An Ear to the Ground and an Eye on Afghanistan

Don’t let Anti-Americanism and the fear of George Bush Overshadow our Global Responsibilities.
“We shouldn’t be in Afghanistan”. This is familiar refrain that I hear many times each day. Well we aren’t in Afghanistan are we? Our Troops are. The troops have spoken openly about their mission and it is now rather clear that they want to be there and are rather proud of this opportunity to provide stability to that country while it is reborn as a freer state. It is also ever more increasingly clear that some are willing to die for such a cause. Quite frankly, the anti-Bush rhetoric is getting both tiring and annoying. It is muddling our perception of just what it is that our men and women are doing over there.
First of all, we are not fighting “Bush’s War”. That war is in Iraq. What we are contributing to is a sanctioned multi-national mission of regional security and reconstruction. Let’s not forget that as members of both NATO and the UN we have responsibilities. These responsibilities include the very type of commitment we have made to Afghanistan. How long could we keep bowing out of such duties?
So the US started and led the multi-national action in Afghanistan. Now they are turning it over to NATO and, moreover, under Canadian leadership. If we are so afraid of Bush then what can be wrong with this change? The Americans will move onto the War in Iraq while Canadians and their Allies will finish the job in Afghanistan. The US has already taken the greatest losses there and did most of the dirty work. Regardless of their own reasons there is no negative side to removing the oppressive Taliban and routing Al Qaeda from the region. And for those that think that Al Qaeda posed no threat to us well¼ .I beg to differ. When I served under the UN flag in Eritrea and Ethiopia in 2001 it was evident that Al Qaeda had trained and supported the groups that posed the most threat to our personnel and to peace and stability in the area. When the Eritrean Islamic Salvation Front threatened to take UN personnel hostage to protest the peace agreement intelligence showed that those threats, and support for them, came from Afghanistan. Yes, that’s right Afghanistan; and a mere 4-5 months before the tragic events of 911. Now, most won’t see that as a threat to Canada but is was a threat against Canadians and many other westerners working in the region to secure peace. Any threat to Canadians is a threat to our nation.
The fight against global terrorism is both a responsibility and a necessity. Just because the Yanks led the way this time doesn’t mean that it is the wrong thing to do. So the US is having a little trouble keeping a pure and democratic separation of church and state; the tide will change. And when Bush and his bible-pounding cronies are gone; wouldn’t it be nice to still have the respect and trust of our allies?

Kel Hancock has served with the Canadian Forces. As a career infantry soldier he has seen active duty in the Balkans, East Africa as well as on domestic operations.
He is now retired from the military and resides in the Annapolis Valley, NS.