Canada should stay in Afghanistan past 2009, NATO chief says

[Blackleaf]

So what is the official UN stance at the moment? Are we in Afghan legallly or not?

What does it matter? Why should Canadians have to consult with the UN every time they want to go to war to see whether or not it's legal? It's too much red tape and bureacracy.

What would happen if the US decided to invade Canada? I can only imagine Canadians sitting around wondering whether or not they are legally allowed to fight the US

I seem to remember we sent our YOUNG CANADIAN MEN who joined up to PROTECT their country, not to GET SLAUGHTERED in some rocky, foreign, tribal SH@T HOLE

Are you saying that Canada only sends her troops abroad to fight in some lush, green tropical oasis with rabbits bounding about everywhere and pretty butterflies fluttering about amongst the flowers with fresh water flowing from thousands of marble-tiled fountains and red wine flowing from from the nearest damp rose petal??

Or should you not except that one of the jobs of being a soldier is being sent to a semi-arid desert environment where temperatures rarely drop below 100 degrees farenheit?

If the British didn't want to defend an icy, arid, freezing cold, desolate ****hole in 1812 we would have left Canada to the mercy of the Americans.

 

[BitWhys]

...
“…if you want to insult everyone else's intelligence go right ahead.”...

and he misquotes people, too. how charming.

 

[Machjo]

Canada is in Afghanistan on a NATO mandate.

And I can't understand why Canadians are so obsessed about going to war only if you have permission from the UN or NATO. Don't you think it's stupid that foreigners should tell you when your country should go to war? None of this nonsense ever happened until the 1950s or thereabouts.

We should be able to go to war whenever we want, never mind what unelected foreigners in the UN say.

We had alot more wars before too. So what are you suggesting; we scrap the UN and duke it out the traditional way? Don't forget, we now have nukes.

And yes, foregners do have a say in our actions abroad. Our actions abroad affect them too. It's a matter of international security with everybody knowing where everyone else stands according to internaitonal law. It's a question of establishing trust and precedents.

 

[Machjo]

What does it matter? Why should Canadians have to consult with the UN every time they want to go to war to see whether or not it's legal? It's too much red tape and bureacracy.

Good precedence and sets an example to otehrs, perhaps?


What would happen if the US decided to invade Canada?

We'd fight back; the UN does allow for national self defence.

I can only imagine Canadians sitting around wondering whether or not they are legally allowed to fight the US.
I would suspect the Canadian government is well aware of international law on this issue. We clearly have the right to national self defence.



Are you saying that Canada only sends her troops abroad to fight in some lush, green tropical oasis with rabbits bounding about everywhere and pretty butterflies fluttering about amongst the flowers with fresh water flowing from thousands of marble-tiled fountains and red wine flowing from from the nearest damp rose petal??


Of course not. As long as Afghan is legal, I can accept that it's tough.

Or should you not except that one of the jobs of being a soldier is being sent to a semi-arid desert environment where temperatures rarely drop below 100 degrees farenheit?

Of course.

If the British didn't want to defend an icy, arid, freezing cold, desolate ****hole in 1812 we would have left Canada to the mercy of the Americans.

So we'd be a united North America. Thanks for dividing us.

 

[Machjo]

By the way, Blackleaf. Canada's commitment to international law also raises Britain's confidence in that we shall never attack the UK in violation of international law. Now if the UN gives the go ahead...:lol:

 

[TomG]

A useful summary of Canada’s Military involvement is at:

http://www.dnd.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=1661

As stated previously, military operations are conducted by the ISAF, and the ISAF was created by a UNSC resolution. Its command originally rotated among contributing nations. NATO subsequently assumed ISAF command. Military operations in Afghanistan are conducted under a UN mandate. NATO commands but does not mandate.

War is not like it was in the good old days because most nations committed themselves to principles stated in the UN charter in 1945. The Charter’s Preamble is at:

http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/


The US commands its own military operations in Afghanistan under OEF (Operation to Ensure Freedom) but under the Afghanistan Compact published in January 2006, but its operations are required to closely coordinate with the Afghanistan government and ISAF. The OEF also operates under a UN mandate The Compact describes the entire range of international commitments and principles and can be read here:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/20060130%20Afghanistan%20Compact%20Final%20Final,0.doc

UN mandated military operations are justified in support of the entire range of commitments under the compact. We do not do war in its own right.

War as we may romanticize it has been formally obsolete since the UN Charter. We renounced the use of armed force except as an initial response justified as self-defense or under UN mandates of the common interest. That there is a vast difference between formal commitments and practice throughout the world is not to our credit. That we hamstring the institutions established to administer our commitments and then blame the institutions for ineffectiveness rather than blame ourselves is also not to our credit.

 

[ottawabill]

We should never have a pullout date set in stone and made public.

First of all your enemy will just plan a take over after that date based on the info you just provided.

Second of all there is a goal, an objective that is trying to be reached. If you can't stabilize a situation, you can not rebuild and support a government. At the begining of this affair the UN wouyld build a school and have it torn down and its teachers killed within weeks of its opening. That no longer happens...It no longer happens because we secure an area keep it secure, then re-build.

I don't think we should be stuck in this conflict forever, however we are getting a taste of what the U.S. has had to go through forever. The Europeans will not act, nor the Asians so it is stuck onto the America's Britain and Austrailia. Yes we should end a tour of duty, but to allow another country to get in a do their part. The Europeans have had many terrorist attacks but want the U.S Canada and Britain to do something about it while that stand and complain.

We likely all need more troups in Afghanastan..not less..

 

[BitWhys]

We should never have a pullout date set in stone and made public.

First of all your enemy will just plan a take over after that date based on the info you just provided...

You make it sound like the plan would be to simply abandon the area instead of executing a transition similar to the one that got us into Kandahar in the first place.

 

[Colpy]

Canada is in Afghanistan on a NATO mandate.

And I can't understand why Canadians are so obsessed about going to war only if you have permission from the UN or NATO. Don't you think it's stupid that foreigners should tell you when your country should go to war? None of this nonsense ever happened until the 1950s or thereabouts.

We should be able to go to war whenever we want, never mind what unelected foreigners in the UN say.

BINGO!

 

[BitWhys]

heh. you guys are so busy agreeing with each other you haven't even noticed no one said anything to the contrary.

what a circle jerk. :roll: