Oppose the scourge of war

The war in Afghanistan has become the central issue of Canadian politics. A clear majority of Canadians are now opposed to the current mission, and want the troops to come home now. But almost all the federal parties insist on

keeping troops in Afghanistan until 2009.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, if he had his way, would keep them there much longer.

The Canadian Peace Alliance has called for Oct. 27 to be named as a pan-Canadian day of Action for Peace. Canadians will be marching and rallying in cities and towns across the country to support our troops by bringing them home from the futile struggle in Afghanistan, where too many Canadian and Afghan lives are being lost for very little improvement in the conditions in which the people of Afghanistan are living, despite what we are told by our government.

On the same day, our friends in the US will be calling for an end to the war in Iraq -- and, one would hope, to the ever-louder sabre-rattling toward Iran in which Bush regime is presently engaged. International demonstrations

against the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan are also being planned in the Netherlands, Denmark, South Korea and elsewhere.

Here in our own area, a Peace March and Rally are being planned under the auspices of the Voice of Women for Peace, the Council of Canadians, and other local groups. People -- hopefully lots of us -- will gather near the

Acadia Student Union Building, perhaps on Highland Avenue near the SUB, if the strike is still going on, and will march to the Wolfville post office, where a rally featuring speeches and songs will take place.

Please join us, to express your opposition to War as a solution to human problems. Bring signs, banners, drums and noise-makers, and join your friends and neighbors in opposing the scourge of war.

Michaele Kustudic

Wolfville