Some call it cynicism, but I call it learning from experience. While the Canadian government frequently sets up projects that seem to have good intentions on the surface, history has shown that ulterior motives lie beneath. So when I heard the Harper government’s plans to set up an Afghanistan panel, I was skeptical from the first. The panel, headed by John Manley, a former Liberal cabinet minister, will deliberate and advise the government on the future of the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan.
Manley has put forth four limited options for the panel to choose from. Canadians can continue training Afghan troops, readying them for when Canadian troops leave. Another option is to shift the troops’ focus from the hotbed areas they’re currently in to different, less violent regions. A further option calls for a continued combat role, and withdrawal of troops by February 2009. Finally, Canadian Forces might remain fighting in the war-torn country past the current mandate, which expires in two years time. In making its final recommendation, the panel is supposed to take into consideration public views and opinions about the matter.
Despite the supposed effort to stabilize the Afghanistan situation, many critics call the panel a ploy by Harper to gain support for extending the military mission. Though opposition parties are against continuing the mission past 2009, the Conservatives have not dismissed the option of staying until at least 2011.
Aside from the political intentions behind creating the panel, the panel’s mission and ideology are misguided. Our ultimate goal in the conflict, all can agree, should be peace and democracy in Afghanistan. What can the Canadian military possibly do to further these aims?
It is naïve to believe that peace can be achieved through tying aid and development to military might. An increase in Canadian military strength could lead to greater support for insurgent groups, meaning innocent civilians could get caught in the crossfire. As long as we try to promote our liberal values through the use of force, we can kiss development and democracy goodbye. What good are schools if they’re shut down for being in the midst of a conflict zone? How can there be democracy when a focus on military presence predictably equates power with weapons and soldiers?
With these obvious contradictions between intentions and reality, the Afghanistan panel, regardless of why it was set up, is headed down a very inefficient path. Throw in a public who knows as much about Afghanistan and what it needs as Arizona knows about snow, and you end up an entirely irrelevant consultation process. The whole panel effort should be reassessed and rather than asking Canadians for their opinions on the matter, the Afghan people should be consulted for their input on the course of development. After all, it’s their country that we’re supposedly trying to help.
