How would one counter-argue these statements (much of the oppositions material is from this resource).
http://acp-cpa.ca/en/M172007.htm
In Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, a country which was already ravaged by 30 years of war, the situation is also very bleak after more than five years of 'allied' military occupation.
According to Human Rights Watch, more than half of the Members of Parliament elected in September 2005 are linked to armed groups, guilty of past human rights violations; the illegal growing and processing of poppies has again become the main economic activity of the country (Afghanistan provides more than 90% of world heroin). According to Amnesty International, thousands of Afghans have been tortured by the US army or armed Afghan groups under its control. According to the UNHCR, there are still more than 3,000,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran, and approximately 120,000 internally displaced in Afghanistan.
Finally, according to WOMANKIND Worldwide, after five years and contrary to media-fed illusions, it is imperative that the media, donor governments, international organisations and the Afghan government acknowledge the lack of progress in the domain of women's rights and immediately take action in key areas of education, the legal system, security services, healthcare, and livelihoods to transform paper rights to rights in practice.
In Canada, the simultaneous announcements by ministers Peter McKay and Josée Verner of projects
totalling about 20 million dollars in Afghanistan -10 million to pay police salaries, 8.8 millions for landmine removal and 1.9 million to stimulate community development in Kandahar - are mere crumbs when one remembers that Canada wastes more than one billion dollars per year to continue its war in that country...
----Wasn't there a recent announcement of a commitment to much more funds for Afghan relief and not the war effort specifically?