Canadian involvment in Afghanistan

Canada does not have an interest in becoming a leadership force in Afghanistan. Petty sentiments aside, there are simply no tangible gains that can be acquired by transforming our role from a supporting force to a primary force, particularly when resources that are scant must be diverted towards this commitment and away from other international and domestic priorities.

And what makes you think that we haven’t fulfilled our commitments in Afghanistan before assuming the task of rebuilding Kandahar?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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Really? Because I thought that Afghanistan, espeically the southern provinces, is a haven for terrorist fundraising. To put it simply, if we're going to be in on the War on Terror, we have a part to play. To put it quite honestly, it has far more than "petty sentiment" at hand. The Canadian Forces are actively protecting Canada and its allies by hindering terroist efforts in Afghanistan, hence contributiing to national secturity, global stability and prospoerity...fior both Canadians and Afghans.

Canadian troops were playing an active role in Afghanistan long before they were transferred to Kandahar. Our prior role was also more in line with our military capacity, which is far from capable of meeting the demands of the current mission without committing resources that are simply not available for a mission of this scale.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by loyalist

You can't fight it with appeasement, either. Canada is taking a 3D approach: defence, diplomacy and development to combat terrorism. The fact is that unless we or one of our allies have troops stationed there, the Taliban will re-emerge, continue growing poppies and Al-Queada will renew training camps and planning operations.

Although Canada is part of the coalition presence in Afghanistan, you have to be able to abstract their role from the mission as a whole. We play a small part in a larger operation that is coalescence of several larger countries, and each role is finely crafted to meet the respective capacities of each country. Canada is currently tacking an operation that exceeds its capacity, and irresponsibly puts the military apparatus under severe strain in terms of procuring the right vehicles, training and general infrastructure needed to wage this type of war (modern guerilla warfare, a phenomenon that Canada has never encountered).

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.