76,000$ study to sell Afghan "war"

[mabudon]

Anyone else see anything about this?? I have a feeling it'll really pick up on monday...
Apparently the Harper Cons decided to spend some money trying to figure out how to "sell" the war without actually speakin plainly about it- if anyone has a link, PLEASE post it here as the thing is kind of REALLY insulting and bears discussion I think, but I don't want to get too far "in" without any references- if I find one, I'll come back and post it, too

 

[#juan]

November 2006: Canada's Fatally Flawed Afghan Mission

Harper is happy to turn Canada from peacemaker to war-maker

November 1, 2006 | National Office | Topic(s): International relations, peace & conflict | Author(s): Murray Dobbin | Publication Type: Monitor Issue
It is alarming for many Canadians to watch Stephen Harper, the head of a minority government with the support of fewer than 40% of citizens, turn Canada into a nation of war. But that is what is happening.
The roots of Harper's preference for war go to the core of his view of government: maintaining a strong, war-fighting armed forces is one of the few roles that Harper believes government should have. He is fighting a war against a battle-hardened and determined enemy in one of the most fiercely independent nations on Earth. The complexity of Afghan society confounds all but a few who would try to understand it. Yet, for Stephen Harper, understanding Afghanistan seems almost irrelevant. But it is relevant, because this is a war that Canada and the West cannot win, any more than Britain and the Soviet Union could before us. And Canada will share disproportionately in its ultimate loss in terms of dead and wounded, billions of dollars wasted, and our international reputation sullied for a long time to come. It will go down in history as one of our country's biggest foreign policy disasters.
Stephen Harper's contempt for Canada and what it became in the decades following the Second World War is firmly on the record. Most of his comments--his sneering dismissal of our egalitarianism and sense of community--relate to social programs like Medicare. He once described Canada as "a second-tier socialistic country, boasting ever more loudly about its social services to mask its second-rate status."



http://tinyurl.com/2u8atp

 

[#juan]

Apparently the Harper Cons decided to spend some money trying to figure out how to "sell" the war without actually speakin plainly about it

Gee, that almost sounds like some kind of a sponsership thing...:wave:

 

[mabudon]

No, Juan, the sponsorship deal was Evil, the Afghan "mission" is Good, don't you pay attention

I am kinda totally shocked there's NOTHING on here about this

AHA
THERE it is!!!

 

[darkbeaver]

I'd like to see more on this myself.:wave:

 

[mabudon]

hit the link Beav- looks like "accountability" means different things depending on who is running the show, among other things-
REALLY I can't (well, okay I CAN) believe that rather than make it make sense, the best "strategy" to sell the "war" is a bunch of silly paint

This should cause a storm this next week, I hope- maybe a few phonecalls and an e-mail or tow hsould be going out shortly

 

[#juan]

I did manage to fix the link above....It's not as good as yours but there are some interesting points.

 

[mabudon]

Funny thing- the link you posted kept coming up on my results from Google- I had to actually seek the article out "manually", but they do present fairly good companion pieces, booke-ends if you will

 

[I think not]

I thought it was the Liberals who sent the CF to Afghanistan?

 

[CDNBear]

I read the article, I don't see a scandal.

I see a Liberal rage trying to spin it into one, as I would expect to see in that Consevative rage the Toronto Sun, if the pary d'aujour was Liberal or NDP.

What I did get from the article is that someone is trying hard to link Harpo and Gdub, and the Conservatives and the REpub's. Not even a close running there.

I also got a sense of Harpo's government trying to get a grip on the pulse of the Nation while establishing a dialogue to explain the mission to the masses.

Where's the beef?

edited to ad: You would be correct ITN, but there seem to be a case of "short term" memory surging through our humble Nation at the moment.

 

[Sparrow]

I read the article and it really pisses me off, we have our own Bush! I wonder if he would be so ready to send his own children to war, probably because he seems to have no heart. This war will not be won by guns, there people are like the Vietnamese who do no accept outsiders in their country. I read a book about Vietnam and its history. Sorry but the book is in French "Dix mille printemps" written by Yveline Feray, if you read French it is long but worth while reading. After I read this book I was not surprised the US lost the war, nobody could have won it. No matter what the outsiders try to do even if it is good for them, they will resist. The war in Afganistan is the same, others have tried to no avail, we will not do better. I know the people need help but we cannot force them to take it against their will. Things are not getting better, however I do believe we could make a difference in the lives of these people but that would mean a change in philosophy and Happer is incapable of doing this.

 

[Sparrow]

Maybe instead of saying Harper, God I even spelt his name wrong sorry, our gov. because our soldiers were there before the conservatives were elected. I have a question, who changed their mandate from peacekeeping to fighting? Wasn't it the Liberals?

 

[I think not]

edited to ad: You would be correct ITN, but there seem to be a case of "short term" memory surging through our humble Nation at the moment.

And didn't your Cabinet recently vote to keep the CF in Afghanistan?

Or am I mistaken?

 

[#juan]

Harper spends $75,000.00 on a study/report so he can "sell" the war to the Canadian public?

The report lists "vocabulary/terms/phrases/concepts to reinforce" the message that the government is right about its commitment to the war in Afghanistan. They include "rebuilding," "restoring," "reconstruction," "hope," "opportunity" and "enhancing the lives of women and children."

Even though "rebuilding," "restoring," "reconstruction," make up only a tiny percenage of what we now do in Afghanistan. We'll have to watch and see if those words find their way into Harper's vocabulary in greater numbers. Might be fun to see. After all, they cost $75 grand.

 

[CDNBear]

And didn't your Cabinet recently vote to keep the CF in Afghanistan?

Or am I mistaken?

Yep.

Harper spends $75,000.00 on a study/report so he can "sell" the war to the Canadian public?


Even though "rebuilding," "restoring," "reconstruction," make up only a tiny percenage of what we now do in Afghanistan. We'll have to watch and see if those words find their way into Harper's vocabulary in greater numbers. Might be fun to see. After all, they cost $75 grand.

Sure seems pretty frugal to me.

How much did it cost Canada to hand out Canadian flags, or "sell" unity in Kebec?

This would be one of those moments where I would resort to accusing you of hypocracy, the sole reason being, you find one acceptable, and the other is objectionable to you, completely for political alliegences sake. As apposed to myself, in the fact that I condemn stupidity and waste, no matter the political colour, as I have expressed many times.

Would I be wrong?

 

[#juan]

Yep.


Sure seems pretty frugal to me.

How much did it cost Canada to hand out Canadian flags, or "sell" unity in Kebec?

This would be one of those moments where I would resort to accusing you of hypocracy, the sole reason being, you find one acceptable, and the other is objectionable to you, completely for political alliegences sake. As apposed to myself, in the fact that I condemn stupidity and waste, no matter the political colour, as I have expressed many times.

Would I be wrong?

Harper is just getting started. Give him time because that stupid war will get harder and harder to sell. This little report was only $75,000.00.but we aren't privy to everything our governments do and more's the pity. By the time the Conservatives are finished, there will likely be a nice long litany of waste and corruption. There always is, by any government. In the case of the "sponsership scandal" it was less than one percent of the budget. Will the Conservatives do as well?

 

[CDNBear]

Harper is just getting started. Give him time because that stupid war will get harder and harder to sell. This little report was only $75,000.00.but we aren't privy to everything our governments do and more's the pity. By the time the Conservatives are finished, there will likely be a nice long litany of waste and corruption. There always is, by any government. In the case of the "sponsership scandal" it was less than one percent of the budget. Will the Conservatives do as well?

Are you suggesting that because it was less then 1% of the buget, it's somehow not that big a deal?

That it in someway relates to what Harpo has done?

The two acts are not even comparable, 1 is an act that even the Liberals do when in power, it's called marketing, it isn't illegal, and it isn't unethical. The former was a dicietful act of theft and corruption.

 

[darkbeaver]

Neat exposure of the machinations of consultants and the spin industry. I was heartened by the article, if the Harpercons can't sell this war they can't sell anything, everything they do and say is cemented to US corporate policy, as it goes so does Harper and his Fascist mob. I was listening to some old timers for a bit today, they are not happy with Harper, he makes them sick.There is no possibility that the neo-conservative American extention new government of Canada will survive without cooking the outcome or arrangeing a terrorist attack. If you look at Harpers religious connections you see christian fundamentalism of the crazyest kind, and to me that means they'll do and say anything.

 

[#juan]

Quote:
Originally Posted by #juan
Harper is just getting started. Give him time because that stupid war will get harder and harder to sell. This little report was only $75,000.00.but we aren't privy to everything our governments do and more's the pity. By the time the Conservatives are finished, there will likely be a nice long litany of waste and corruption. There always is, by any government. In the case of the "sponsership scandal" it was less than one percent of the budget. Will the Conservatives do as well?

Are you suggesting that because it was less then 1% of the buget, it's somehow not that big a deal?

That it in someway relates to what Harpo has done?

The two acts are not even comparable, 1 is an act that even the Liberals do when in power, it's called marketing, it isn't illegal, and it isn't unethical. The former was a dicietful act of theft and corruption.

Harpo, as you call him, has had a minority government for about a year. I don't like to see Harpo using taxpayer's money to sell his policies. I didn't like the sponsership thing any better. We have to come back in ten years and compare the two government's records. I doubt there will be much to choose between them but who knows. Harper may show his true colours.

 

[CDNBear]

Umm, it wasn't Harpo and the harpocrits that sent the CF into Afghanistan, he sees fit to to continue a Liberal mandate, so how exactly is he 'using taxpayer's money to sell his policies'?

I think it's more like he using a tool of governance to further a mutual Liberal/Conservative policy, non?