I believe it is time that Canadians supported our troops by lobbying the federal government to pull them out of Afghanistan. The war there is unwinnable. Despite the rosy pictures and statements of our “successes” there by government and military officials, the Afghan people have never allowed foreigners to tell them what to do and how to do it. They repelled invasions by the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Kushans, Hepthalites, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, British and the Soviets. They have their own culture and it has withstood the test of centuries.
The excuse that the Canadian government “was invited” to send troops by the Afghan government rings hollow. Speaking in Madison, USA, on March 8, 2006, Malalai Joya, Member of Parliament in the Karzai government in Afghanistan, charged that the government there of is made up of former Taliban officials, warlords, drug lords, and militia commanders. Installed with the blessing of the U.S.A. after its invasion in 2001, the government lacks legitimacy with the Afghan people.
Canada is becoming mired in a Vietnam-like situation in Afghanistan, and should pull out before too many more lives are sacrificed.