Canada in Afghanistan

I’ve avoided discussing politics on this blog. Partly this is because I feel like a lightweight when compared to many of the really good bloggers whose blogs I read. I have also always thought that the news I get from CNN and the BBC is not the full story, so I don’t really know what’s happening. I think that what governments tell us is news with a purpose, so I don’t fully trust them.

There are a lot of bloggers who actually study, discuss, and think about these issues much more than I do. I don’t have the time, energy, or inclination to really study the issues. Korean politics seems so murky that I doubt I’ll ever understand it. And, to be honest, I’m pretty sick and tired of a lot of the news. However, as the war in Iraq drags on, a looming confrontation with Iran heats up, and the situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East in general seems to be deteriorating, I have been thinking more about the catalyst for much of what the West is doing now – 911 – and what Canada is now involved with as the head of the NATO forces in Afghanistan. I recently came across an article in the Christian Science Monitor called, Wake up, Canada - we're at war! by Rondi Adamson, and, while I feel a little uneasy agreeing with him (he seems a little right wing), his criticism strikes a nerve when he says, “…Canadians have been in love with the image of themselves as blue-hat wearing do-gooders, convincing everyone to get along while never firing a shot.” The reality is that we are not going to get out of Afghanistan without firing a shot. It made me think about why we were there in the first place.

I was in Dubai when the attack on the World Trade Center took place. I remember driving home from work and hearing on the car radio about the first plane hitting one of the towers. I didn’t really understand what was happening. I got home and turned on CNN in time to see the first tower collapse and then watched in horror as the second tower came down. The numbers of dead were first estimated to be around 10,000. It was the most horrifying incident I’ve ever seen live, and I was shaken for many days.

The response of many countries was in support of an attack on Al Qaeda and the Taliban government that supported them and provided them with shelter. Canada was part of that assault, and I thought (and still think) that we were right in participating.

I’ve always thought of myself as a liberal and a bit of a pacifist, but I think that governments have a responsibility to protect people from the attacks of criminals. To ignore the existence of evil people is wrong (and I don’t mean “evildoers” in the trite George Bush sense). To hope that if we leave people alone that they will leave us alone is just wishful thinking. Al Qaeda didn’t leave us alone. I doubt very much that we could ever sit down with them and talk things out. I think we had an obligation to all of the victims of that attack to try to get Osama bin Laden and his gang. They actually attacked and killed innocent people. It should be clear that everyone does not want to get along.

Now that Canada is in Afghanistan in larger numbers and things are heating up, there is fear that the public will begin agitating to bring the boys home. (Canada Braces as More Troops Head for the Perils of Afghanistan, Colonel Hope: Afghanistan is not Canada's Iraq) When we sent soldiers to the Balkans, I still remember some of the soldiers’ family members on TV saying that their loved ones hadn’t signed up with the military to be put in such dangerous situations, I was puzzled. What did they expect? For some, I hope, the military is a calling – a call to public service. For others, it is at least a job for which the military personnel have accepted money in exchange for doing a professional duty. Adamson says, “A peacekeeper is a soldier first and foremost, one whose actions, we hope, will bring about and maintain relative peace. He is not a Quaker.” I agree. When you sign on as a soldier, that’s what you are. It’s a dangerous job, and, in this case, it is a job that needs to be done. If we needed any convincing that peacekeeping may require action, all we have to do is think about what happened in Rwanda. At that time, we should have fired as many shots as was necessary to stop the massacre.

I don’t like a lot of what the U.S. did in response to the attack on the World Trade Center. I was shocked and revolted by that nasty bastard Donald Rumsfeld and wish that we didn’t have to be part of anything that he is leading. I don’t like what the U.S. did in attacking Iraq, and I’m glad we didn’t get involved with that. I think that we did the right thing in staying home from Iraq, but going into Afghanistan was the right thing to do. Now I hope that we won’t just walk away from Hamid Karzai and the others who believed us when we said we would make things right after we put down the Taliban.

I wish that the U.S. had focused on Afghanistan and done things right. If the billions of dollars that are now being spent on Iraq had been spent on Afghanistan, perhaps Afghanistan would be a shining example of a democratic Muslim nation. Perhaps the Taliban would be no more; instead, they now seem to be making a comeback. Perhaps we would have Osama bin Laden in a prison (or dead). However, we can’t just curse the U.S. Canadians need to remember why we went into Afghanistan in the first place. If we did the right thing then, we have to do the right thing now – stay and do a good job – even if there is a cost in lives. The Canadian general (Colonel Ian Hope - now if that's not an inspirational name I don't know what is) who is leading the NATO forces in Afghanistan said, “NATO has the political will and the military muscle to stick it out in Afghanistan, even if it takes a decade or more to rehabilitate the country…” I hope he is right. And, I wish that none of this was necessary - but it is.