Protesters urge end to Afghan mission

[CBC News]

Rallies and marches were being held in cities across Canada on Saturday to press for the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan.

More...

 

[Sassylassie]

All across Canada, yep four showed up in PEI and none in Halifax yesterday at the recruiting center. Wow the power of the NDP is ziltch. The winds of change are changing and the NDP are not the sails or even part of the boat.

 

[Researcher87]

Yeah says people who support a poll that could be riddled with errors. Keep dreaming, just don't like most of canadian don't support the mission anymore.

 

[Sassylassie]

LOL he couldn't even drum up a hundred people. Osma Layton looked like the Jack Ass he is. Talk about a dud, I suppose he could buy beer and Pizza for the Uni crowd tonight and in a drunken stupor get them to slur Afghanistan into the sound bite. Sorry but Canada has spoken and Osma Bin Layton is looking like a Donkey's !@@##.

 

[Researcher87]

200 people in Halifax is not a small number, 500 in Montreal is not a small number, nearly 100 in Edmonton is not a small number, several hundred in Toronto is not a small number and numbers in other places Quebec City and St. John is not sad, it means it is in every place of Canada, and is over 1,000 people.

 

[Researcher87]

Protestors were in 37 cities and towns all across Canada so that is way more than 1,000 people so keep beliving the majority of Canadians support the mission. They support the troops but not this combat mission.

 

[Colpy]

200 people in Halifax is not a small number, 500 in Montreal is not a small number, nearly 100 in Edmonton is not a small number, several hundred in Toronto is not a small number and numbers in other places Quebec City and St. John is not sad, it means it is in every place of Canada, and is over 1,000 people.

Actually, that is a tiny number of protesters.

During the debate over Bill C-68 (the Firearms Act) the people against that Bill (which was supported by a majority of Canadians at that time) fielded 20,000 protesters on Parliament Hill, and over 600 in Halifax.

Neither case demonstrates the will of the majority, protests attract only those very interested in the cause...............

But these protests were VERY small........

 

[Researcher87]

If you calculate everyone from 37 towns and cities you will have a large amount of people. And since it that is extremely good for cool conditions. When did Bill C-68 protests occur?

 

[Johnny Utah]

So there was a group of Hypocrite Protesters. I sure as hell dont seeing any of these Fing Hypocrites protesting for a cut&run when the Liberals were in power, now the Liberals are out of power we see these Fing Hypocrites, truly Fing pathetic..

The whole lot of these protesters maybe should try living in Afghanistan and see how much the Afghanis they need Canada there as part of the NATO Mission..

 

[BitWhys]

Jack Layton's speech at the Bring the Troops Home Rally

Today we gather here in Toronto, and in more than 30 communities across the country, because we are deeply concerned about Canada’s combat role in southern Afghanistan.

Millions of Canadians are deeply concerned about this combat role.

I’m talking about ordinary, everyday Canadians.

We gather to make our voices heard and tell the Prime Minister: it’s time to pull our troops out of Kandahar. Canada must help the people of Afghanistan rebuild their lives but this Liberal – Harper mission is the wrong mission for Canada.

Stephen Harper thinks he’s smarter than Canadians.

So do the Liberals, who put us there and helped the Conservatives keep us there.

So do many of the elites, and the editorial writers.

They all think that they’re smarter than YOU … that only they know what’s best for this country.

And yet ... many Canadians still feel in their hearts that this mission is wrong for Canada.

So do more and more of the military families of soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

Dale Wilson, whose son died in Afghanistan, said that despite originally supporting the mission, “the mission isn't moving forward and my support has wavered”.

Chris Craig, whose son is preparing for a second tour; Paul Short, the father of a 25 year old army medic, and many others are asking the tough questions we’ve been raising in the House of Commons, day in and day out.

And with good reason.

This seek-and-kill mission isn’t easing aggression and extremism — it’s feeding it, it’s fueling it.

Most Canadians accept that we must sometimes put our soldiers in harm’s way.

But this is not such a mission.

Most Canadians support balanced, clearly-defined missions that focus on long-term security and peace.

But this is not such a mission.

And with each passing week, more and more people are standing with us and saying so.

This mission is poorly defined and unbalanced.

For each $1 we’re spending in Afghanistan, only 10 cents goes to aid and reconstruction. While the other 90 cents goes into combat.

Harper claims the mission is following a 3-D approach: disarmament, diplomacy and development. So far we’ve seen very little of the 3-Ds. But we have seen a whole lot of the 3-Cs: combat, chaos and casualties.

NGOs working on the ground in Afghanistan tell us that when the military tries to carry out humanitarian work it puts their projects in jeopardy, and the lives of their staff in danger.

That’s why Doctors Without Borders, in Afghanistan for years helping civilians, were forced to leave Afghanistan.

This Bush-inspired mission is looking more and more like the quagmire in Iraq.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is raising alarm bells. These are his words to the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations:

“Bombings in Afghanistan are no solution to the Taliban. You do not destroy terrorism by bombing villages.”

Even Canada’s Defence Minister has admitted there’s no military solution here. But that’s the role the Liberals and Conservatives have locked us into anyway.

Canadians question whether life’s really getting better for ordinary Afghans.

With good reason.

Because more and more Afghans say it’s not. In the south, many say life is harder and more dangerous than ever.

That’s what we’ve heard — clearly — from Malalai Joya. She’s the youngest member of the Afghan legislature, and she risked a great deal to come to Quebec City last month to address the NDP convention.

This is a woman who’s been physically attacked in her own Parliament for telling the truth about warlords, about drug-lords and ongoing corruption, about life getting worse for people in the South.

Malalai Joya honoured Canadian soldiers for risking their lives in her country — but said our government’s mission is the wrong one.

Even Canadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan admit that conditions are getting worse, not better.

Lt.-Col. Simon Hetherington, in charge of the Provincial Reconstruction Team, admits that the area is more dangerous than it was a year ago.

Recently, new details have come to light about just how dire the situation for Afghan civilians has become. Recent reports documented how the flawed mission in southern Afghanistan is causing a severe famine.

Thousands of families have been displaced by combat taking place in Kandahar and have been forced to live in makeshift refugee camps. Camps that are without food, shelter, and essential medicines. People are starving in these camps.

This is a humanitarian disaster.

But it is also a security disaster.

These deplorable humanitarian conditions make the refugee camps ripe ground for insurgent recruitment.

The failure to deliver on the humanitarian component of the mission is fueling the insurgency, endangering the lives of Canadian troops and killing Afghan citizens.

This is why the NDP is calling to withdraw our troops from Kandahar.

1. It’s an unbalanced mission

2. It’s not making life safer for Canadian families.

3. It’s not helping ordinary Afghans either.

4. It’s an ill-defined mission — without clear goals or exit strategy.

And it’s not only Canadians who are concerned about this mission.

Across Europe, NATO member nations are refusing to commit troops to southern Afghanistan.

Nations like Germany, Italy, France, Turkey. They all doubt the viability of this unbalanced mission. Unlike Stephen Harper, they won’t let George Bush set their foreign policy.

So there’s a desperate need, a tremendous opportunity, for Canadian leadership here. The Conservatives and Liberals just don’t seem to see it — or don’t want to.

Canadians want to help the people of Afghanistan.

The NDP’s has been clear about what Canada’s next steps should be.

First, let’s get our troops out — prudently, safely — out of a combat mission that’s only making matters worse.

Second, let’s connect with our NATO partners, including countries that refused to embroil themselves in the Kandahar fiasco. Canada can help lead the drive for a political solution to bring lasting peace to the region.

Third, let’s establish a new role for Canada on the ground in Afghanistan, a balanced role whose priorities are security, aid, and reconstruction.

And fourth, let’s treat this as an important step toward building a truly independent foreign policy — not imported from Washington.

Let’s keep up that work. Let’s claim a new place in the world for ourselves, a place of which, everyday Canadians can truly be proud!

It’s time to reclaim Canada’s place in the world. We just need a government that will do it.

 

[Colpy]

Once again, Jack proves he is a complete idiot, not fit to lead anything more important than a group of latte-sipping ivory-tower pseudo-intellectuals in a navel-gazing session.

How can you have reconstruction if you abandon the field to the Taliban, who murder teachers and doctors and destroy schools?

How could you expect to have influence among our NATO partners immediately after you abandon a NATO mission you were commited to until 2009?

Our "new mission on the ground in Afghanistan" if Jack gets his way will include things the NDP is expert at: sticking our heads in the sand, begging for mercy from the enemy, engaging in group therapy behind the lines, and sensitivity training for the troops.

Now, I am disgusted with the cowardice of the resty of NATO (besides the US and the UK), and I think we will probably have to get out of Afghanistan WHEN OUR COMMITMENT ENDS in 2009, if the rest of NATO doesn't step up and do their part, but then the fault will be a NATO failure and disgrace.......run away now, and it is a CANADIAN disgrace.

Simply NOT an option

 

[BitWhys]

Its a poor sort of "security" that allows others to murder teachers and burn schools. Time to try something else. You'd think maybe someone with the power would have the imagination to change the way things are being done instead of mulishly continuing on this fool's errand using the same old same old. Not likely though since according to them they ARE doing their jobs.

 

[gopher]

We had about 400 people in St Paul, Minnesota show up to protest Bush's war on Iraq and Afghanistan yesterday. Yes, it is true that antiwar crowds are small compared to what they used to be. Significantly, however, we never see any pro war crowds or placards on lawns endorsing Bush's war anymore as the vast majority of people oppose Bush's imperialistic terrorism.

 

[gopher]

Bush Celebrated Taliban's "Demise" in 2004

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/09/20040927-4.html


quote:

... I said to the Taliban in Afghanistan: Get rid of al Qaeda; see, you're harboring al Qaeda. Remember this is a place where they trained -- al Qaeda trained thousands of people in Afghanistan. And the Taliban, I guess, just didn't believe me. And as a result of the United States military, Taliban no longer is in existence. And the people of Afghanistan are now free. (Applause.) In other words when you say something as President you better make it clear so everybody understands what you're saying, and you better mean what you say. And I meant what I said. (Applause.)
Okay, hold up for a minute. (Applause.) Thank you all. I meant what I said for the sake of peace, because I understood that America would become more secure by denying al Qaeda safe haven and training bases in Afghanistan.
But I want to tell you something else that's on my mind during the course of my decision-making. I understand how powerful freedom can be. And I want you to think about Afghanistan. It wasn't all that long ago that the Taliban were running that country. People say, what were they like? They're the opposite of America. If you had a point of view that didn't coincide with what they thought, you were in trouble. They didn't believe in the freedom of anything. They have a dark vision about the world. We have a vision based upon light. We believe in freedom. We believe you can worship freely any -- in this country, any way you want -- (applause) -- any way you want. It's your right...

Today in Afghanistan -- I want you to hear this fact -- today in Afghanistan some -- a little more than three years since we liberated them, 10 million people have registered to vote, 41 percent of whom are women, in the elections that will be held in about the first -- let's see, I think the 9th of October. Think about that, a country that has gone from darkness to light because of freedom. Freedom is powerful. It's powerful. (Applause.) Unbelievable statistic, I think. (Applause.) And I tell you why it's important, one way to defeat the ideologues of hate is to spread freedom. Free societies answer to the hopes and needs of the average citizens. Free societies do not export terror. Afghanistan is an ally now in the war on terror. In order to make sure America is secure in the long run, we must have allies standing with us in the broader Middle East.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Well now, it appears that Bush's celebration and the massive applause were a bit premature. Note how today Bush isn't laughing and celebrating like he used to. The applause and celebrations have died down and for good reason, too.

I suppose some will soon be saying BLAME CLINTON!

 

[earth_as_one]

The protests were a failure. The numbers were small. But many people didn't hear about them until after they were over. So the turn out may not reflect popular opinion as much as poor planning and promotion.

 

[wallyj]

What happens if NATO pulls out? Will the people embrace the Taliban? Will the Taliban embrace the people? Will gays be allowed the basic right to live? Will woman be given basic rights? Will life be better for the people? . Will francisco juarez and his partner book a bed and breakfast in the Afghan mountains for a romantic escape? The NDP and peaceniks cannot or will not answer these questions.It's too bad Layton's father didn't pull out a few seconds earlier.

 

[Kreskin]

Ha Ha. His father was a Progressive Conservative and thus against any kind of birth control. Too bad eh?

 

[Sassylassie]

LOL Wallyj. Halifax had the astounding total of---------100 protesters show up, wow talk about no interest. What happened to the hundred of thousands that Jack predicted were going to protest? Did they miss the bus?

 

[northstar]

I hope the protesters all get colds...pathetic

 

[gopher]

What happens if NATO pulls out? Will the people embrace the Taliban? The NDP and peaceniks cannot or will not answer these questions.

The people have the right to self determination - after all, that is what democracy is all about.

After his initial pretexts for war were refuted, Bush attempted to justify his warism by saying that he wanted to promote democratization in order to advance society and to guarantee peace. Well, now you see what democratization brought in Palestine and Lebanon. If Bush is to remain consistent in the application of his principles, then he must allow for democratization to take place in Afghanistan according to the dictates of the will of those people. If they say the Taliban is to rule, then so be it. That's democracy in action and if you support Bush then you should approve of its consequences.