My brother-in-law went to Afghanistan when the shit went down. He's said he'd go back in a heartbeat if given the chance at another tour. But then again, he wasn't out there fighting the Taliban. As an engineer and driver, he was there building schools, bridges, etc. and helping villagers with distribution of goods and local mediation. This is the kind of role Canada should focus on. Our mission must eventually shift into this role (in addition to security) or the current mission will fail.
I do give Harper credit for the shrewd political moves he's done regarding this issue. Either way, the Liberals will come out looking either bad or compliant. Harper isn't sitting in a bad spot even though the government might fall on either this or the upcoming budget at the end of the month. (I'm thinking the Liberals are going to push for the budget to fail; that way, they won't look so bad on the Afghanistan thing....not yet, anyway.) And I suppose there's that crime laws motion too, but I'd put my money on the budget being the cause of a fall; it's already been said that it won't be supported. (i.e. The Bloc and the NDP won't support it, so it's up to the Liberals.)
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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