How the Afghanistan Mission Could Work
Canada joined ISAF in 2002, as part of a nation-building and reconstruction programme in Afghanistan. Canadians thought this would be a project overseen and commanded by the United Nations. However, in reality…it is a project overseen and directed by U.S. Central Command.
A fatal flaw.
The military operations in Afghanistan are the product of a hydra-headed command structure which no one really understands. It contains U.N. elements (ISAF), NATO elements (combat boots on the ground) and American elements: i.e. the real power.
To quote the Prime Minister’s term with respect to the Canadian parliament…this is a dysfunctional enterprise.
It will remain dysfunctional as long as the overall operation is controlled by the United States.
The Canadian government would be wise to go to the Security Council and ask for a re-vamped mandate in Afghanistan under a unified command…with input from all the countries of the region including Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Gulf States and the nations of south central Asia.
Until there is a broader committment from the international community…we are blowing smoke and carrying water and we should pull out.
