Afstan: Stephen Harper ain't no Barack Omama/Brits replacing us?/"Hell no" Update

Surprise, surprise:

Capping the most momentous week of his presidency, U.S. President Barack Obama flew secretly to Kabul where he demanded a crackdown on endemic corruption but vowed not to abandon Afghanistan until the war is won because America’s security is at stake.

“The United States of America does not quit once we start on something,” he told 2,500 cheering American troops Sunday. He made no reference to those allies – including Canada and the Netherlands – that will withdraw thousands of troops next year, whether or not the raging Taliban insurgency has been defeated...

...a majority of Americans tell pollsters they oppose the war.

[Globeite Paul Koring is being indelicately economical with the truth--or else not doing his, er, research. The latest:

...A poll released late last week by CNN found a rise in optimism on Afghanistan, with 44% of the public saying things are going well for the U.S., versus 43% who say things are going badly. That's a 23-percentage-point jump since last November.

The poll found that 48% support the war, versus 49% opposed—anemic, but the first time since May that opposition slipped below 50%...

More:

...
Overall, 53 percent of those polled approve of the way Obama is dealing with the situation in Afghanistan; 35 percent disapprove...]

If I thought for a minute that America’s vital interests were not served, were not at stake right here in Afghanistan, I would order all you home right away,” Mr. Obama told throngs of American soldiers shortly before boarding his plane for the long flight home...

Since the government says we're leaving in 2011 I guess no there are no Canadian vital interests in Afstan after all, and no need to continue contributing militarily (not even trainers in Kabul) to collective security--once a foundation of Canadian foreign policy [..."In the interest of collective security, Canada and its international partners share a duty to help ensure that terrorism cannot take root again in Afghanistan..."; guess where you'll find that].

What slays me is that our government seems positively proud that it is committed to a 2011 complete CF bug-out date from Afstan--which is not what the 2008 Commons' resolution calls for.

Meanwhile, one of Canada's greatest and goodest has this to say:

...
The Afghanistan mission, [Robert] Fowler said, is doomed because neither Canadians nor its allies are prepared to pay the price, “in blood or treasure” to essentially colonize that country.

“The bottom line is: We will not prevail in Afghanistan,” Fowler said. “We are simply not prepared to foot the massive price in blood and treasure, which it would take to effectively colonize Afghanistan — the least fortunate country in the world — and replace their culture with ours, for that seems to be what we seek, and with the Taliban share that view.”

Fowler argued that Canadian troops should immediately withdraw from that country. “It is time to leave. Not a moment, not a life, and not a dollar, later.”

Hurl to the max.

And guess who may--sensibly--replace, indeed augment considerably, our military effort at Kandahar:

...Britain's Telegraph newspaper reported Sunday that if the Pentagon has its way, British forces now in Afghanistan's Helmand Province would replace Canadian troops when they leave Kandahar next year. Helmand, which the British now share with the U.S. marines, would then become entirely the responsibility of the marines [the Brits might also replace the Dutch in Uruzgan]...

Update:

Afstan: Hell no, we're gonna go/Meanwhile Kandahar shaping