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I watched our federal parliamentarians debate on the Canadian military presence in Afghanistan last night, expecting some enlightenment on why our soldiers are there. I got nothing out of it and had to conclude that most members of Parliament, at least those that spoke, didnt really know what they were talking about. It all seemed to boil down to the question of whether individuals supported our troops or not. Not to support them would prove unpatriotic and no MP would want to be labelled as that. What bothered me most about the debate is that it didnt even come close to asking the real questions such as why, when we went in under NATO have we become part of the Americans Operation Enduring Freedom or what the strategic implications of trying to pacify Afghanistan were (see my posting of March 26, http://members.eisa.com/~ec086636/newblog.htm). Some of the discussion sounded very American like if we dont fight terrorism over there well have to fight it over here suggesting a very wrong understanding of terrorism. Its as though terrorism was a country like prewar Iraq complete with a hostile dictator. I think we should have learned enough to know that it isnt really like that at all. Its a whole bunch of little groups or cells in many parts of the world, many connected but others not, each with their own grievances arising out of interactions between rich countries and poor countries, exploiting people and exploited peoples, and those who gain and those who have little left to lose. Of course, fundamentalist religion plays a role in it, supporting and providing a moral armament to those who believe they must destroy the infidel. There are also those who, like the "black widows" of Chechnya, having lost everything and in deep grief, feel that their only remaining recourse is to undertake terrorist acts. But none of this was mentioned in the debate last night. It was like you gotta put your hand on your heart and support whatever it is were doing over their or youre not a patriotic Canadian. So thats what the MPs, hands on hearts, did. Ed |
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