CTV:
NDP Leader Jack Layton says Canada should pull its troops out of Afghanistan by February because the mission has gone astray.Sniping at both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President George W. Bush, Layton said the Afghan mission has lost its direction.
It has no clear goals, no exit strategy and no criteria to judge success, he said at a news conference Thursday.
"This is not the right mission for Canada,'' he said. "There is no balance. In particular, it lacks a comprehensive rebuilding plan and commensurate development assistance.''
The focus in Afghanistan has changed from reconstruction to open war and Canada should have no part of it, he said.
You're a goddamned liar, Layton. It was a combat mission from the word go.
Defence Minister Art Eggleton said Monday that Canada is sending warships, planes, and special forces troops to join in the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan. The mission is dubbed Operation Apollo."Canadian Forces will become an integral part of the overall campaign," Eggleton told a news conference.
"This campaign will be unlike any campaign we've engaged in before," he said. "Every role in this campaign is significant. Every country determined to halt terror can make an important difference."
Eggleton said the operation will involve six naval ships, six air force planes, special forces soldiers, and more than 2,000 Canadian troops.
[...]
Canada's special forces anti-terrorist squad, Joint Task Force 2, has been requested and will be deployed.
They weren't there to hand out cupcakes, Jacko.
The Taliban doesn't seem to have any diplomatic presence in Canada, but if you're so eager to surrender, I'm sure we could arrange transportation to Kandahar. That'll have been the first time you've bothered to visit Afghanistan, yes?
Comments (8)
I think Layton forgot all this part, there's a blank, maybe his memory goes down. He just remembers when they were Casques bleus (don't know in english)
Posted by benp | September 1, 2006 8:29 PM
Posted on September 1, 2006 20:29
What changed Layton's opinion of Canada's mission in Afghanistan when we were in Kabul to now? We have the same mandate as Kabul as we do now in Kandahar. It is about rebuilding but they need to stop the Taliban from destroying.
Posted by Mozart Is Cool Too | September 1, 2006 8:52 PM
Posted on September 1, 2006 20:52
UN Peacekeepers/Blue Helmets
Posted by DJeffery | September 1, 2006 9:54 PM
Posted on September 1, 2006 21:54
UN Peacekeepers/Blue Helmets
Tourists with blue hats
Posted by marybeth | September 1, 2006 10:29 PM
Posted on September 1, 2006 22:29
So Jack wants our troops to become Donut-Dolly's in Lebanon while REAL soldier fight the Taliban in Afgan.
Maybe Jack could tell us exactly which year he would have enter WW2 if he was in charge at that time, and when would he have pulled our troops when the body bags came home .
Posted by roger | September 1, 2006 10:54 PM
Posted on September 1, 2006 22:54
"Once More Into The Breech"
Shouldn't that be "Once More Out Of The Breech"
Posted by deb | September 1, 2006 11:04 PM
Posted on September 1, 2006 23:04
Here is the tactic, and it works damn well. If you keep repeating something enough, it becomes fact regardless of whether or not it is. That's what Jack is hoping, and why the Liberals are oddly quiet about the whole deal. HERE is the link I use in my posts on Jacks rantings, it's Defence Minister bill Grahams speach from '05....
[..]
That is why we were there as early as 2002, in Kandahar, in a combat mission to deal with international terrorism. It is why we pressed for NATO to take over ISAF and then subsequently provided some 2,000 troops to a mission led by Gen Rick Hillier, today the Chief of the Defence Staff.
[..]
Jack just likes the sound of his own voice. Add to the fact he has no actual facts to back his claim up, he just figures Canadians are dumb enough to buy it, and from the looks of a few blogs, they are. If Jack had his way our military would be mowing lawns on The Hill....
Posted by DazzlinDino | September 2, 2006 8:14 AM
Posted on September 2, 2006 08:14
Grandstanding Jack has the solution for peace in Afghanistan but he refuses to implement it - what a cruel and heartless man. He says that by talking to the Taliban everything would be allright etc. So obviously he knows what to say to them, but he's unwilling to use these words that will lead to peace. That's purely evil - prolonging a war in order to keep it as an electoral issue, when he could simply stop it - Jack is a cruel man.
Posted by philanthropist | September 2, 2006 10:13 PM
Posted on September 2, 2006 22:13