Canada's Afghanistan Mission Destabilizing

"Canada right now, they're in full support of what the U.S. is doing, in terms of the worst aspects of U.S. policy in Afghanistan, which I think are the combat operations that the U.S. is undergoing, the so-called hunt for terrorists. Canada is right behind them, in fact they're probably the most enthusiastic," Mr. Ingalls said. He called the mission's military tactics "counter-productive" if the intent is to achieve "a stable Afghanistan where people are capable of controlling their own destiny." Instead, he said, the country is being destabilized with the steady death of civilians and suspected Taliban fighters. "They're just driving more and more people into the arms of the Taliban, convincing people that the Taliban rhetoric about the 'foreign invaders' is true, that they're being oppressed by a foreign, occupying force, that is not there legitimately or that is not there in the interests of the people," he said. Last week, NATO air strikes reportedly killed 22 civilians and injured scores of others in two provinces of Afghanistan. NATO says it makes every attempt to avoid "collateral damage," and coalition troops say Taliban fighters hide among the local population. Mr. Ingalls' book, co-authored with Sonali Kolhatkar, argues that the invasion of Afghanistan has neither improved American security nor freed the Afghanistan people, and it comes as the opposition parties are increasing their calls on the governing Conservatives to put more emphasis on the humanitarian side of the Canadian-led NATO mission. The Liberals have called for a more balanced mission, emphasizing its humanitarian aspects, and the New Democrats have called for a process to withdraw Canadian troops and to include the Taliban in diplomatic discussions. But last week Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay (Central Nova, N.S.) called the NDP position naïve in a speech to the Canadian International Centre at the Lester B. Pearson Building in Ottawa. "Do they think that the insurgents really believe in compromise and fair play? Are they blind to the unspeakable and inhumane practices of torture and human degradation that was carried out by this Taliban regime?" Mr. MacKay said. "Canada came to Kandahar to confront the insurgents, not to avoid them." The Hill Times http://www.hilltimes.com/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2006/october/23/afghanmission/&c=1

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