Archive for the ‘War’ Category

Vimy Ridge

Posted: April 8, 2007 in Peace, War
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Stretcher Bearers Bringing in Wounded at Vimy Ridge

Every Nov. 11, I get a little weepy.The knowledge that behind the solemn ceremonies and the 21-gun salutes from capitals across the country lie millions of premature deaths and incalculable suffering is overwhelming.

This weekend, the Vimy Ridge Memorial in France has been re-opened and our political and military leaders are mouthing platitudes about sacrifice, democracy, and nation-building. 3,598 Canadians were killed and 7,104 wounded in the battle of Vimy Ridge, and so it is only fitting that we lay to rest some of the bullshit that has been flowing, ostensibly in their memory.

Much is made of the valour and sacrifice of the Canadians at Vimy. Valour means courage under fire and to be sure, our ancestors were brave. One account of the battle says the artillery barrage was so loud it could be heard in southern England, 100 miles away. Imagine the fear this din would have inspired on all sides; imagine being able to stand up and walk, much less fight, in this hellish environment.

And they were sacrificed – gutted on the altar of imperial ambition. Four empires: the Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian disintegrated, and the Allies divided up the spoils. We continue to reap that whirlwind in the Middle East, among other places.

Democracy? I suppose it’s a relative term, even today. Prior to WW1 the Germans had an emperor and a parliament; we had a king and a parliament. Women were not allowed to vote in either country. Citizens and combatants on both sides were force-fed a stew of lies about their evil adversaries, but looking back over 90 years, it is difficult to see WW1 as a struggle for democracy.

Nation building? In Canada, the battle of Vimy Ridge is portrayed as key breakthrough in the evolution of Canada from a British colony to an independent state. Under British command, Canadians planned, led, provided most of the Allied fighters at Vimy and prevailed. Their blood, we are told, helped us win a seat at the Versailles peace negotiations, which led to our ever growing autonomy on the world stage (which presumably led us to our present status as a vassal of the American Empire — but I digress).

The folks who depend on a compliant source of cannon fodder for current and future wars want us to believe that the battle of Vimy Ridge was a GOOD THING. They want us to believe that Canada “came of age” in the Great War. WW1 is presented as an essential rite of passage, sanctified by our emerging nationhood, almost an historical inevitability if we were ever to find our place in the world. Today’s warmongers are even trying to bask in the reflected glow of long ago bombardments as they direct our young people to slaughter in Afghanistan. (National Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor put it this way: “And much like the Battle at Vimy Ridge, our involvement in Afghanistan is, in many ways, helping to define us as a nation today. A nation that stands up for what we believe in.”)

But consider this: of the 620,000 Canadians who fought in the Great War, 67,000 were killed and 241,000 were wounded. Imagine what a country we might have built if these young men had remained at home, with their families, in their communities.

Friends of mine have an old photo hanging in their dining room of a large gathering of Winnipeggers, taken sometime in the 1920s. One is struck by the conspicuous absence of young men.

Imagine the waste.

vimy pic1

So, Saddam’s dead. Feel better?

Posted: December 30, 2006 in 9/11, Nibbling on The Empire, Peace, War
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Saddam hangingAnd if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
– Exodus 21:23

A day in the life of the average Iraqi has been reduced to identifying corpses, avoiding car bombs and attempting to keep track of which family members have been detained, which ones have been exiled and which ones have been abducted.
– riverbend, Baghdad Burning

Saddam Hussein didn’t have nearly enough body parts to compensate for the damage he did. Nor does George Bush.

It’s a pity, really, that George and Saddam will not have the opportunity to share what should be their just desserts: sharing a jail cell for the rest of their natural lives, with perhaps an opportunity for community service should either demonstrate he could be safely let out on the streets or display an aptitude for that kind of thing.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
– Mahatma Gandhi

‘Nuff said?

Afghanistan: Operation Enduring Shame

Posted: November 27, 2006 in Afghanistan, War
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Two more Canadian soldiers were reported killed in a suicide bombing today in Afghanistan, bringing our death toll to 44.

Ever the optimist, Brig.-Gen. Timothy Grant, commander of Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, was quoted as saying that “It (the suicide attack) drives home the point that Canadian troops here have been very successful and that the Taliban cannot defeat us militarily in the field.”

Actually, General Grant, it brings home the fact that people are dying to kick us out of Afghanistan. Whether or not “Operation Enduring Freedom” (the name applied by the United States at the outset of its invasion in 2001) succeeds, Canadian participation cannot be justified.

Why is Canada in Afghanistan? Why have we been the third largest contributor to the invasion (surpassed by Britain, and of course the United States). The Canadian government says Canadian troops are there to “defend our national interests, combat global terrorism and help the Afghan people make a new start as a free, democratic and peaceful country.”

Whose national interests?

What national interests might we have there? Could it be that various Canadian companies are involved in the Trans Afghan Pipeline and projects to develop natural gas in Turkmenistan that would move along that pipeline?

Canada ranks among the top ten arms exporters in the world. Could it be our defense industry is benefiting? It is difficult to know. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada publishes an annual report entitled “Export of Military Goods from Canada” but excludes statistics on military exports to the United States. Further, the most recent report available is for 2006. Let’s see now, it’s 2006. Maybe someone’s dog ate the missing ones.

Certainly the Americans appear grateful. As US Ambassador David Wilkins put it in his Oct. 31, 2006 speech to the National Defense Industrial Association in Ottawa: “The technology and the equipment you provide our military leaders and troops on the front lines of freedom are changing the course of history.”

Which terrorists?

And how, pray tell, is our presence in Afghanistan “combating terrorism?” Are the “terrorists” the ones who insist on killing Canadian troops? Forgive my naiveté, but wouldn’t it be simpler to leave the country so they wouldn’t want to kill us?

Canada’s continuing aggression in Afghanistan is more likely to inspire “terrorism” than it is to end it. It is not difficult to understand why. The invasion itself may have caused more than 20,000 deaths. (See Forgotten Victims; The Guardian Unlimited; May 20, 2002) Perhaps 3,700 people have been killed this year. (BBC News, Nov. 13, 2006)

Canada and Afghanistan have similar population statistics (approximately 33 million and 31 million respectively). Imagine how Canadians might feel and respond if someone invaded Canada and killed 20,000 to 30,000 Canadians.

Fighting for democracy?

According to our government, Canadian men and women are fighting to bring democracy to Afghanistan. How well are we doing? Not too well, it seems.

According to Human Rights Watch: “The (Sept. 15, 2005) election of a parliament completed the process initiated by the Bonn Agreement in 2001. Election day was free of serious violence or technical problems, but during the campaign period Human Rights Watch documented pervasive intimidation of voters and candidates, in particular women. Over half the members of the new parliament are linked to armed groups or have records of past human rights abuses.”

In the same report, Human Rights Watch also observes: “Despite the insurgency’s growing strength, the majority of Afghans cited the numerous regional warlords as the greatest source of insecurity. In some remote areas, there are still no real governmental structures or activity, only abuse and criminal enterprises by warlords, many of whom were brought to power with the assistance of the United States after the Taliban’s defeat. Armed clashes between rival factions decreased in 2005, but in many areas warlords and their troops continue to engage in arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions, kidnapping, extortion, torture, murder, extra judicial killings of criminal suspects, forced displacement, and rape of women, girls, and boys.”

This is not to suggest that Afghanistan was a democratic paradise prior to the 2001 invasion. It wasn’t. However, to suggest that you can export democracy on the tip of a bayonet, is naive – almost as naive as the belief that we are there for that purpose.

Canada’s reputation as a constructive, peace-loving nation is undone by our war making in Afghanistan. Sending our soldiers to kill and die for Western petroleum companies and Afghani warlords is a betrayal of our men and women in uniform and an assault on the lives and future of the Afghani people.

Let’s call it what it is – Operation Enduring Shame – and end it.

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