Paul S. Graham

This just came into my mailbox from the Canadian Peace Alliance. I couldn’t have put it better.

The US-led combat mission in Afghanistan is now over six years old, longer than World War Two. And sadly, there is now more instability and violence in Afghanistan than in 2001.

NATO forces continue to back a government dominated by warlords and drug lords. In 2007, NATO bombs killed over 6,500 people in Afghanistan ­ the highest death toll since the war bega.

Stephen Harper’s government has been implicated in scandals involving the torture and abuse of Afghan detainees. Independent reports show that reconstruction has come to a virtual halt while hundreds of millions in aid money is unaccounted for.

Opium production in Afghanistan is at its highest levels ever, providing 93 per cent of the world market. Violence against Afghan women is still widespread, while their security deteriorates on a daily basis.

A clear majority of Canadians now oppose Canada’s mission in Afghanistan. Sixty-one per cent are against plans to extend the mission past February 2009.

But Stephen Harper is proposing to do just that: extend Canada’s mission in Afghanistan until 2011. Canadian troops have suffered one of the highest casualty and death rates of all NATO forces and thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed.

It’s time to stand up to Stephen Harper. We call on the Government of Canada to stand with the majority of Canadians and say no to extending the mission in Afghanistan.

Don’t extend it. End it.

Bring the troops home now.

Visit their website at www.endit.ca. They have put together a good package of materials you can use to take action to end Canada’s shameful role in this war.

For those who think Canada’s military efforts in Afghanistan will produce a victory for NATO (or for the Afghan people), this article offers a chilling perspective. And for those who believe we never should have invaded Afghanistan, it is one more grim reminder of the needless bloodshed that was loosed on the Afghan people.

It was supposed to be “the good war”; a war against terror; a war of liberation. It was intended to fix the eyes of the world on America’s state of the art weaponry, its crack troops and its overwhelming firepower. It was supposed to demonstrate—once and for all– that the world’s only superpower could no longer be beaten or resisted; that Washington could deploy its troops anywhere in the world and crush its adversaries at will.

Then everything went sideways. The war veered from the Pentagon’s script. The Taliban retreated, waited, regrouped and retaliated. They enlisted support from the Pashtuns and the tribal leaders who could see that America would never honor its commitments; that order would never be restored. Operation Enduring Freedom has brought neither peace nor prosperity to Afghanistan; just occupation. Seven years have passed and the country is still ruled by warlords and drug-merchants. Nothing has gotten better. The country is in shambles and the government is a fraud. The humiliation of foreign occupation persists while the killing goes on with no end in sight.

War is not foreign policy. It is slaughter. Seven years later; it’s still slaughter. The Taliban have taken over more than half of Afghanistan. They have conducted military operations in the capital of Kabul. They’re dug in at Logar, Wardak and Ghazni and control vast swathes of territory in Zabul, Helmand, Urzgan and Kandahar. Now they are getting ready to step-up operations and mount a Spring offensive. That means the hostilities will progressively intensify.

The Taliban’s approach is methodical and deliberate. They’ve shown they can survive the harshest conditions and still achieve tactical victories over a better-equipped enemy. They are highly-motivated and believe their cause is just. After all, they’re not fighting to occupy a foreign nation; they’re fighting to defend their own country. That strengthens their resolve and keeps morale high. When NATO and American troops leave Afghanistan; the Taliban will remain, just as they did when the Russians left 20 years ago. No difference. The US occupation will just be another grim footnote in the country’s tragic history . . .

Read more: Swan song for NATO: The real cost of defeat in Afghanistan

The caption for the photo, taken from the PM’s website reads “Prime Minister rallies Canadian troops in Afghanistan”. Look at their faces and tell me this is a rally. It looks more like a requiem for those who have died and those who were yet to die in an unwinnable war. ISAF Commander General Dan McNeil has said:

“By U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine, we should have security forces that total well over 400,000. That’s not going to happen . . . So we’re going to have to do what we have to do with what we have.” MORE.

Or, we can do what we should have done in the beginning. End this military disaster. Stop wasting lives and let the Afghans work out their problems on their own terms.

Much has been said about the disaster that will befall Afghans if we leave. The sad fact is foreign military campaigns (the Russians, ours) has made life in Afghanistan much worse.

According to Human Rights Watch, 20 years of war have created 3.7 million refugees. The World Health Organization says Afghan life expectancy at birth is 42 for men and women alike. (In Canada it is 78 and 83, respectively.) According to the World Food Programme 54% of children under five are stunted from malnutrition; 6.7% are wasted.

Jan.23, 2005 – Kabul: Children search garbage to find food or pieces of metal and plastic for sale. Many of children belong to families who came to Kabul from Pakistan and Iran or moved from provinces where warlords brutalize them. Photo: RAWA.ORG.

I could go on, but you get the picture. Afghanistan is devastated by war, and the countries that have made war on and in that country owe it big time. An immediate emergency relief operation coupled with an ongoing commitment to helping rebuild its bombed communities and shattered economy are the least we should be doing — that, and working for peace.

Barring a political miracle of cosmic dimensions, Canadians can look forward to at least three more years of war in Afghanistan; three more years of propping up a corrupt gang of warlords – three more years of killing people who never posed a threat to this country – three more years of Canucks in coffins – sacrificed on the altar of American oil lust.

The Tory position is no surprise. Neither is that of the Liberals – they got us into this mess – remember that.

But even the Bloc and the Greens can’t seem to let go of this dirty war. Their positions are more nuanced, couched as they are in humanitarian language. But they lead to the same dismal conclusion – aid and comfort for the imperialists.

Only the New Democrats have demanded an immediate end to Canada’s combat role. This was in 2007. More recently:

“Instead of extending a strategy that isn’t working, Canada must aim to support and facilitate efforts towards the peaceful resolution of the Afghan conflict,” said NDP International Development Critic Alexa McDonough (Halifax).

“Canada should lead the international community towards a political solution, not continue the failed military approach. This means the international body in charge should be the United Nations, not NATO,” said McDonough.”

Tory-Liberal Two Step
Can you detect any important difference between these two positions?

Tweedledum
“The Government also announced it is giving notice of a motion to extend Canada’s commitment to the United Nations mandated mission in Afghanistan until the end of 2011 on the condition that Canada can secure a partner that will provide a battle group of approximately 1,000, as well medium helicopter lift capacity and high performance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.”

Tweedledee
“Mr. Harper must agree to the following three conditions:

• The Government of Canada must immediately notify NATO that Canada will end its military presence in Kandahar as of February 1, 2011 and as of that date, the deployment of the Canadian Forces troops out of Kandahar will start as soon as possible, so that it will have been completed by July 1, 2011;

• NATO must secure troops to rotate into Kandahar to allow Canadian troops to be deployed pursuant to the mission priorities of training and reconstruction; and

• The government must secure medium helicopter lift and high performance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.”

‘Nuff said?

The Bloc Québécois

Although the Bloc Québécois voted against extending Canada’s military folly the last time this matter was discussed in Parliament, it seems to be having a change of heart. While arguing for “an immediate rebalancing in favor of diplomacy, humanitarian aid, reconstruction and development,” the Bloc maintains that Canada must continue its military involvement within ISAF. According to the Bloc, “A sudden withdrawal would have profound consequences for the Afghan population. As well, this gesture would be irresponsible with regard to our allies who are counting on Canada’s collaboration.” You can verify my translation here.

How will the Bloc vote? It isn’t clear, but in one important sense it doesn’t matter. By insisting that we have a “responsibility” to continue killing Afghans it doesn’t really matter how much they insist on their humanitarian motivations.

The Greens

It would be interesting to see how Elizabeth May would handle this issue if she had the opportunity to vote on it in Parliament. For the meantime, all we have are public statements. In a news release dated Feb. 11, 2008:

“The Green Party believes Canada must rebalance our role in Afghanistan, shifting away from combat operations and toward diplomacy and peacekeeping,” said Ms. May.

“We must also redirect our resources to another critical area – rapidly building up logistics capacity within the Afghan National Army (ANA).”

Ms. May said that this logistics capacity would include field medical support, military engineering, transportation, communications, materiel management and other essential support functions.

“When our combat tour of duty in Khandahar province ends in 2009, this critical non-combat role will be an invaluable continuing contribution from Canada,” said Ms. May.

More rebalancing. More humanitarianism. Do May and Duceppe have the same script writers?

” . . . rapidly building up logistics capacity within the Afghan National Army” could have come out of Dubbya’s White House. It sounds erily like Richard Nixon’s Vietnamization policy — a reference old lefties like May and Duceppe should be able to appreciate, if somewhat uncomfortably.

However compassionate their motivations may be regarding the Afghan people, they need to understand that any military assistance strengthens the grip of a corrupt, reactionary, woman-hating gang of thugs.

Don’t take my word for it. Check out RAWA News on the right hand column of this page. They want us to take our troops home.

I think we would listen to RAWA if we could. After all, the majority of Canadians oppose the war.

However, a majority of MPs are prepared to continue the war. With the exception of the NDP, we have been betrayed – grievously by the Tories and Liberals – foolishly by the Bloc and the Greens.

However much the Liberals would like to avoid it, the war in Afghanistan is an election issue. Perhaps it is THE election issue.

It’s pretty clear to me where my vote will go. What about you?

Lieutenant- Colonel Dave Corbould, Commanding Officer, Second Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, shakes hands with Progressive Conservative Leader Hugh McFadyen as Premier Gary Doer looks on during the launch of the Manitoba Yellow Ribbon campaign. Photo: Winnipeg Free Press

The growing avalanche of bullshit aimed at convincing Canadians to back the war in Afghanistan picked up a little steam yesterday with the announcement that Manitoba’s government was supporting a project to send yellow ribbons to Manitoba soldiers in Afghanistan.

Knowing that a majority of Canadians oppose Canadian involvement in this war, the message is “if you can’t support the war, at least support the warriors.”

The yellow ribbon campaigners are collecting the signatures of Manitobans on ribbons as 800 soldiers from Canadian Forces Base Shilo plan to ship out. According to the Winnipeg Free Press:

Lt.-Col. Dave Corbould, who’s leading the deployment to Afghanistan, said his men and women are impressed with the support they’ve received from fellow Manitobans.

“Politics aside, let’s talk about what’s really important here,” he said.

I agree, let’s talk about what’s important. Contrary to Col. Corbould, politics must be a part of the equation. Politics — misguided at best and pathologically corrupt, vicious and cynical the rest of the time — got us into Afghanistan. And honest politics will get us out and free Canada to begin to become a force for peace in the world.

The government line, loosely paraphrased, is that brave Canadian soldiers risk their lives to free the Afghan people from the grip of terrorists so that they may one day live and prosper in a free, democratic society.

The reality is that 78 Canadian soldiers have died supporting a gang of thugs who are no more interested in freedom and democracy than the Taliban they replaced.

Afghan refugee students chant slogans during an anti-war rally organized by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan in Islamabad April 28, 2007. Photo: REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood

Don’t take my word for it. Listen to women of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. RAWA struggled for freedom against the Soviet Union and the Taliban, and they continue to carry on that struggle today.

The US and her allies tried to legitimize their military occupation of Afghanistan under the banner of “bringing freedom and democracy for Afghan people”. But as we have experienced in the past three decades, in regard to the fate of our people, the US government first of all considers her own political and economic interests and has empowered and equipped the most traitorous, anti-democratic, misogynist and corrupt fundamentalist gangs in Afghanistan. . .

After about seven years, there is no peace, human rights, democracy and reconstruction in Afghanistan. On the contrary, the destitution and suffering of our people has doubled everyday. Our people, and even our unfortunate children, fall victim to the Jehadis’ infighting (Baghlan incident), the Taliban’s untargeted blasts and the US/NATO’s non-stop bombardments. The Northern Alliance blood-suckers, who are part of Karzai’s team and have key government posts, continue to be the main and the most serious obstacle towards the establishment of peace and democracy in Afghanistan. READ MORE.

In RAWA’s opinion, we should get out. Afghans, they insist, can and must solve their own problems. As RAWA expressed it in the above-linked communique:

Instead of defeating Al-Qaeda, Taliban and Gulbuddini terrorists and disarming the Northern Alliance, the foreign troops are creating confusion among the people of the world. We believe that if these troops leave Afghanistan, our people will not feel any kind of vacuum but rather will become more free and come out of their current puzzlement and doubts. In such a situation, they will face the Taliban and Northern Alliance without their “national” mask, and rise to fight with these terrorist enemies. Neither the US nor any other power wants to release Afghan people from the fetters of the fundamentalists. Afghanistan’s freedom can be achieved by Afghan people themselves. Relying on one enemy to defeat another is a wrong policy which has just tightened the grip of the Northern Alliance and their masters on the neck of our nation.

The yellow ribbon campaigners hope to get 10,000 signatures (50 per ribbon). With provincial approval, they will take their campaign to Manitoba schools. Under Gary Doer’s tutelage, another generation of young people will be fed the lie that you can make the world a better place by killing people.

However well-meaning its supporters might be, the yellow ribbon campaign is disgusting. By playing on the emotions of Canadians who fear for the lives of our soldiers, they hope to build support for the war. Gary Doer should be ashamed for his role in allowing pro-war propaganda into Manitoba schools.

If the folks who peddle these pathetic little rags really want to “support our troops” they would bring them home.

Take Action

This campaign comes at a time when pro-war forces are working overtime to influence the pending vote in Parliament on whether to extend Canada’s combat mission in Afghanistan. I hope you will join with me and write our premier and our MLAs and tell them that war propagandists should not be given the keys to our schools. I also hope you will encourage your friends to do likewise.

Here is a list of MLAs and their email addresses: http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/members/alphabetical.html