Friday, December 07, 2007

Staying the course in Afghanistan

I recently met a Canadian Soldier while we were both getting our hair cut at our local barber shop. He had just returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He is an infantry Soldier with the Queen's Own Rifles. He described the situation of the average Afghani citizen as desperate.

Thes people have virtually nothing and all that they want is to live their lives in peace, something the Taliban is determined ruin.

The chances of a NATO country stepping up to the plate to take Canada's combat role when our mandate runs out in February 2009 is slim to none. Those countries currently involved in fighting the Taliban, besides the Americans, are Britain, The Netherlands (which just recently extended their mission) and Denmark. The French and the Germans have decided to chicken out and hide on there bases in the secure north of the country.

The south is where the fighting is. The Canadian people need to be reminded what murderous scum the Taliban really are. Afghani citizens speaking in private with Canadian S0ldiers readily say that the Taliban are not Muslims. The Taliban do drugs and drink. They rape women and small boys. But the worst thing they do is torture and kill for offences that are as trivial as not having a long enough beard.

Our Canadian Soldiers are good at what they do. They volunteered for this mission. Canadian's need to know that there are Warriors among us who are ready and willing to fight, not only for the people of Afghanistan but for their country. For if the Taliban are allowed to return to power in Afghanistan then the entire Middle East dynamic will change for the worse.

Al-Qaeda will move back in with a vengeance and start training to fight a war with the west. We can not allow this to happen.

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