That is so Totally racist! And ya'll hate Jews and blacks, too!

... sorry. Channelling a certain visitor to this site.

What are you talking about? ... I love the prosperity and additions to our culture in so many ways that the Jews have brought us and who can ever get enough of that old Motown Music.

:0)

There are some things that reasonable people from all political sides of a debate can agree upon.

That the Afghan people do not want to be ruled by the Taliban again is one of them. That they need assistance, military and economic to do so is another.

Good for the Solidarity group.

Terry Glavin aka "Gatekeeper to the Ziocon False-Flag Hegemony of the Bolivarian Republic of Canada", is my kinda lefty

Splendid!

Taliban Jack will have to take some time off now.

Leftists agreed on that statement?

Oh, dear... now I'm going to have to eat my hat after all!

Anyone know what kind of mustard goes best on hats? I think a nice shiraz is the best accompaniment...

Seriously, it appears that the Liberals will now be forced to once again do a backflip, albeit with sophisticated political mumbo-jumbo language to make it seem otherwise.

One may respond to those who say we need to "pullout of Afghanistan" by saying, "So what proof do you have to offer that doing so will improve the situation for the Afghan People? What proof do you have to offer that doing so will not result in the torturously, murderously intolerant Taliban retaking that nation?"

what is the difference between leaving now or in 2012?

like this going to make a difference....

Quebecois Separatiste...

If you have proof to offer that it won't make a difference whether we pull out in 2009 or 2012, please do enlighten us, mon ami...

Plus, wouldn't you agree that if we leave, the Taliban will retake Afghanistan and we'll be back to where we started, like on September 11th, 2001?

You know, it's shameful that many of our NATO allies refuse to pull more of their weight, seeing as Canada is punching way above its current weight class.

Canada is making, for example, France and Germany look bad, certainly when we compare our forces' size and equipment to theirs. Surely those NATO members who aren't really doing as much as they're morally compelled to do can provide more!

You know, mon ami, I've never been prouder to be Canadian. ;)

Four years.

Same length of time -- from the beginning of WWII to the end of WWII.

Think the people of France, Britain, Holland thought there was any difference ??

Want to bet that if the Laftards accept the idea of responsibility and perseverance in Afghanistan that they will very soon be complaining that "Harper" isn't doing ENOUGH ??

Ron in Kelowna - WWII had a duration of six years - 1939-45. But I do agree with your comment.

C'mon Neil everyone knows WW II started on Dec 7 1942 - John Wayne told me so;)

Hmmm... Is that Hell freezing over? Someone go check if the Toronto Maple Leafs are on their way to winning the Stanley Cup.

FWIW, Blazingcatfur, Pearl Harbour day was Dec 7 1941......

Blazingcatfur - I'm feeling obstinate tonight. John Wayne told you December 7, 1941 - not 42 ;-)

Do not compare WW2 with afghanistan...

WW2 was a classic war where country A invaded country B.

Afghanistan is a nation building mission. Military power is secondary. Afghanistan is about changing and altering the social darwinism evolution of that place for hopefully the better. I don't we can make a difference.. call me a pessimist.

quebecois separatiste:

Well, if you're already convinced you can't do something, you're probably right.  Defeatism (not just pessimism) usually engineers its own failure.

Terry Glavin is as they say 'a man of the Left.' And no doubt most SDA readers would find much to disagree with at his blog.

However, I give him a great deal of credit for running a thoughtful, non-ideological site featuring serious/funny posts that consist of more than just him calling other people 'racists' or 'haters'.

If you feel the need to read a bit from the 'other side' each day to keep your head on straight, you could do much worse than check out his blog.

Actually, quebecois separatiste, Afghanistan is all about kicking the crap out of the taliban and their buddies so that the nation can be rebuilt.

Kind of hard to build a nation if military power is secondary, as you put it. Unless you don't mind having your skull blown off as you try to build a school or a hospital.

Darwin doesn't come in to the picture much. Unless you are describing the Taliban and their lack of progression on the Darwinian curve.

Oh, and while I wouldn't give a spit for most large-L Liberals right now, I've always liked John Manley, despite the fact that he does bear an uncanny resemblance to Beaker somedays.  ;-)

Now if only the Libs could get rid of that naive, dirigiste, power-hungry weenie they have as a leader and replace him with Manley, Hell, I might even be persuaded to swing my vote (but only if Manley's actual decency was allowed to permeate the larger party apparatus...).

Neil - You mean John Wayne lied? I am crestfallen. (especially at my own egregious error;)

The Furious Short One is correct, Terry's blog is a worthwhile read, nice to see the principled left take a public stand.

"...what is the difference between leaving now or in 2012? like this going to make a difference...."

I don't know.... leave now and let's see how you make out! ;)

"...what is the difference between leaving now or in 2012? like this going to make a difference...."

I don't know.... leave now and let's see how you make out! ;)

"I don't we (think) can make a difference.. call me a pessimist."

One of my favorite sayings, which Garth Wood already paraphrased, is: Whether you think you can, or think you can't - in either case, you're probably right.

What makes America - and Canada - great, is that as a nation, we tend to think the former and not the latter.

manley is "left"...geezzzz....

Blazingcatfur - sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but yes, John Wayne lied to you. You just can't trust anyone today, especially old dead guys with very small feet.

It's a real downer, I know.

But cheer up - I hear that the next issue that the Canadian HRCs are going to take on is that of people not telling the truth. Of course, it will only target conservatives and facts won't enter into the proceedings, but it is one small step for.....hmmmmm....I don't know for whom....but it will provide much needed employment for the unemployables who don't want to chase the really izzzy money in Alberta ;-)

Liberal discord? Certainly more incoherence on Afstan (with a nod to Mr Glavin):

"The rather more muscular Michael Ignatieff".
Mark
Ottawa

Fine words, but lets not get too carried away. This is far from an endorsement of our troops present role.

It is a plea for POG and all things UN! Idiots like Liarton and Dion will take comfort in this, and will continue to ignore the fact that hard won improvements as well as future progress cannot be achieved by appeasement and sitting down and talking to the Taliban.

Neil - I'm convinced, never will I trust anyone named Marion again.

Peace, order, and good government;

Here’s hoping the Afghanis opt for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, maybe they’ll be able to skip the Asymmetrical Federalism and the Statist HRC.

Wiki gives us this on A Q Kahn . . .

Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, NI & BAR (twice), HI (Urdu: عبدالقدیر خان) (born April 1, 1936) is a Pakistani Scientist and metallurgical engineer widely regarded as the founder of Pakistan's nuclear program. (His middle name is occasionally rendered as Quadeer, Qadir or Gadeer, and his given names are often abbreviated to A.Q.).

In January 2004, Khan confessed to having been involved in a clandestine international network of nuclear weapons technology proliferation from Pakistan to Libya, Iran and North Korea. On February 5, 2004,
================
the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, announced that he had pardoned Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who is widely seen as a national hero.[1]

In an August 23, 2005 interview with Kyodo News General Pervez Musharraf confirmed that Khan had supplied gas centrifuges and gas centrifuge parts to North Korea.
==================== Wikipedia

With Osama*s boys sitting next Pakistan*s A-bombs, you mean to suggest some dipstick thinks we should leave Afghanistan some soon?

G*wan, stop pulling my leg. = TG

Terry Glavin may be left, but he isn't afraid to think for himself and many on the fringes of the left hate him for it. Last year on the BC web paper The Tyee he did a piece calling a terrorist spade a spade, and was unfairly trashed by the moonbats. The left/right conversation as much as it is a vitriolic mess in this country is better for his contributions.

The only parallel to WW2 that I would like to see happen in the middle east is the allied forces methods used to completely eradicate german nazism and japanese imperialists. That would require the detruction of the koran, mosques and madrassas. Not much chance of that happening.
So all we can do is contain it as best we can. God bless our soldiers who do an incredible job with the little we give them in funding and political support!

What Bernie said.

It is funny that Canadians focus on the negatives of their Military but totally ignore a strength that may be a winning "combination".

Me! I think if we American's got ride of our PR problem, in strategic planning, who knows how fast a military solution is obtainable.

John Wayne never lied, pilgrims: Y'all just didn't hear right.

CTV News and Bob Fife got the online version this morning.

AS it turned out Fife was on screen with his laptop and got flustered trying to scroll through the report..... they cut away and gave him about ten minutes to find something to hook into ...

Hardly surprising that between Fife and the on air newsreaderette they managed to spin this as a negative for our government while underplaying the actual accomplishments of our military. And, offer an anticipation of how the LIberals will benefit from the report.

What a clown show!

Keith Martin was again spouting misinformation, such as:

- Afghan mission was to remove AQ, which is done. Wrong on both counts, the mission was to remove Taliban, who were sheltering AQ. Anyway, to argue Taliban, Hezbollah, et al are not same as AQ is simply splitting hairs, IMO

- Martin also suggested AQ had gained foothold in Iraq, which is not AQ HQ. That is nonsense - AQ is being systematically routed in Iraq with the help of the Iraqi people, who are weary of their attacks on fellow Iraqis. Apparently OBL criticized their late leader on that issue. Anyway, they are on way out. If we leave Afghanistan job unfinished, they will surely re-establish themselves there. It's not worth the risk, when we have victory at hand, if we can get our cowardly European allies on board.

- He argues AQ doesn't want world war. Again splitting hairs. Their goal on 9/11 was to spark massive retaliation, the genesis of their Holy War, which OBL believed would result in cleansing of infidels in the new worldwide caliphate

- Martin further argues Taliban have been shut out of negotiations by Karzai. First of all, I'll trust Karzai's judgement anytime on this. Second, Taliban in Afghan (20% of total population, and are Pashtun) were installed by Pakistani ISI with help from China and Saudi Arabia. I guess that foreign intervention was OK.

Liberals intend to spin the Manley report as their position; again, that is nonsense. But, they will try. I doubt it will work, mainly because LPC and Dion in particular have no credibility on this and many other issues.