Paul S. Graham

Taliban insurgents killed three humanitarian aid workers and their driver yesterday in an attack that is being condemned, rightfully, as murder.

Dead are two Canadians, Jacqueline Kirk (left) and Shirley Case, an American, Nicole Dial and an Afghan, Mohammad Aimal.

By all accounts, they were decent, loving people who didn’t deserve what was done to them.

Prime Minister Harper expressed the feelings of many when he said during a visit to eastern Newfoundland: “I want to first of all express my condolences to the families of these murdered humanitarian workers. This is obviously an outrage, a terribly brutal act, which I think should remind everybody of the brutality of the Taliban and the danger that everybody there faces — not just military people but all those who are there trying to help rebuild this country.”

I’m sure Harper is sincere, and that he never stopped once to wonder why Afghanistan needs rebuilding. I also suspect he never once considered what responsibility he might bear for the deaths of civilians and combatants on both sides of this conflict.

I suspect this of our Prime Minister because I don’t recall a time when he has publically expressed sympathy for any of the unarmed men, women and children killed by Canadian and other NATO soldiers over the past seven years.

Perhaps he has, and I missed it. On the other hand, perhaps he is unaware and just needs to be reminded. Well, given that he doesn’t have time to read my blog, maybe someone can pass it along to him. Better yet, pass along the Open Letter that Peace Alliance Winnipeg sent to Gary Doer this week; it has the stats I am going to quote below, and much much more.

Afghan Death Toll

The precise number of Afghans killed since 2001 is difficult to determine, but is safe to assume that tens of thousands have died needlessly.

• Writing in The Guardian in 2002, Johnathan Steele suggested that up to 8,000 direct deaths and 20,000 indirect deaths could be attributed to the invasion. The American Project on Defense Alternatives, which speaks of “adapting military policy to the opportunities of the new era”, puts the 2001-02 civilian death toll much lower, between 1,000 and 1,300.

• Dr. Marc W. Herold, of the University of New Hampshire, has estimated that American bombing had killed between 3,100 and 3,600 civilians by Oct, 2003.

• According to Agence France Presse, about 1,700 people were killed in 2005, “many of them militants.” A report by Human Rights Watch said that 4,400 Afghans had been killed in 2006, more than 1,000 of them civilians. Some 2,077 militants were killed in Coalition operations between September 1 and December 13, 2006.

• More than 7,580 people were killed in 2007, including: 1,980 civilians, 926 Afghan policemen and 4,478 militants.

• To date, in 2008, about 2,700 Afghans have been killed, including 960 civilians.

The Peace Alliance notes: “Let us not forget that Canadians are active participants in the killing of Afghan civilians as well as combatants. Reported civilian deaths include a taxi driver, a 10-year old boy, an elderly motorcyclist, two young children (aged 2 and 4, a young motorcyclist and his baby brother, an Afghan National Police officer and a homeless beggar, a Toyota driver, a taxi passenger, and a motorist. Given the obvious limitations on reporting in a war zone, this likely represents the minimum number of civilians killed by Canadians.”

One of 6 civilians killed by a US bombing raid in March 2008.

Does the death of Afghan civilians justify the death international aid workers? No. But remembering them helps us get some much needed perspective. And perhaps it helps us see, more clearly, through the hypocrisy of our political leaders in a twisted world where we mourn “our” dead and fail to acknowledge the deaths of the people “our” soldiers kill.

Canadians will continue to join Afghans in violent death until we compel our government to withdraw Canadian troops and work for international peace.

Let us pause to mourn the war dead of all nations. You can get acquainted with some of these victims by visiting the Afghan Victim Memorial Project.

And then, let’s get to work on building peace.

Dear Premier Doer,

We write to ask you to remove the “Yellow Ribbon Garden” from the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature and to refrain from lending provincial support to the “Red Shirt Rally” planned for August 15, 2008 on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature.

We do so because the “Yellow Ribbon” and “Red Friday” campaigns in Canada signify support for militarism and war. They do so under the guise of caring and compassion for “our troops.” But in reality, these campaigns are code for supporting a war of aggression being carried on in the name of, and against the will of, the majority of Canadian people. (A June 2008 poll suggests that only 36 per cent of Canadians agree with Parliament’s decision to extend Canada’s military intervention in Afghanistan through 2011. That is down from 41 per cent in a similar poll done in May, according to Angus Reid Strategies. )

We object strenuously to the war in Afghanistan and to the use of Canadian soldiers in that war. In no way is the participation of Canadians in the ongoing carnage in Afghanistan supportable by informed people of conscience.

In March, you announced provincial support for the Yellow Ribbon Campaign.  You followed this up with the planting of the “Yellow Ribbon Garden” in the front of the Legislature. Most recently, you agreed to host a “Red Shirt Rally” with MLA, Bonnie Korzeniowski, Special Envoy for Military Affairs as one of the featured speakers. While you are entitled to express your personal opinion about the war (one which is diametrically opposed by the federal New Democratic Party), you do not have the right to use provincial resources to promote it.

Read more: Open Letter To Gary Doer On Afghanistan

Action: Peace Alliance Winnipeg encourages you to circulate this letter widely and to communicate with the Premier of Manitoba and Manitoba MLAs.

The Yellow Ribbon Garden in front of the Manitoba Legislature asks people to “support our troops.” This is code for “support the war” and is one of the many tactics employed to manipulate the emotions of Canadians, justifiably concerned for the safety of our soldiers, into supporting an immoral war against the Afghan people.

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Originally posted at Peace Alliance Winnipeg.