The weekly Liberal caucus meeting normally runs from 10 am until noon. It looks to go a little longer today. Liberal sources tell CTV News that leader Stephane Dion is being criticized for drawing a line in the sand on Afghanistan. Toronto-area MP Roy Cullen (left) has just stood up, sources say, and flatly told Dion he is wrong on Afghanistan. Not only that, Cullen says he’s damn well going to vote the way he wants to vote — Dion has said the vote will be whipped — and that Cullen is leaning towards voting with the Conservatives.
Cullen was quickly joined by three more Liberal MPs in opposition to the Leader of the Opposition.
On Thursday, a spokesman for Cullen disputed this account:
“Your source has given you misinformation. Mr. Cullen has respected party loyalty and party discipline for the 12 years that he has been an MP. As such he is not going to discuss what occurred at caucus. It is unfortunate that your source does not have the same basic respect for their party or their colleagues.
“However, for the record, Mr. Cullen did at no point ever say that he would vote against the leader, or use the language that you are reporting.”
One only needs to have the IQ of his (her) shoe size to know that no aid workers are safe in Afghanistan unless there is a military prescence there and to oppose the military action for partisan political gain is lowest level of statesmanship you can practise.
No political party has the right try and exploit the misfortunes of another country's citizens for a few votes.
Does Dion think we should rebuild Afghanistan for the benefit of the Taliban and as a training ground for Terrorists?
Does this mean Dion takes all the media heat while Jack and Gilles are off the hook even though they are unequivocally supporting the cut and run mentality?
I sincerely hope their feet get roasted at least as much as Dion's. Lest we forget, indeed.
The only way the Taliban can be routed in Afghanistan is by being overwhelmed for a sustained period of time. There's no way a measly thousand troops will do it. But maybe 10,000 ot 20,000 troops would.
One only needs to look back in history to the last war Canada was involved in that we won and it took a lot more troops than our contingent in Afghanistan.
NATO should throw everything they've got into this war on terrorism if they ever hope to win.
Good for Dion,
Maybe the truth will be revealed in an election…
1. Of the 19 9/11 hijackers, no Afghans, no Taliban. (15 Saudis, 1 Egyptian, 1 Lebanese, 2 from U.A.E.)
2. Under the Taliban, almost complete eradication of heroin production in Afghanistan. Now under Karzai, heroin production increased 50% in 2006 and now over 92% of the world's heroin is produced in Afghanistan (according to the U.N.).
3. An additional 1,000+ additional NATO troops in Kandahar are not enough to get Canada out of its combat mission within a reasonable time frame. Remember, 600,000 Russian troops (with over 14,000 casualties and over 400,000 sick or wounded) and 10 years were not enough.
4. Canada’s sacrifice so far already too great: 89 Honourable Canadians and over $7B.
MississaugaJoan:
Your logic is similar to that of Dion's
Your first point has nothing really to do with this mission, this isn't a war on Afghanistan as many of you try to frame it, we're helping with a civil conflict within the country, to lead them down the road to freedom of liberty and democracy.
Your second point, you state that the Taliban helped to almost completely eradicate heroin production, but since then, production has increased by 50%. An increase of 50% over 'almost complete eradication' would be a number that is completely neglibible. For future reference though, the comparison of a quantitative and qualitative value doesn't tell the reader much. The fact is, in any free society you are prown to have an increase in such problems. We need to concentrate on whether that heroin makes it to Canada rather than putting oppressive regimes back into power to solve our problems.
Your third point, recall that most of Afghanistan is liberated and reconstruction is occurring. It is the southern area that there still remains conflict. We have accomplished more than the Russians ever could.
Your fourth and final point. One, where do you get 89 Canadian deaths? Are you counting Afghan Canadians residing in Afghanistan? Currently the death toll is 78 soldiers, 1 diplomat. If we were to follow along with Dion's recommendations immediately, the numbers would be 78 soldiers, 1 diplomat, x aid workers. It's not the fighting that's causing most Canadian deaths, it's the roadside bombs that kill everyone from Canadian and Afghan soldiers to Afghan civilians. They would kill our aid workers as well, the Tabliban must be stopped.
I wrote:
“Now under Karzai, heroin production increased 50% in 2006 and now over 92% of the world's heroin is produced in Afghanistan (according to the U.N.).”
THAT MEANS FROM 2005 TO 2006, PRODUCTION INCREASED OVER 50%, AND FROM 2006 TO 2007, PRODUCTION INCREASED 34%…
More up-to-date 2007 info is now available from the UN…
http://www.unodc.org/pdf/research/AFG07_ExSum_web.pdf
“In 2007, Afghanistan cultivated 193,000 hectares of opium poppies, an increase of 17% over last year. The amount of Afghan land used for opium is now larger than the corresponding total for coca cultivation in Latin America (Colombia, Peru and Bolivia combined). Favourable weather conditions produced opium yields (42.5 kg per hectare) higher than last year (37.0 kg/ha).
As a result, in 2007 Afghanistan produced an extraordinary 8,200 tons of opium (34% more than in 2006), becoming practically the exclusive supplier of the world's deadliest drug (93% of the global opiates market). Leaving aside 19th century China, that had a population at that time 15 times larger than today's Afghanistan, no other country in the world has ever produced narcotics on such a deadly scale.”
and
“…opium cultivation in Afghanistan is no longer associated with poverty.”
I write:
“4. Canada’s sacrifice so far already too great: 89 Honourable Canadians and over $7B.”
You are correct and I stand corrected. It should read…
Canada’s sacrifice so far already too great: 79 Honourable Canadians and over $7B.
It is the taliban that are buying the opium and using the proceeds from heroin production to buy weapons,ammunition and explosives which they build IED's. If the Taliban isn't stopped you can be sure terrorism will spread. Dion is on this bandwagon not for the safety of the world, only for vote buying.
I just hate to see another one liner from the Harper Government. There should be more debate. This is not a thumbs up or down mission. If Mr Harper really wants ask Home of Commons make the decision, then it need to give the House of Commons the information. It is not enough that Canadians know we Minister Mckay hand out soccer balls while in Afghanistan.
We have the best hockey players in the world but the world does not rely appoint. Canada has been always rely on its expertise on international relation. Mr Akin did make a point in the past. The Canadian media are too focus on Canadian Military. I believe we are not throwing everything we have to Afghanistan.
Canada is doing more than its share on the Military but where is Canada on the other front? Can we train more female teachers?