I have been watching this situation with Omar Khadr for some time now, not really sure where I land on what should happen with him. The more information that comes out about him, the more I find myself troubled on several levels with his case. If you don’t know who Omar Khadr is, he is a Canadian born Muslim captured in a firefight in Afghanistan in 2002 and held at Quantamano Bay. He is the only westerner still in captivity there and the youngest, being just 15 at the time he was captured. To read more detail about Khadr, have a look here.

My short opinion on him, is that he’s a Canadian citizen and a child at the time of his capture. He should have been brought home and should still be brought home. To steadfastly refuse to do so in the face of unchallenged evidence that he’s been subject to physical and mental abuse and the process by which he is about to be tried is being weighted more by politics than any attempt at justice is to deny a Canadian his birthright. Read the rest of this entry »

In a valiant effort to divert blame from himself or his cronies, Pakistan President Musharraf has come up with a theory for who to blame for the death of Benazir Bhutto…. it was her fault.

In an interview on the American TV show 60 Minutes Musharraf blamed Bhutto for her death because she choose to see and be seen amongst the people she was asking to support her run for Prime Minister.

The government has blamed a  warlord with ties to Al Qaeda for arranging her assassination. Many of Bhuttos supporters blame Musharraf and his officials for at minimum not providing sufficient security and at worse, actually conspiring to kill her.

BillW at Crooks and Liars reports on the interview with Sara Logan and provides links to either listen to or download the segment.

One of the problems with have a strong level of confidence of who you are is that instead of carrying that awareness with humility there can be a tendency to want to carry a big stick to make sure that no one dares to challenge your confidence. So it has been with the US for a long time. They have consistently blundered into situations with an attitude of ‘we are the superpower and we will be obeyed’ which only serves to seriously blur the line between being confident and being arrogant bullies.

Once that line is blurred into oblivion, the people being subjected to the arrogance and bullying will resist no matter how much the bully thinks they are there for the people’s own protection. Thus is how it goes in Iraq and likely would be in Afghanistan if not for the moderating presence of NATO. An article in today’s Toronto Star talks about how the US military are starting to realize that branding themselves as a “force” rather than “we’re here to help” is contributing to the failure of the occupation in Iraq.
Read the rest of this entry »

The famous Royal 22nd Regiment based in Valcartier, Quebec are undergoing final training and preparations for deployment to Afghanistan this summer for the next rotation of Canadian troops. While the regiment is prepared and looking forward to taking a turn on the mission which has seen the first Canadian combat deaths in over 50 years, the political mills are abuzz.

Quebec is the province where support for the mission has been the lowest in the country. Some believe that once the Van Doos are deployed if they take casualties there will be hell to pay politically at home. Quebec is not a province that historically has been known for its sense of duty and service to the rest of the country.

While the Quebec based regiments are not near as plentiful as those from the other provinces, those that have been raised have served proudly and bravely alongside other Canadians. When casualties occur, as it appears is likely, it will truly do those men and women in uniform a terrible disservice if the province fails to rally behind their regiment, with honour and support for the completion of their deployment.
There will be a contingent of Quebec media travelling with the Van Doos when they are deployed and that, on the other hand, may well serve to provide Quebecors with an opportunity to understand what the mission is about. A clearer view may well serve to change perspective and attitudes.

It is over the Afghanistan issue that I have some serious issues with my own support of the Liberals. I find their insistence on a hard 2009 deadline for the end of the Canadian involvement in combat in Afghanistan arbitrary and irresponsible. If the security issue is still an issue at that time then Canada would be leaving before the completion of the mission. Something Canada has never done in our history.

Based on the current Liberal stance, Canada would have pulled out of WW2 after Dieppe claiming we had done our share. Regardless of the heavy lifting being done, the mission isn’t about ‘doing a share’ it is about getting the job done. Something Canadians have always done well.

I have no doubt the Van Doos will do their part well, I just hope the politicians at home don’t play silly bugger politics with their service.

I started to write an entry here to rail against the Liberals stupidity in demanding a hard deadline on our troops being in the forwarding operational (aka combat) areas in Afghanistan. My anger that they can’t seem to get it that no war is fought on a timetable and without security no rebuilding can happen. Then I went hunting to find out just what has the troops so committed to this mission that politicians are playing partisan politics over when it is the troops who are in harms way.

I went first to Army.ca, I visit that site often, usually lurking but appreciating being able to see the perspective of those in uniform (or formerly in uniform) who are so committed to service of my country. I found a discussion thread talking about the PRTs (Provincial Reconstruction Teams) and in it links to stories written by Marty Klinkenberg from the New Brunswick based Telegraph-Journal.

You can read his pieces, Close Enough to Feel the Heat and Soldiers ‘undoing the devil’s work’ to get a start on learning what the national mainstream media is by and large ignoring in their drive to present a defeatist front on the hard work our men and women in uniform are doing in service to Canada. The links are going to open in new windows as will all the links in this article. I’d really like you read them, if you care to learn the other side of the story.

It was from an article at The Torch about a relay race in Kandahar that the media hadn’t reported on that I hit the motherlode so to speak. The link was to the ISAF site, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force site. There on the Press Release page I found links to stories we’re all too familiar with, the deaths in Afghanistan. What I also found were links to stories that could fill media reports if reporters cared to followup on them and report some good news instead of trying to create a sense of defeat in this war.

While not all the links were about stories Canadians were directly involved in, we have to remember that with Canadians doing heavy lifting in the combat end of operations in Afghanistan and the security they are part of creating, these other stories become possible. And yes, progress is being made. Here are some highlights just from this month alone:

April 1 — US forces deliver school supplies to a girls technical school in Kandahar City.

April 2 — German PRT (provincial reconstruction team) starts project in Kunduz City, Kunduz province to build a girl’s secondary school to include a section for teacher training.

April 2 — Camp Shirzai near Kandahar a class of 86 Afghan National Army members complete a course towards becoming non-commissioned offers. As NCO’s they will be training future Afghan National Army recruits, another vital step towards independence.

April 5 — A girl’s school adjacent to a boy’s school opened in Lakhabie, Ali Abad District, Junduz Province. A German PRT initiated the project after learning girls were about to be ousted from the improvised shelter they had been using near the school by the local elders.

April 8 — Canadian Forces and RCMP personnel have completed the training of 600 Afghan National Police.

April 10 — In an area where Canadian troops were fighting last year, 500 Afghans of all ages took part in a 10km road race in Kandahar City organized by the Kandahar PRT (Canadians).

April 11 — Convoys move supplies into Sangin District Centre in order to start building infrastructure needed for the long term presence of Afghan National Security Forces. This would have been unthinkable months ago.

April 14 — Shura held at Kandahar International Airport draws 20 tribal elders to discuss security issues. The elders state there has been an increase in security throughout Kandahar Province.

April 16 — As the result of improved security in Helmand Province growth and development is beginning to take place. Where local needs are identified ISAF draws up plans and then hires local Afghans to execute the projects giving Afghans a firm hand in their country’s rebuilding and reducing the motivation for young men to join up with the Taliban.

April 17 — Projects are underway in the Daman District of Kandahar Province to repair, upgrade and expand canal systems providing employment for young Afghan males and a much needed supply of water for agriculture.

April 18 — The World Bank publishes a report on the progress of health care in Afghanistan since 2001 (the year the Taliban were ousted) when the country had some of the worst health indicators in the world. Since then, with the increasing security allowing upgrades and additions to medical facilities almost 6 million Afghans now have access to primary medical care — many for the first time.

April 18 — A class of 31 students graduate the basic course towards being Afghan National Police officers from Bamyan Regional Training Centre including 8 female recruits. A New Zealand initiative to increase the number of female recruits has now brought the number of females up to 12 from the 4 when they first arrived last October. Female members of the New Zealand PRT helped to train the original 4 who then undertook to recruit and train others.

April 18 — US servicemen deliver school supplies to a school in Kandahar. The school didn’t exist under the Taliban. It now teaches 500 students including 270 girls from grades 1-11.

April 19 — In response to a request from the Ghowr Province Agriculture Department 3,000 fruit trees have been delivered for planting by local Afghans.

Seems to me it is LONG past time for the media and more importantly politicians to start telling the whole story. I intend to be watching that ISAF site in the future. Check back often.

Anyone reading this blog would know pretty quickly, I’m not a fan of Stephen Harper as Prime Minister of this country. The ONE thing that I can give him his due for is that he inherited a war and has proceeded to do what is needed to make sure our troops can get the job done. Travers at the Toronto Star can’t seem to get the picture clearly, this war started when we signed on to take part in 2002.

What are our troops doing in Afghanistan? If Travers can’t find an answer to that in his role as a journalist, then he needs to get off his duff and find out. If he doesn’t want to leave the safe confines of his office in secure Canada, he could visit the forums at Army.ca and ask the guys who have been carrying out the mission they have been sent on, the guys who are losing friends and comrades, they seem to have a pretty clear picture.

There are few things that can move me to tears, but reading about, watching ramp or repatriation ceremonies or listening to the families of those who have lost our Canadian sons and daughters will do exactly that. It is not easy to write or read about the loss of young Canadians fighting in foreign lands. We can be thankful that historically, the only place young Canadians have died fighting to insure our continuing freedom and security has been in foreign lands.

Maybe the media needs to really listen to those who are doing the dying about what we’re doing in Afghanistan. I listened to one of our soldiers being interviewed just after the death of the six Canadians repatriated last night to Canada. He talked about how the media only talks about the fighting and the deaths, they don’t talk about the progress the troops are seeing. The reporter interviewing him never asked him about the progress he was referring to.

Maybe, while the country is reeling trying to understand what the people on the ground are doing there in the face of eight deaths just this week, the media could do something really responsible and helpful. It is in the media’s hands to be able to do that instead of playing silly bugger politics.

Let the troops talk about what they are seeing that is letting them maintain their commitment to the mission in the face of the deaths some of them are seeing happen first hand. Quit pressing the guys to talk about horrors they are still trying to come to terms with, let them talk about why being there matters to them. Maybe then Canadians could get some balance that will help us understand why those 53 Canadians have died fighting to secure a foreign country.