Strange Harper Clone Appears Before National Media
| 1/29/2008 | Posted by Patti under Afghanistan, Canadian Politics |
Some guy looking like, sounding like and claiming to be Stephen Harper appeared before the media yesterday to talk about Manley’s report. What made the media, and others question, who this guy was is that what came out of this guy’s mouth was a bit of humble speak which included sounding like someone who would compromise and work with at least one other party to make the Afghanistan mission work.
It is a side of Harper that I don’t know I’ve ever actually seen in motion. I know I’d like to see more of it, a lot more. Who knows,
He acknowledged that the mission is far from perfect and accepted in broad terms the recommendations of the Manley Report. He stated he would be contacting NATO partners in an effort to secure the 1,000 additional troops and he would be also working on securing as quickly as possible the helicopters and drones to make our troops work in Afghanistan safer.
He stated he had been in contact with Stephane Dion and would continue to try to work to build a consensus that would allow the mission to continue in Afghanistan. Dion’s response at this point appears to be more of the same, the mission will end in February 2009 and that Canadian troops should rotate out of Kandahar.
If Dion truly cares about this mission beyond playing politics. He’d shut up and sit down with Harper as soon as possible to discuss it. I expect that he doesn’t have the gonads to think this issue through to a conclusion that is best for Canada and our troops. That goes to show why he’s weak as a leader. He doesn’t have the stomach for the tough decisions.
I noted Mike Duffy from CTV commenting that Harper had told him privately that he talks to the family of every Canadian who has been killed in Afghanistan. Those calls are heart wrenching yet at the same time he’s heartened by the continuing support for the mission by those who have just given up their son or daughter for it.
That contact can’t help but make him very aware that he has a responsibility to keep faith with those who have died for this mission. They went there voluntarily to carry out a job, to make a difference. To walk away from that mission based on an arbitrary line in the sand (date on the calendar) and not because objectives have been attained is to be letting those Canadians die in vain.
My late father and I had several conversations about the mission in Afghanistan. Dad was a veteran of the Italian Campaign in WW2. His feeling was that if a mission was worth the spilling of Canadian blood then it was worth finishing the job we started and doing what we had to do to get it done. He understood Afghanistan wasn’t truly like the war he had fought in, but felt the principle is the same.
He was proud that Canadian troops have a strong history of rising to challenges, even the seemingly impossible at times. He had faith that even our modern troops would be able to get the job done with support from Ottawa instead of politicians using them for political gain.
Right now, as much as I have railed against Harper as Prime Minister, I’d rather have him there and supporting our troops and their mission than the weak-kneed excuse for leadership across the aisle from him. All three of those across the aisle.
As for the Harper clone, who ever did the cloning, keep the original. Do not let it back into the wild. I wonder if one could be found of Dion with a backbone.
Follow Me!