YOU BLEW IT

OPEN LETTER TO GENERAL HILLIER

Dear Rick,

Far be it from me Rick, to tell you how to run the Canadian Armed Forces. I make no pretense of possessing any administrative skills whatsoever. Nor am I knowledgeable, even in the remotest sense, about military tactics, planning, or troop deployment.

However, I do understand a little history and a smidgen of political science. Plus, over the years, I’ve picked up a modicum of common sense. (Some would dispute that).

I’m writing this to you as a loyal Canadian and as someone who is essentially sympathetic to the dilemma in which you find yourself.

It’s a dilemma not of your making. And as you know, it’s not dissimilar to the one in which the United States military is currently mired in Iraq.  Their dilemma centres around the issue of corruption and misappropriation by government authorities and civil servants. But primarily it has arisen out of the tactical errors of the country’s leadership- both civilian and military. Your case is a bit different, in that it centres primarily around the government of Afghanistan…and the interpretation of the commitment your own country has to NATO, of which we are a leading member. 

You may have been too busy to notice that the taxpaying citizens of The United States have rejected their government and military activities in both Iraq and Afghanistan. They are calling for a new strategy. But of course there is no military strategy that can win in either place. By now, even you- as a ‘true believer’ – must realize that.

In your recent statements, Rick, you, like our Prime Minister, come across as being just the tiniest bit out of touch with your compatriots.
In that sense, you’re beginning to look a  bit like George Bush but without the political standing he has as a civilian leader. It seems that our Prime Minister is staying more or less mum on the matter and in so doing,  is making you look like a bit of a patsy. Sorry to be so blunt, but I’m afraid it’s true.

But Rick, here’s the real crux of the problem.

The Americans don’t have serving officers at your level and immediately below, saying negative things about the previous "commander-in-chief" or the previous government. They may not agree with everything that government does, but they recognize- at least on the surface- that soldiers such as them – take their marching orders from the civilian authority, wrong-headed as
that authority may be. It’s important for you to keep in mind that in a democracy, the elected  government represents the broad spectrum of taxpaying citizens.  (Oh I know- lots of military men have criticized Bush but it’s always after they either retire or get fired.)

In any event, your dilemma remains.

You and our men and women of CAF are being asked to do something that most informed observers know is well beyond your ability to carry out successfully, no matter how long you remain active in the theatre and no matter how well-armed you might be.  (By the way Rick- why do they call it a "theatre?)

Granted, the previous Liberal regime in Ottawa got us into the mess in the first place. But in fairness, Rick, they did it as part of a NATO initiative aimed at helping the Afghan government. It was and still is called the International Security and Assistance Force, Rick. Assistance.  That means helping out Afghanistan’s own military and police forces. It doesn’t mean fighting their war for them.

As you are finally beginning to learn…Afghanistan is no less a challenge than Iraq, in terms of the variety of competing interests within the country, few of which seem to be fully on our side.

Your intelligence reports have consistently emphasized the various problems and pitfalls. Those reports have told you about the extent of corruption within the Afghan government; about the the payoffs to government officials by warlords, tribal leaders and drug barons; and please be honest Rick- those reports give reasonable grounds for the suspicion that elements within the government are more than a little sympathetic to the so-called insurgents or "scumbags" as you once called them.

Your more recent remarks imply that CAF was crippled by the previous administration in Ottawa. You suggested that Jean Chretien and his party presided over a decade of darkness, during which our military were emasculated. The further implication is, of course, that we could be doing a lot better job in Afghanistan than we are- if only the government had been more generous to CAF.

Rick, this is simplistic thinking at its most egregious, really. It’s unworthy of a great military mind; and although it grieves me to say so, by all accounts your military mind isn’t so great.
You know in your heart Rick, that previous funding levels are not the problem. You know that a big part of the problem is with the policy, as it was initiated by the previous government and expanded by this one. And moreover, you know that an even bigger part of the problem is with an undependable government in Kabul. [Incidentally Rick, an awful lot of people think you might be a closet Conservative. (How disturbing is that?)]

Politics aside Rick, common sense tells us that six long and bloody years of Afghan deployment have really accomplished very little. Apart from a modest amount of re-construction, the building of a few schools, medical centres, streets in Kabul and a few other road projects,
all the old problems of Afghanistan remain in abundance and if the intelligence is correct, they’re getting worse.

Drug production is at an all time high. The warlords are more powerful than ever. Corruption in the official Afghan government is unstoppable. Waste both in human and material terms is appalling. I could go on, Rick, but I know you know all this and a lot more besides.

Surely it’s discouraging to you that our "foreign minister",
who recently visited Pakistan, made no mention of the obvious complicity between elements of the Pakistan  military and intelligence community and the insurgents our soldiers are fighting next door. Surely you know very well also, that Pakistan has no intention of building a fence along the border with Afghanistan. And even if they could build such a fence, you know perfectly well it would do little to reduce the Taleban ability to move in and out of their Pakistani safe havens.

So let’s get to the point Rick.

You’re beating a dead horse and you know it. You’re offside with the majority of Canadians in your statements and you’re becoming a laughing stock as you continue to run more errands for Harper. You must know too, that both you and Mr. Harper are offside with the majority of the American public.

He will never be re-elected with a majority Rick…and it won’t be long before you’re hung out to dry. Maybe you don’t mind that idea though. Maybe you want to follow in Mackenzie’s footseps and become an "expert" traipsing from TV studio to TV studio .

The difficulty here Rick, is that you’re not quite as smart as Lewis Mackenzie.
It’s more than likely that after this mess in Afghanistan is behind you;  and after the cost is added up both in terms of blood and of money; and after the full extent of the screwups is realized, you won’t be flogging a dead horse anymore- it will be flogging you.

Your best course of action now would be to take a few months to acquire a full assessment of the dilemma, consult privately with some of your American colleagues and then hand in your resignation, with regret.

You blew it.