. "We obviously have not been to Afghanistan," admitted Ms. Koshelanyk, in an interview this week. "Of course, we have met [Afghans who share MAWO's point of view]."

Unfortunately, she could not name any. Fellow MAWO member Janine Solanki jumped in to explain that Afghans living in Canada "don't feel comfortable getting involved because the country they are living in is occupying Afghanistan. As immigrants, it's a difficult thing in Canada to speak out against that."

Nonsense, says Afghan-Canadian Karim Qayumi, a CASC member and the director of research at the University of British Columbia's divisions of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery.

"I know many Afghans who are passionate about the military mission in Afghanistan but they are still critical of it," Dr. Qayumi said. "I am critical, but I support it, because I know that a withdrawal would lead to chaos. Civil war."

Dr. Qayumi, 57, has an informed perspective. A year after the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, he joined the mujahedeen resistance; for three years, he treated wounded fighters in the Afghan countryside. He was targeted for assassination by pro-Soviet collaborators. Dr. Qayumi immigrated to Canada with his family in 1983 but returns to Afghanistan on a regular basis, to distribute medical supplies and to perform charity work.

"I am totally amazed by Canadians and their efforts to help in Afghanistan," he says. "Unfortunately, I have also encountered Canadians who do not understand the problems there."

Successive federal governments have failed to articulate clearly the mission's purpose, he adds. Meanwhile, some elements on the political left "have their own political motives for spreading what is obviously false information about Afghanistan," Dr. Qayumi said. "They say there are promoting peace, but what they advocate will lead to more war." Better than most of us, he knows that extremists cannot go unchallenged...

Disclosure: I'm a founding member of the CASC. More on Mr Glavin's blog:

Inside the cult that runs the "Mobilization Against War and Occupation"

Inside The Cult That Runs The "Mobilization Against War and Occupation": Part II
(Check the photo.)

When Tyrants Tremble In Their Fear, And Hear Their Death Knell Ringing. . .

Afghanistan: Do We Stay or Do We Go?