Questioning Canada's participation in NATO would be quite legitimate. Canada is the only oil rich member. Being part of NATO means that Canada has to occasionally defend members who get into conflict over oil. Oil is why the USA supports Saudi Arabia. American support of the Saudi Arabian regime is why Al-Queda attacked the USA.
Canada doesn't need the Suez canal and it certainly doesn't need Saudi Arabian oil. Of course, Canada does need the USA. If the USA's economy tanks, so will Canada's. But the USA's addiction to oil is more related to lifestyle transportation choices than to economic fundamentals. So the long term advantages of defending the USA's addiction are questionable.
Back to Gerard Kennedy. He advocates leaving Afghanistan. NATO is a military alliance. We don't get to opt out of conflicts because we are not satisfied with members' diplomacy and foreign aid efforts. Canada can certainly increase both in Afghanistan. But we shouldn't cut and run.
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4 comments:
Many Nato countries have opted out of fighting in Afghanistan. Germany for example has more troops in Afghanistan that Canada, but this year none have died.
Why? Because their government doesn't let them be deployed on the front line like Canada does.
So what should we do about it? Either we could put similar caveats on our troops to get them to go to the more stable areas. Or if all other Nato troops removed their caveats, we would be recognized of having done our part, and would be slowly rotated out of the combat zone, as other nations troops are rotated in.
Many have said, if we fail in Afghanistan, the Nato alliance will fall apart. If we fail due to squimish nation's caveats, it will be totally on their doorsteps, not ours.
To my knowledge, the only anti Nato politicians/parties are Elizabeth May/Greens and possibly the NDP. (well major politicians)
But Kennedy wants Canada to leave Afghanistan. Not avoid the danger zones, leave.
This doesn't sound like "cut and run" to me. You are insane.
KENNEDY CALLS FOR NEW STRATEGY IN AFGHANISTAN
No Sustainable peace without answers to opium trade, renewed development efforts
Toronto- Liberal leadership candidate Gerard Kennedy today called for Canada to push NATO to re-evaluate what amounts to a losing strategy in Afghanistan and for Prime Minister Harper to address the shortfall in aid development.
"If NATO fails to change their strategy, Canada should pull out of the war in Afghanistan," Kennedy told Ontario Young Liberals as part of the Young Liberal Summer Speakers Series at Ryerson University last night.
"By focusing solely on military objectives in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Harper is making the same mistakes that the Bush administration made in Iraq and it will lead to similar long-term failure," said Kennedy. "The Prime Minister has failed to answer the fundamental question of whether we are building a civil society in Afghanistan along with the Afghani people, or simply occupying a troublesome part of the world. "
Kennedy pointed out that Afghanistan faces three interlinked crises: an opium crisis, a development crisis and a security crisis. "The international community and the Afghan people must deal with the opium and development crises before lasting security can become reality," Kennedy said. "The biggest failure in Afghanistan to date has been the way the international community has alienated the Afghani people. Unless we change the approach to developing a sustainable economy in Afghanistan, our mission will not succeed"
"If NATO fails to change their strategy, Canada should pull out of the war in Afghanistan,"
What part of that isn't "cut and run"?
And please, dissagree without the insults, eh!
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