It has been another deadly week in Afghanistan for Canadian peace keepers. Another soldier was killed today, bringing the total to four killed this week. The 11th this year and the 97th Canadian killed in this mission.
The mission continues. The body bags come home. More small towns mourn and name streets after lost soldiers. What a senseless loss. Another example of the policies of this past Conservative-Liberal coalition government. Ottawa's mission was extended to 2011 by the Conservatives with qualified support from the Liberals. The decision to take on an explicitly war-fighting role in Afghanistan is at odds with Canadian values and Canadians' convictions about the military's role in the world and society.
A few weeks ago Afghanistan signed a deal to build an $8 billion pipeline that will go through the southern part of the country -- and right through Kandahar. Has Canada's role become a private protection force for the American pipeline?
The extended mission, the propaganda that NATO could defeat this insurgency if only substantial reinforcements were committed, is misleading and deceptive. Our NATO partners are not pulling their weight. Things are going backwards, not forwards. We need to get out now. Winning in Afghanistan is sheer fantasy.
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