politics; books; musings on Canada and the World
It must be heartening to the people of Britain that bombs dropped on Afghans have had the Royal Stamp Of Approval.
"My Mum would be proud of me." (Not)
Prince Harry Calls in Air Strikes
Anyway…he’s having fun.
Time For Afghanistan To Institute A Draft
Apparently we can kill the so-called "top leaders" of the Taliban in Afghanistan and it doesn’t matter.
According to Michael McConnell, the U.S. National Intelligence Director, the death or capture of three senior Taliban leaders last year does not yet appear to have significantly disrupted Taliban operations.
Ironically, according to the Americans, the Taliban seem to be minority players in the country. Mr.McConnell told the U.S. Congress yesterday, that the central government of Hamid Karzai government has control over only about 30 percent of the country, while the Taliban controls about 10 percent of the country.
And here’s the kicker to this story: The rest of the country is controlled by Tribal Chieftains, independent warlords, and regional factions with their own private militias. Obviously there are thousands of armed men around the country; these men ought to be drafted into the Afghan army and police. It’s wrong for international forces including Canada, to be doing dirty work and losing lives when thousands of men controlled by warlords and militias lounge around in safety.
McConnell told the U.S. Senate yesterday, that international forces and the Afghan National Army continue to score tactical victories over the Taliban – but despite the killing or arrest of "top leaders", the security situation has deteriorated. He said this was especially true in some parts of the south during the past year. He added that Taliban forces have been expanding their operations into previously peaceful areas of western Afghanistan and near Kabul.
McConnell’s testimony concluded that Kabul must work closely with the Afghan parliament — as well as provincial and tribal leaders — to establish and extend the capacity of the central government. He also says that although the buildup of the Afghan National Police and the judicial system has improved in the past year, "the police and court system remains constrained in its ability to deploy programs at the provincial and local levels".
Mr. McConnell says Afghanistan faces a chronic shortage of resources and of qualified and motivated government officials at both the national and local level.
Nevertheless, it also suggests that Afghanistan has the manpower to combat the Taliban on its own and that Canada has no real reason to be carrying out "search and destroy" operations, with the consequent loss of Canadian lives.
We must urge Afghanistan to institute a draft.
Either They All Lie, Or They Are Just Plain Stupid – Or – They Think We’re Stupid
All Governments Lie – I.F. Stone
(Incidentally, that goes for both Conservatives and Liberals in Canada).
Canadian government officials have talked a lot lately about changes for the better in Afghanistan. But no one seems to know where the government’s facts are coming from and one wonders if they know themselves. It’s all so vague and imprecise mostly about roadbuilding and poorly-attended schools.
One might also wonder if Ministers in the Harper government know much about Afghanistan’s long conflictive history or even its more recent history since the American invasion. At a time like this, information – good information – is essential. We’ve already seen what bad information did to the Americans in Iraq. We may now be seizing on some not so good info ourselves.
This Afghanistan "war" was started when the Americans undertook to use air power in 2002, to unseat the Taleban government. The justification was that the Taleban had allowed Osama bin Laden and his foreign supporters to set up training camps on their soil. The attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon were said to have been planned in those camps.
But interestingly, no hard evidence has ever been produced that would suggest the Afghan Taleban were involved in either the planning or in the attacks themselves. No evidence at all, to support the allegation that the Taleban are related even distantly to international terrorism against Europe or North America. In fact, most of the 9-11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. It’s interesting too, that all along, America’s number one ally in the region has been Pakistan. (Pakistan, it should be remembered was the primary sponsor of the Taleban government). The idea of trying to wipe out the Taleban may be like the Catholic Church’s idea of trying to wipe out the Heretics. So the military attack on Afghanistan may have been a huge mistake from the very beginning.
Nevertheless, the Americans did jump in quickly and bombed the Afghans and then invaded with hunting parties.
8,000 U.S. soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan in 2002, with orders to hunt down Taleban and al Qaeda members and kill them; it was not their job, the Americans said then, to engage in peacekeeping or reconstruction. The 4,000-member international peacekeeping and assistance force (ISAF), did not venture beyond Kabul at that time.
The above paragraph illustrates the inherent and deadly flaw in the western strategy in Afghanistan. From the outset there were two distinct forces, with two very different operational approaches. There was the international approach which was focussed on establishing a new government in Kabul, and there was the American strategy, which was primarily to hunt and kill. This dichotomy continues today and is the source of our present dilemma – because our military and political leaders appear to have bought into the unproductive "hunt and kill" part.
Today some 12,000 U.S. soldiers and special forces still operate outside the NATO command structure. Canada’s Defence Minister Mr. MacKay made no reference to this fact today in his speech to Parliament. Does he even know about it?
In February of 2006, the Bush administration was warned about a Taleban-resurgence. Despite the warnings from the American Ambassador, Mr. Neumann and military officials, Condileeza Rice later lied and said, “there was no doubt that people were surprised that the Taliban was able to regroup and come back in a large, well-organized force.”
NATO is not succeeding in Afghanistan now and cannot succeed as long as there is no unified command.
The taproot of the present failure goes back to the decision by President George W. Bush to invade Iraq. The vast majority of U.S. intelligence teams in Afghanistan were diverted to Iraq. Funds were diverted. Aid positions in Afghanistan went unfilled. Training of Afghan soldiers and police slowed down and the split between the American approach and the international approach widened. The U.S./international split ended up undermining Afghan confidence in the western forces; it raised Afghan suspicions of everything the western countries said they were trying to do. Those suspicions were often the result of careless and incompetent aerial bombardment by the Americans, who even killed several Canadian soldiers by accident.
Powerful Afghan warlords saw what was happening. They saw a weak central government in Kabul and refused to hand over tens of millions of dollars they had collected as duties at border crossings. The Americans were cutting back in Afghanistan, in order to bolster their forces in Iraq. And at the same time Afghanistan itself was being balkanized. Part of it was controlled by warlords, part by powerful tribal chieftains, part by the Taleban, part by opium producers and part by the corrupt government of Hamid Karzai.
The lying started in 2002.
Bush and his officials lied about the extent of planning for an Iraq invasion; they lied about the diversion of resources from Afghanistan. The sad part of all this is that Canadian and European military and political officials knew very well that the Americans were lying, but said nothing, preferring to sit on their hands in silence and see what would happen.
There was confusion amongst the "allied forces", unwillingness on the part of Afghans to join the army or the police, unfettered cultivation of opium, corrupt activities by warlords and lack of a coordinated aid effort by western governments. All this confusion made it possible for the Taleban to slip back across the border with Pakistan – where they had been hiding – and begin to re-establish themselves.
The lack of resources in Afghanistan persists to this day.
"Defence Minister" Peter MacKay is blowing smoke when he says things are getting better. Things are actually getting worse. And it makes the Manley report on the "mission" look all the more ridiculous. In particular it makes his suggestion that a thousand more soldiers will turn the tide in the south, look worse than ridiculous.
Ignorance Is Ecstasy For Some
Stephen Harper and Peter MacKay and others were ecstatic on May 1st, 2003, when they watched George Bush standing proudly on the deck of an aircraft carrier declaring "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq. You see, they said, we could have been there too. They applauded. (Bush was lying of course).
At about the same time, their friend Paul Martin was ecstatically watching Donald Rumsfeld in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul say the following: “We clearly have moved from major combat activity to a period of stability and stabilization and reconstruction activities. The bulk of the country today is permissive, it’s secure.” And Paul applauded. (Rumsfeld was also lying).
Our guys were either high or just ignorant of the facts.
It wasn’t long before the American strategy in Iraq began to fall apart and Afghanistan was relegated permanently to the back burner.
American aid to Afghanistan was cut sharply.
Things were going bad in Pakistan too. U.S.-Pakistan relations were deteriorating, as it became apparent that the real enemy, al Qaeda was holed up in the land of General Musharraf, who – some suspected even then – was on his way to oblivion. Let’s not forget that the Pakistan military and security establishment had supported the Taleban against the so-called Northern Alliance, backed by India and Iran. And…as it happens…that Northern Alliance is now allied with – guess who – us! Oh and by the way, in case you were wondering, our northern warlord allies are every bit as "fundamentalist" as the Taleban. The main difference seems to be that they like dogfighting.
Well it’s now 5 years later and the applause of 2003 has died away; mission not accomplished.
The American military is not quite a spent force, but it won’t be much help to us in Afghanistan.
Europe is having trouble finding a thousand soldiers to take the lead or even back us up.
And Mr. Manley has apparently given up trying to find some spare change to put up a website so the Canadian public could comment on his excuse for a report.
Perhaps the moment has finally arrived when we must consider engaging Pakistan and the Taleban in a dialogue aimed at resolving our true role in Afghanistan.
Autism is a subject that is close to my heart -
-ever since I helped produce, direct and write a film about it (There’s Hope Out There) , with the financial support of David Patchell-Evans, of GoodLife Fitness in London Ontario. “Patch”, as his friends call him, is a big supporter of Autism Canada, which is dedicated to getting information out to families about all available treatments. Autism Canada believes in a holistic approach to treating autism and encourages all parents to seek information on the biomedical, behavioural and nutritional treatment options that are available.
This is just a short note to review a recent fundraising event held for Autism Canada called Harmony And Hope….thanks to the sponsorship of a wonderful choral group and the generosity of London’s Cherryhill Mall and Mary R. Di Salvo Financial Services.
As the audience gathered in the Sanctuary of what must be one our most beautiful and historic churches, the building was filled with the sound of exquisite organ music played by the talented Aaron James.
The Conspirato Singers of London hosted this fabulous concert at First St. Andrews Church in London on February 22nd. It was the perfect venue for what can only be described as a choral extravaganza. With a big smile on his face, Jeffrey Beynon of Medway High School exclaimed from the centre of the main sanctuary, during his choir’s rehearsal, “You know…this room LOVES music”.
All of the proceeds from the concert went to benefit Autism Canada. The weather was great and the turnout was even better than expected. Autism Canada took in about $4,000.00 and expenses were minimal , as so much was done by volunteers. This money will help Autism Canada continue its important work. As Executive Director Laurie Mawlam, herself the Mother of a child diagnosed with autism puts it, Autism Canada is “Engaging, educating, empowering and uniting people to find the cause and the cure for Autism.
(Autism Canada also supports the very promising research of Dr. Derrick MacFabe at The University of Western Ontario. Dr. MacFabe and his team are working hard to solve the mystery of autism).
Just a word here about the host choir, “Conspirato”; the name comes from the Latin, meaning “to breathe together”. It’s a group of 24 voices (male and female), based on democratic principles – meaning that all members have input into how the choir goes about its work. Conspirato performed under the direction of the talented Liska Jetchick, one of the choir’s founding members; she was assisted by Kristin Darsaut . Their music was inspiring, uplifting and unforgettable. If this choir is ever in your neighborhood…definitely go see them and drink in their amazing energy.
In fact, the entire evening was one of energy and enthusiasm.
The Medway High School Senior Choir kicked off the programme on an upbeat note with a brilliant rendition of Loch Lomond and a moving interpretation of O Magnum Mysterium, by Lauridson. The Medway voices…rich, exciting and melodic teenagers …were directed by Jeffrey Beynon and Kathy Fulton, who have been instrumental in maintaining the international reputation of the Medway choir.
Then there was The Canadian Celtic Choir, also founded in London. Conductor Dan Surman led this dedicated group through one of the most touching musical compositions I have ever heard, called “Prayer For The Children”…a song composed and written by American musician Kurt Bestor, who was deeply moved by the effect of the conflict in Bosnia on the children there. The audience was spellbound. This choir’s next big engagement will be in Maui, Hawaii in early March.
Following the Celtic version of the beautiful song “Rhythm of Life”, we were treated to a performance by a young man who is surely destined to become one of Canada’s great pianists. University of Western Ontario student, Timothy Cheung, in a virtuoso performance, played Frederic Chopin’s Ballade No. 4. He received a standing ovation.
And just before intermission there was a very special treat. Something that few of us get to experience in our lifetimes. A Mother and daughter duo sang one of their own compositions, called “Possibilities”.
What made this performance so special was the fact that Kim is Mom to Sara, who has grown up in the realm of autism. Together they demonstrated the love that parents feel for their children, the inspirational power of music and its healing qualities. Kim and Sara Souch are planning a cross-Canada tour starting in the spring.
Their performance brought tears to the eyes of many.
After a short intermission, a unique choir of twelve beautiful young women sang 4 short songs that showed just how creative and original a group of human voices can be. Their name is “Project Sing!”. They performed under the direction of Professor Jennifer Moir of UWO and their goal is to explore new means of expression through choral art. Ms Moir says the choir likes to do pieces that resonate with them and there is no doubt that the music they performed resonated with the audience.
The evening’s programme concluded with the all of the choirs massed together in a great collection of talented voices to perform one of the foremost choral works of all time: “Hymn To Freedom” .
All in all it was a beautiful and memorable evening.
An Embarrassment for an embarrassing Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Toronto Star Columnist Thomas Walkom advanced an important story on Thursday…one that has been virtually ignored by the mainstream media, the Canadian Government and the general public.
The story has to do with what amounts to the murder of an unarmed Canadian soldier by the Israeli military 2 years ago, during the failed invasion of Lebanon. It was reported here on this blog the day following publication of the findings of a Canadian Armed Forces Inquiry. at the beginning of February.
Mr. Walkon moved the story forward by speaking with the Canadian soldier’s widow and his column is must reading for anyone who cares about our troops. You can read the Walkom column here.
Furthermore, anyone who truly does care about our troops will contact their M.P., which you can do by email… and by complaining to Prime Minister Harper about his lack of compassion and concern.
Harper’s snail mail:
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900
email: pm@pm.gc.ca
NB. It should be noted that 3 other unarmed soldiers were killed by the Israelis at the same time as our Canadian Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener; however their names were not mentioned in the Canadian report. They were from China, Austria and Finland.
NB2. Israel did not cooperate with the Canadian Investigation.
