Afghanistan: Why the Public Should Support the Mission (Pt. 4)

This is part four of a five-part mini-series on Afghanistan. Today: Why the Public Should Support the Mission

The first thing that must be mentioned is that Afghanistan, as the Prime Minister asserted recently, is not Iraq. There is no sectarian violence or ‘civil war’ and the country is relatively safer. Indeed, it has a much brighter future than Iraq – as I’ve mentioned earlier, things are getting accomplished and democratic progress is being accomplished as steps are being made to ensure that security and reconstruction goes hand in hand. Another popular misconception about Canada’s role in Afghanistan is the nature of its mandate. Despite the more unilateral approach of the United States in Iraq, Canada’s involvement holds a mandate from the UN Security Council, and is participating as part of the UN Mission in Afghanistan. Furthermore, there is overwhelming international support for the mission in Afghanistan from democratic states.

What many people need to realize about Afghanistan is the nature of the threat and how it affects them personally. Extremist Islam, manifested in Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, is wholly incompatible with Canadian and democratic values. While I hesitate to use the age-old WWII comparison, burying our heads in the sand in the style of WWII American isolationism will not solve any problems. It surprises me how each generation never fails to contain a group that continues to bear an isolationist mindset despite historical evidence to the contrary. The extremist Islamic ‘totalitarian ideology’ that was allowed to fester in Afghanistan in the 1990s is a dangerous one, one that is being fought in Afghanistan this time, as opposed to on the English Channel or while facing the Iron Curtain. Afghanistan is part of a wider war, this time against the proliferation of an inflexible and undemocratic brand of extremist Islam and fought to counter it before it spreads any further than it already extends to.

Many Canadians see the violence in Afghanistan as a sign that Afghans don’t want us there, but we have to realize that the overwhelming number of jihadis in Afghanistan are foreign fighters. Afghanistan has become a regional arena in the battle for and against Islamic extremism, and now Canada must step up, as we had done in WWII. There is no possibility of negotiation with Al-Qaeda or other extremist groups that stand in direct opposition to our values – we have to challenge and confront them aggressively, which is what we’re doing in Afghanistan with our combat-oriented mission. The failure of our mission in Afghanistan and the re-establishment of a centre for international terrorism could very well be costly to the security of Canadians in the near future.

Canada has long been an advocate of human rights and democracy, whether it be through opposition to Apartheid in South Africa or the joining of the OAS in 1990 to promote the spread of democracy in Central and Southern America. We must continue the tradition here, fighting against an extreme Islamic vision that chokes the individual rights of each Afghan citizen and threatens to choke ours. We must assert the necessity of equal rights for women and work to prevent human rights abuses where we see them. Furthermore, Canadians must stand up together for the reduction of poverty in Afghanistan, to usher in a new era in which Afghans can hold a decent standard of living, something that is extremely hard to accomplish under the stranglehold of a Taliban regime.

Canada is slowly regaining the place in the world we lost under huge budget cuts in the 1990s that prevented the projection of an effective Canadian foreign policy. Today, we must stand firm amongst the international community and assert our presence, declaring through action that Canada is, once again, to be a valuable partner in the proliferation of democracy and liberty in the world. Our first step in that mission starts in Afghanistan.

No one likes to see ramp ceremonies, but it is important to realize that there is a wider objective that Canadian forces are bravely and courageously attempting to complete in South Asia, and that is to prevent the spread of a dangerous ideology that, left unchecked, poses a danger to Canadians abroad and at home. The sacrifice of Canadian forces is one that should be looked upon with the utmost respect and admiration, and this sacrifice is one that these forces take on with perseverance, confidence and the understanding that what they do is necessary for the sake and protection of Afghans, Canadians and the international community.