Peacekeeping With a Medieval Foe?

The Canadian media is playing up the idea that our troops should not be involved in a war, but merely peace-keeping.

Who is making war? It appears to be the Taliban.  When Canadian troops come in peace to have a sit-down dialogue, the Taliban and their sympathizers are reaching for something handy and medieval.

Into the mix, Mr. Layton said that Canadians should be involved in peace-keeping, not a more ‘war-like’ position. But if Canadian troops are building the network of relationships that will be necessary for establishing consensual government in that country, and yet they still come under brutal attack, does not their ‘peace-keeping’ involve the use of force?

We can be thankful that Canada now has a people like Gordon O’Connor advancing a well-reasoned and responsible approach to re-building the once-proud Canadian military. But we must be wary of the Afghanistan mission becoming a pragmatic political tool for the NDP and Liberals to score points by their opposition.

The terrorists will be more than happy to see some Opposition opportunism on the issue. As the Afghanistan ambassador to Canada, Omar Samad said:

Their goal is to use time and a battle of nerves to tire us, to intimidate us, to make us doubt our objectives, to sow dissension and make it turn it into a contentious political debate.

Let us hope that the present government does not lose its resolve, and that Canadians start realizing that the Afghanistan mission is a part of protecting lives at home.

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Published:
March 6, 2006 / 12:35 pm
Category:
Islam & the West, Western Civilization, World Affairs, canadiana
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