The Globe and Mail's foreign correspondent Graeme Smith has written an opinion piece calling for Canadian troops to be pulled out of Afghanistan.
Smith's assessment is important for at least two reasons: first, he is easily the best Canadian journalist working in Afghanistan for the past three years, as well as the perhaps the most experienced. Second, his newly declared opposition to the mission is not a principled position. That is, Smith has never seen a problem with NATO's military might being used to install a friendly regime in Afghanistan, despite the fact that the whole operation stems from an illegal invasion and regime change by the world's only superpower.
Thus, Smith's conclusion that Canadian troops should be withdrawn reflects his opinion that the war is unwinnable, not illegitimate:
The Mark - Nov 12 2009
Graeme Smith
... We should start by recognizing Canada's dwindling importance in Kandahar... Commanders once proudly declared they were chasing insurgents across 60,000 square kilometres of territory, but now Canadians are relegated to guarding Kandahar City and its approaches. From a practical standpoint, we're replaceable.
Symbolically, a Canadian withdrawal would signal to our allies that more soldiers aren't helpful at this point. That's a useful message... Every year I spent in the country, from 2005 to 2009, saw major troops surges – and terrible surges of violence. With every fighting season, more women and children were killed... The mission has failed, so far.
We need to acknowledge this failure if we're going to think clearly about what's next. I have profound respect for optimists... But how many roads are built in rural Afghanistan these days without paying bribes to local insurgents? How many villagers in Kandahar would get polio vaccinations without permission from the Taliban? Making the country better doesn't necessarily require fighting the insurgents – in many cases, it requires working with them.
Our soldiers have bravely followed orders in Kandahar. But they're being swept aside by a tidal wave of U.S. forces, and this surge is likely doomed to bring the same results as previous surges. Canada should withdraw its battle group, and push its allies toward peace talks. (link)
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The phenomenon is similar to what happened in the USA with the Iraq war. People who bought into the "war on terror" mythology supported the attack on Iraq until it became clear they couldn't win. Then they called for the war to end.
It's a position based on tactical, not principled, considerations.
The truth at last.
If i beat my head against a rock and it hurts I stop, why does our military not follow the same principles? If we have tried and not gotten anywhere then get the hell out.
M. Specter:
Thank you for your interest.
Indeed, Smith's position is a pretty stark example of an unprincipled opposition to war. But my hunch is that most people in Canada have a more principled objection - the roughly 60 pc who say they oppose the war. That figure doesn't seem to have varied much with spikes in troops deaths or as the war has become more evidently futile. It has basically stayed the same since Summer 06 when the public first got the clear picture that this is a war.
Regards,
Dave M
Revlon:
Thanks for writing.
You are no doubt right to point out that the war appears unlikely to achieve its stated aims, yet continues anyway. The next question is why. Is it just the momentum of military expeditions? Face saving? Perhaps the most obvious explanation is that American goals are somewhat different than stated. Some say that one major reason behind the war and occupation was to secure a pipeline. I think a more plausible (but possibly related) reason is that it provides a permanent outpost near Iran and China. But more importantly, I think that also that the war has a big demonstration component, like the Vietnam war. In the minds of Pentagon planners, backing off shows weakness and the US needs to show off its strength to keep the world in line.
Dave