Posted on 03/05/2006 9:29:59 PM PST by proud_yank
OTTAWA (CP) - Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay says that despite mounting casualties in Afghanistan, Canadians should be standing behind their troops rather than questioning their deployment.
"This is the type of mission that is demanded in this day and age," MacKay said. "Terrorism, which has its roots in Afghanistan, is something that we have committed to fight with our allies."
MacKay said it would have been preferable if the former Liberal government had held a parliamentary vote before dispatching the first Canadian soldiers to Afghanistan in 2002, as part of a U.S.-led coalition sent to root out al-Qaida operatives and the Taliban government that had protected them.
Now that the troops are there, the Conservatives are determined to continue down the path charted by their predecessors, said MacKay.
"The last thing we want to show is any wavering or any backing away from the commitment of our Canadian troops. We have to be 100 per cent behind them."
His comments came as the remains of the latest two soldiers to perish on the Afghan mission were being flown to CFB Trenton, Ont. Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson and Cpl. Paul Davis succumbed to injuries suffered when their armoured vehicle accidentally rolled over.
A dozen others were hurt in the last week in accidents, bombings and rocket-propelled grenade attacks.
The most seriously wounded were Cpl. Michael Loewen, who will need reconstructive surgery to save an arm after a suicide bomb attack, and Lieut. Treveor Greene, who took an axe to the head when he was ambushed at a meeting with village elders.
New Democrats and some Liberals have been calling for a debate when the Commons resumes next month and a vote on whether to continue the mission.
NDP Leader Jack Layton contended Sunday that the nature of the deployment has changed for the 2,200 Canadians currently in Afghanistan.
"We certainly don't want to become involved in a protracted war," Layton said. "The goal of Canadians being in Afghanistan was in our more traditional role of peacekeeping, peacemaking."
Ujjal Dosanjh, the new Liberal defence critic, has also maintained that the situation has changed and has pressed for renewed debate on the mission.
That drew a sharp rebuke last week from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who accused the Liberals of playing politics now that they're in opposition.
"You do not send men and women into harm's way on a dangerous mission with the support of our party and other Canadians, and then decide, once they're over there, that you're not sure you should have sent them," said Harper.
Opposition Leader Bill Graham, when he was defence minister, warned last year of the potential for casualties in operations around Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan.
So did Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of defence staff, who more recently has suggested it could take a decade to rebuild the country.
It appears many Canadians either ignored the warnings or have had a change of heart since then. Opinion polls suggest declining public support for the mission in the wake of the recent casualties.
One survey by Strategic Counsel indicated 62 per cent of respondents were against the deployment. Another poll by Ipsos-Reid, with questions framed differently, found 52 per cent support for the mission, but that was down from 66 per cent in 2002.
The first Canadian contingent dispatched four years ago engaged in combat operations. Starting in 2003, however, the Canadian focus shifted to much less dangerous patrol duties in the capital of Kabul.
That has changed again with the move to Kandahar, where Canadians again face a hostile environment and renewed attacks by insurgents.
ping
What a difference an election can make.
Very well put GMMAC!
What if Harper called their bluff and put their proposition to an immediate vote when the House of Commons comes into session next month - resolved: We don't support our Canadian troops' mission in Afghanistan? Doing something like that shut up our whiny morons in the House and Senate.
The MSM in both countries are joined at the hip.
See the lie?
General Hillier earlier let the canadian Public know that Afghanistan would be a search and destroy mission.
Now the lefties in politics and at the MoD have redefined the mission to be peace keeping( Barf/Puke).
The Rules of Engagement ( ROE ) are secret but one can see that no combat initiative is allowed , and CFOR must be attacked first to use deadly force. That means that CFOR will always be reacting to the enemy, and cannot carry the fight to them.
Good canadian soldiers are being set up for failure by their own government so the lefties can gain public confidence against the Conservative government.
harper needs to make sure that the RoE reflect a non passive role by CFOR in Afghanistan. If not, his ability to force the liberal wing nut MoD into line , along with the rest of the overwhelmingly liberal bureaucracy will fail earlier than it should.
Harper, make the MoD take the peace corps approach and shove it up their own asses, or even better. Deploy the suckers to Kandahar yourself.
The companion measure to this should be a statement of commitment to the overall mission of the WOT THAT INCLUDES PLACING TACTICAL RESPONSIBILITY, INCLUDING SETTING RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, ENTIRELY IN THE HANDS OF MILITARY COMMANDERS IN THE FIELD.
You've got your guys in exactly the same situation I saw in 1967; politicians, polls and storylines were running us around down to squad level tactics.
What's even more dispicable is that it is now up to the Conservatives to fix the problems. If things don't get better, guess who'll get the blame???
"MacKay said it would have been preferable if the former Liberal government had held a parliamentary vote before dispatching the first Canadian soldiers to Afghanistan in 2002, as part of a U.S.-led coalition sent to root out al-Qaida operatives and the Taliban government that had protected them."
It looks like somebody isn't listening to his leader. Harper has condemned the liberals plan about voting in the House of Commons before sending our troops.
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