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Canadian FM urges countrymen to support troops
 Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay says that despite mounting casualties in Afghanistan, Canadians should be standing behind their troops rather than questioning their deployment. "This is the type of mission that is demanded in this day and age," MacKay said. "Terrorism, which has its roots in Afghanistan, is something that we have committed to fight with our allies." MacKay said it would have been preferable if the former Liberal government had held a parliamentary vote before dispatching the first Canadian soldiers to Afghanistan in 2002, as part of a U.S.-led coalition sent to root out al-Qaida operatives and the Taliban government that had protected them. Now that the troops are there, the Conservatives are determined to continue down the path charted by their predecessors, said MacKay. "The last thing we want to show is any wavering or any backing away from the commitment of our Canadian troops. We have to be 100 per cent behind them." His comments came as the remains of the latest two soldiers to perish on the Afghan mission were being flown to CFB Trenton, Ont. Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson and Cpl. Paul Davis succumbed to injuries suffered when their armoured vehicle accidentally rolled over. A dozen others were hurt in the last week in accidents, bombings and rocket-propelled grenade attacks. The most seriously wounded were Cpl. Michael Loewen, who will need reconstructive surgery to save an arm after a suicide bomb attack, and Lieut. Treveor Greene, who took an axe to the head when he was ambushed at a meeting with village elders. New Democrats and some Liberals have been calling for a debate when the Commons resumes next month and a vote on whether to continue the mission. NDP Leader Jack Layton contended Sunday that the nature of the deployment has changed for the 2,200 Canadians currently in Afghanistan. "We certainly don't want to become involved in a protracted war," Layton said. "The goal of Canadians being in Afghanistan was in our more traditional role of peacekeeping, peacemaking." Ujjal Dosanjh, the new Liberal defence critic, has also maintained that the situation has changed and has pressed for renewed debate on the mission. That drew a sharp rebuke last week from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who accused the Liberals of playing politics now that they're in opposition. "You do not send men and women into harm's way on a dangerous mission with the support of our party and other Canadians, and then decide, once they're over there, that you're not sure you should have sent them," said Harper. Opposition Leader Bill Graham, when he was defence minister, warned last year of the potential for casualties in operations around Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan. So did Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of defence staff, who more recently has suggested it could take a decade to rebuild the country. It appears many Canadians either ignored the warnings or have had a change of heart since then. Opinion polls suggest declining public support for the mission in the wake of the recent casualties. One survey by Strategic Counsel indicated 62 per cent of respondents were against the deployment. Another poll by Ipsos-Reid, with questions framed differently, found 52 per cent support for the mission, but that was down from 66 per cent in 2002. The first Canadian contingent dispatched four years ago engaged in combat operations. Starting in 2003, however, the Canadian focus shifted to much less dangerous patrol duties in the capital of Kabul. That has changed again with the move to Kandahar, where Canadians again face a hostile environment and renewed attacks by insurgents. Posted by: lotp 2006-03-06 |
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