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Canadian Public Opinion Polls on Afghanistan

Scipio:  Your arguments, although well articulated, seem in the end to fall into the same old camp of: "The Brits and the Russians screwed it up, and they're really weird and violent people over there in Afghanistan so why bother because we'll fail too".

This argument seems to be based on two falsehoods: that the military actually believes it offers the sole solution to the problems of Afghanistan, and that the Coalition/NATO forces there are not capable of doing any better than the British or the Red Army.

I was lucky enough to spend a tour in Afgh working directly with the US joint force HQ that was conducting Operation Enduring Freedom. (2004/2005). Despite the endless ignorant and utterly biased rubbish that has often appeared in Western media, the US forces and their leaders understood the situation very well, and knew quite clearly that they were only a part of the solution. So little credit has been given to US forces for their efforts in reconstruction, security sector reform, and development of Afghan capability  (far, far more than NATO's ISAF has done) that I really find it sickening.

Just as the US forces realize that they are only a part of the solution, so do we. I don't know any Canadian soldier at any rank level, who doesn't understand that military force alone will not achieve any lasting measure of success in Afghanistan.

But, this understanding does not mean that there is no place for the use of military force as a tool in changing the situation. And, until Afghanistan can rebuild an Army (doing very well) and a reliable national police service(not doing so well) then we will be there to provide that security, to give the nation a chance. What is important is that all the other sectors (in which, by the way, Canada is involved and has been involved for a while, although we don't hear much about it) are equally well supported, and that ordinary Afghans begin to see some difference in their lives. I do know that in many parts of the country: the North, the West, the area surrounding Kabul Province (again, that we never seem to hear about) this is happening. To think that it will all happen overnight is ridiculous.

Comparisons with the British and Soviets are equally spurious. The First Afghan Expedition, and pretty much the entire Soviet operation, were hideous examples of incompetence and misunderstanding/disregard for the Afghan population. To suggest that either of those armies were working from the same perspective, or with the same objectives, as the Western forces there now is simply to ignore history and to draw convenient parallels.

The second British operation in Afghanistan, although it never "conquered" the entire country, was IIRC a much more successful affair, and resulted in a long period of British presence and relative stability. It did not produce the results that we are looking for today, but my point is that it is dangerous and false to dismiss foreign military intervention in Afghanistan.

And, if we are going to go out into the world and use force as a tool to try to better the lives of others, why not the people of Afghanistan? What makes people in Darfur or the African Great Lakes more deserving? Isn't that argument really not about who is "more deserving", but really about us going where those nasty Americans are not, so we can revert to that sickening Canadian moral pedestal-hopping that the Liberal dynasty was so fond of?

Cheers
 
PBI,

Thank-you for sharing that...not all of us civilians look to the media to become informed  :salute:

HL
 
You are welcome. But, I should also say that I am not wired to Canada staying endlessly and mindlessly in Afghanistan should it become clear that we will not achieve sustainable success, in a time frame that our political culture can stomach. We need to "watch and shoot" (literally!) But first, we need to give it an honest try.

We were in Germany for forty years, Cyprus for thirty years, and we are still in FRY (albeit in reduced form) about 13 years later. Canadians died in all of those places, but we stayed because we saw some value. How  can we judge Afghanistan as a success or failure after not even five years, with an Afghan Govt that is only two years old?


Cheers
 
ethan said:
Canada has never backed out of a war. :cdn: Usually some people are against the war but not this many IN my town i am the only person with a support our troups sign in my yard. Its time to start backing up our boys in the Military

What about the Vietnam War?

All Canadians support their military involuntarily through heavy taxes. That's all the support the CF needs.
 
"That's all the support the CF needs."
Like the US I seriously doubt that wrt the CF as well
 
Makes one wonder what kids learn in school these days.  bbbb and Scipio seem to have gone to the same classes.  The only Canadian Troops to go to Vietnam were part of the ICCS. 
 
What about the Vietnam War?
It was the US that guaranteed the security of a "new" South Viet Nam when the country was divided...Canada did not "ever" have a role there except under the UN at the end. We never pulled out of what we were never in!
 
bbbb said:
What about the Vietnam War?

All Canadians support their military involuntarily through heavy taxes. That's all the support the CF needs.

      You should come out from under your rock more often, you might learn a bit more.  Firstly, Canada did not send troops to Vietnam either when the French or the Americans were bleeding over that cesspit. Secondly, Canada spends less of its GDP on its military budget than any of the other G-7 nations, a ridiculous proposition considering that we have one of the largest borders to defend, and heavy commitments to UN and NATO.
 
bbbb said:
What about the Vietnam War?

All Canadians support their military involuntarily through heavy taxes. That's all the support the CF needs.

Excellent post bbb. Don't get discouraged by the mean-spirited attacks of other posters on this page, enraged as they are by their petty jealousy of your ability to reduce complex issues to pithy one-liners.

Cheers
 
pbi said:
Excellent post bbb. Don't get discouraged by the mean-spirited attacks of other posters on this page, enraged as they are by their petty jealousy of your ability to reduce complex issues to pithy one-liners.

Cheers

:rofl:

I needed that....whew...brought a tear to my eye.

Regards
 
Canadian media are way too selective in the news they report, even more when it comes to the role of the CF in Afghanistan. The only time we hear about it is when something went badly for our troops. I think it would be nice, at least once in a while, if the media would tell the canadian public all the positive aspects of what the CF are doing over there. That would help bringing everyone on the same page.

 
Have only just seen this thread, and I only have the following comment........


If Canadian Public does not want Canadian troops in Afghanistan, maybe they would like the terrorists in Afghanistan to be here amongest the Canadian Public?


That's the way I see it.
 
The Canadian public has been brainwashed since Lester Pearson that our soldiers are Peacekeepers.  The myth that for the last 30+ years our soldiers have been creating world peace by wearing blue berets and smiling at opposing armies to make them stop fighting.  Our peacekeepers have fought before, and many of them have died or been seriously wounded, but because this was under the UN it was ignored.  Now the Canadian public is having to deal with the twin thoughts; first-our soldiers kill people (good at it, too) and secondly people are trying (hard) to kill our soldiers.
      Peace is the result of the creation and maintenance of order.  Provincial reconstruction teams are helping the Afghan people create the structures to provide that order.  The Taliban and the drug lords have no place in this order, and are willing to kill to stop it.  Our troops are their to pound them flat if they try. There will be peace, and when we are done making it, the Afghans will be able to keep it themselves.
 
I'm with you Apollo...for some Canadians, I guess it would take a 9/11 type of demonstration of terrorism on canadian soil to open their eyes...may be they will see things our way when the CN tower crashes down in Toronto after a 747 flies into it...!!!
 
Or Waters they will stand there scratching their heads wondering why the morning paper didn't say the city had decided to remove said tower.
 
Waters said:
Canadian media are way too selective in the news they report, even more when it comes to the role of the CF in Afghanistan. The only time we hear about it is when something went badly for our troops. I think it would be nice, at least once in a while, if the media would tell the canadian public all the positive aspects of what the CF are doing over there. That would help bringing everyone on the same page.

I actually think that the media has been saying positive things of us over there.  Give me an example where the negative has superseded the positive aspects.

Every Major newspaper has reporters "embedded" with the troops, and I have not seen one negative article produced by them.  In fact I complimented the National Post for a very well written editorial..

http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=c3ecadd9-6081-4a2b-b177-53ba7796b96e


sniff sniff, Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,

You seem familiar in your posting style, maybe my spidey senses are tingling too much..

dileas

tess

 
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