Liberal Hypocrisy on Kandahar
Liberal hypocrisy on Kandahar
By Lorrie Goldstein
Toronto Sun, Wed, April 25, 2007
Of all the parties on Parliament Hill, none have been greater hypocrites on our military mission in Kandahar than the Liberals.
There they were again, yesterday, shamefully undercutting the mission they chose for our soldiers, without ever bringing it to a vote in the House of Commons, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper did when he inherited their mission.
What’s more, then prime minister Paul Martin and defence minister Bill Graham chose the Kandahar mission knowing the dangers it would entail for our troops.
In the fall of 2005, Graham spoke across Canada, warning Canadians that the Kandahar mission would be costly.
Graham said: “Our troops will be engaged in a much riskier and more dangerous mission than they were engaged in, in Kabul.”
Graham said: “From a Canadian perspective, our mission in Afghanistan is totally consistent with Canada’s new international and defence policies; in fact, it is the first and most significant tangible expression of those policies in action. Our role in Afghanistan is also quintessentially Canadian: We are helping rebuild a troubled country and we are giving hope for the future to a long-suffering people. This is a clear expression of our Canadian values at work.”
Graham said: “So when I hear voices who call for the withdrawal of our troops, who suggest that we are engaged in a war there against Islam … I say: ‘Let them talk to the Afghans, Afghans who are Muslims themselves, Afghans who want us there to help them transform their country’ …”
Graham said: “Canadians should be under no illusion; Kandahar is a very complex, challenging and dangerous environment and mission. The part of Afghanistan we are going to is among the most unstable and dangerous in the country. Indeed, that is why we have been asked to go there and why we are going there.”
Graham said: “Our troops are exceptionally well-trained, equipped and led … they know, from their experience, that this will be dangerous work with a high risk of injury and the potential for casualties that comes with the job. Canadians, too, must recognize this aspect of their mission and be ready to support them in every way, if that occurs.”
Apparently, Stephane Dion wasn’t listening.
