Since becoming Canada's top soldier two years ago, Hillier has pushed the politicians hard.At his own swearing-in ceremony, he criticized Paul Martin for underfunding the military
Isn't that the CDS's job? To try to do the best for the military? So a position created by the government and supported by all Canadians is finally being filled correctly, and it's a bad thing?
He browbeat the Liberal cabinet into volunteering troops for a combat mission to Kandahar.
Hmmm, if a government succumbs to any position/person then i would not call them a very good government, but a very good thing they are not in power.
The Martin government also assumed Canada would contribute to the combat mission for a limited time only.
Then-prime minister Martin and his ministers assumed Canadian casualties would be limited.
Wow, this Liberal government commits its troops to a mission without fully researching it? They signed up for Kandahar based entirely on assumptions! Just woke up the day the mission was up for grabs, rushed to the UN early, and made sure they were first in line for the sign up sheet.
Foiled terrorist plots in Toronto and London were reportedly motivated, at least in part, by anger at the presence of Western troops in Afghanistan.
Note to author, Canadian troops were in Kabul prior to Hillier. And "Western" includes the US, who commits troops there as well.
A new approach is clearly needed, one that focuses on effective and transparent development assistance, the training and ongoing support of a well-paid and professional Afghan police force, and dialogue and diplomacy with at least some of the groups we're fighting against.
Where has this guy been in the past few years? I'm pretty sure a police and military force is being trained. Pretty hard to just train without combatting the criminals.
We should just offer the taliban a peace treaty, snd let each side build up and train their forces. Thus hoping more afghans defy taliban threats to join their "army"; but choose to sign up for the West's Wonder Police Force instead (which offers huge salaries paid for by taxpayers' money of course! Then, when we feel the WWPF is well enough trained, we'll pull out entirely, (to avoid a combat role), and let them handle their own problem.
He's played a highly unusual public role in promoting the mission, and has even used wounded soldiers as part of an elaborate cross-Canada PR campaign.
So he's saying not to get Canadian support behind the troops?
On Friday, Hillier, who claims to be non-partisan, called the Liberal cutbacks of the 1990s a "decade of darkness" for the military.
Actually the military enjoyed the constant budget cuts, ask any soldier serving in that era.
Last week, the Senate Defence Committee asked: "Are Canadians willing to commit themselves to decades of involvement in Afghanistan, which could cost hundreds of Canadian lives and billions of dollars, with no guarantee of ending up with anything like the kind of society that makes sense to us?"
I think there are a fair few Canadians, who believe in promoting a higher standard of life, and trying to share the great quality of living we have in this country with nations who do not.
He's got one thing right though, there is no guarantee this mission will work, but damn I think it's well worth a try.
(Always remember for every left-wing concept, there is a right-wing concept.)
