Afghan Extension Risky for Soldiers and Ignatieff

The pundits argue that extending Canada's mission in Afghanistan could put both the military and the Liberal leader in harm's way.

The National Post’s John Ivison reports that there is dissent among the Liberal ranks in the wake of the Conservatives’ decision to extend the Afghan mission and redefine it as a training operation. Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae had long been suggestion such an extension, and until this week it was one of the few things differentiating Liberal and Conservative foreign policies. The idea is not popular among the Grit rank and file however, and Ivision says, “If Mr. Harper gets wind of how divided the Opposition caucus is” he may decide to expose the rifts in the Liberal Party and the weakness of Ignatieff's leadership by taking the Afghan extension to a parliamentary vote. Assuming some one in the Conservative Party reads the National Post, Harper now does have wind of it, so let’s see what happens.

The Globe and Mail takes issue with the description, fueled in part by government statements, of the post-2011 training mission as relatively risk-free, calling that idea “at best a clumsy bit of political subterfuge … So long as there are Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan there will be a risk of casualties. Conservative and Liberal politicians owe it to Canadians to be clear on this point.” Aside from the Globe’s call for honesty, it should be pointed out that it’s in government’s best interest to come clean on this issue, unless Ottawa wants to take serious heat in the inevitable event that a Canadian soldier is killed.

“It would be a disservice to the memories of our fallen soldiers if a botched, hasty exit were to imperil the achievements of Canada's nine-year combat mission in Afghanistan,” declares the Ottawa Citizen. Canadians must train Afghans in counterinsurgency because, “No path to peace can succeed with the Taliban in the ascendant.” Not to harp on about this, but if current peace talks succeed, the Taliban will not only be in the ascendant but in the government, and editorialists’ refusal to acknowledge this possibility (the Globe editorial also asserts leaving early “would be tantamount to handing victory to the Taliban”) is getting weird, quite frankly.