Canadian way better than other options

Folks often talk about nuances in diplomacy, and we saw just that at the Montebello summit.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President George Bush seemed to agree Canadian troops could well be out of the combat role in Afghanistan by February, 2009. They said it with smiles.

Something’s up.

I think I know what it is: it’s as simple as getting rid of the witnesses.

Once the Canadians, Dutch and British leave Southern Afghanistan, the Americans will have the neighbourhood to themselves, to do with as they see necessary and fit - and using all their devastating toys while they do it.

Who’s going to stop them? The American media has been too tied up with Iraq. In fact, they appear to be just about tired of it all. Nobody will be watching. Afghanistan will be out of sight and out of mind. Sort of like now, except for the international presence.

Now, the Americans have some top-notch counterinsurgency and special operations troops – not quite up to British and Australian standards on an individual basis, but close. They also have some really sorry specimens – semi-trained, semi-motivated and semi-interested – and they all have access to the most violent conventional war-fighting hardware available.

Let me illustrate: serving in that general neighbourhood immediately prior to the last century, Sir Winston Churchill pointed out the British public didn’t have the stomach for some necessary counterpartisan actions on the part of the army – things like “visiting” a village and “punishing” a household. Euphemisms had to be used in Parliament and the street.

Contrast that with what American troops were doing in the Philippines about that time – going about “civilizing” folks with a Krag rifle.

In the current situation, Canadians have worried at length over such things as collateral casualties and treatment of terrorist prisoners. I could never figure why NDP leader Jack Layton and his ilk would want the Americans to take the Afghan combat project on their own and to subject the Afghan people – even the bad ones -- to all that means.

Now, Harper and Bush are on side. If things go wrong, Harper can blame it on Jack – and Stephane, and a whole raft of naives who failed to fully support the Canadian way.

No more solid Canadian values and techniques in painstakingly-provided security while building a viable society.

Good work, Jack. Something wasn’t thought through.