A year from this month, July 2011, Canadian troops will withdraw from Afghanistan. Is this a good move? It's debatable. However, if you're looking for a reasonably accurate geo-political primer wrapped in an entertaining and informative format, rent the video, Charlie Wilson's War. For a whole lot of reasons it's a good flick.
First, the movie features boobs, bungles and boorish behaviour. Just like Ottawa.
Second, for G.F. Handel fans, it uses the "And He shall purify," chorus from Handel's Messiah as a musical backdrop to the scene showing Afghan freedom fighters downing Soviet helicopters with American-supplied Stinger missiles.
Taking a piece from the world's most-recognized Christian oratorio to showcase Muslims shooting down Russians is in itself delicious irony.
Third, actor Philip Seymour Hoffman does a superb job portraying CIA agent Gust Avrakotos. For his part in the film, Hoffman garnered an Oscar nomination for best-supporting actor. In real-life Afghanistan, Avrakotos played a critical role as the operational brains behind Operation Cyclone, the largest covert initiative in the CIA's history. During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, agent Avrakotos supplied the rebel Afghan Mujahideen forces with arms, including the fore-mentioned antiaircraft missile launchers.
Finally - and back to the reality of Canadian politics for the next year - Charlie Wilson's War pretty well sums up the Afghan dilemma facing Ottawa as our military withdrawal date approaches.
The film ends with the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the closing scenes, Congressman Charlie Wilson and CIA agent Avrakotos express concern with the future of the war-torn country as American support ends. Speaking to this, Avrakotos says, "I'm going to give you an intelligence estimate that shows the crazies are rolling into Kandahar." The film ends leading us to believe one of the "crazies" was Osama bin Laden.
Fast forward to now and not much has changed. The Taliban resistance is the current enemy. We've lost 150 Canadian troops. Canadian parliamentarians are caught up with our future role in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Harper is sticking with the July 2011 withdrawal date, while Liberal opposition leader Michael Ignatieff says we need to remain.
Ignatieff argues that Canadian troops need to stay in Afghanistan as military and police trainees when the 10-year combat mission ends. Ignatieff says the Harper position on Afghanistan is wobbly and based on an oddly narrow reading of a 2008 parliamentary motion.
Ignatieff has a point, the parliamentary motion reads, "Canada will end its presence Kandahar as of July 2011." The motion is silent on Canadian presence - military or otherwise - for the rest of the country.
So who's right? Is it Stephen Harper, Michael Ignatieff, or Charlie Wilson?
An argument can be made that had the U.S. government listened to Wilson and Avrakotos, Sept.11/2001 wouldn't have happened, nor would the Taliban insurgency have surfaced as such an effective and deadly resistance force.
But that was then, this is now. The country, unlike the time when the Soviets left in 1989 is now caught up in a brutal civil and religious-extremist war. July 2011 is coming quickly; Canadians want a resolution, an end to the loss of life and an honourable exit to our military commitment. Stephen Harper realizes Canada has made a significant contribution to stabilizing a seemingly ungovernable country and for the time being, Michael Ignatieff must accept the parliamentary date. It's murky, but there is little we can do except withdraw, catch our breath and acknowledge that more has to be done.
Military might doesn't work. The Soviets killed a million Afghans during their ten-year occupation of Afghanistan, but were still driven out
When, and if, an opportunity arises for Canada to engage in a non-military way in Afghanistan, then we should respond. But for the time being, we're involved in a no-win conflict. It's time to cut Afghanistan loose. We cannot determine the fate of the nation. Afghanistan must decide on its own how it will be governed. When that determination is made, and if Canada is asked to contribute in a constructive way to rebuilding the country, then we can respond. Until then, July 2011 stands.
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Paul Zanette - a builder.
Paul Zanette truly made Prince George a better place to live. His architectural foresight in the design and development of the University of Northern British Columbia is a lasting testament to his extraordinary talents. In all he did, he brought positive change to Prince George. We owe you a lot Paul, thanks for everything.
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