Canada’s Afghanistan
Policy – From the Absurd to the Ridiculous
Last week, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mackay
called for “a greater collective effort” in Afghanistan to assist the
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to achieve victory. He made it
clear that he was referring not only to other NATO countries, which he
suggested were not contributing enough to the war effort. "Even non-NATO countries can do more,
including ... China and Russia,"
he said.
Peter Mackay must be aware that there is
very little support within NATO countries for the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. In
fact, by his own admission, only seven out of 37 NATO members with forces in Afghanistan are
allowing their troops to go to the southern regions where most of the fighting
is taking place. Several NATO countries have openly opposed the American
strategy of military conquest and have suggested that negotiations with the
Taliban would be more fruitful. In fact, it is a sham to suggest that the mission
is really a NATO-led operation, because NATO has never
adopted a unified strategy or policy towards Afghanistan.
In the face of the unbridled desire for
revenge expressed by the entire American political establishment following the
events of September 11, 2001, many U.S.
allies feared retaliation of one kind or another if they dared to openly oppose
the American-led aggression against Afghanistan. Most, including Canada, sent troops to the areas in the north
and around Kabul
where little, if any, fighting was going on. However, last year the
Conservative government of Stephen Harper submitted to U.S. pressure and agreed to send Canadian forces
to take over from the Americans in the region around Kandahar and
Canadian casualties began to soar.
In turn, this has led to growing opposition
within Canada to Canada’s participation in the war against Afghanistan and
to mounting demands to bring the troops home. The Conservatives, finding
themselves between a rock and a hard place, are desperately searching for a way
out that can please both the Americans and the Canadian people. This, of
course, is an impossibility; hence the absurdity of the Conservative policy on Afghanistan.
However, Mackay’s
call for China and Russia to assist the U.S.
in conquering Afghanistan
goes beyond the absurd to the ridiculous. It is no secret that the U.S. war in Afghanistan
is aimed primarily at Russia
and China.
The “Bush Doctrine” announced by U.S. President George W. Bush on June 1, 2002
openly lists Russia and China as the main threats to U.S. “national interests”
and threatens them with preemptory nuclear strikes if they dare to challenge
U.S. military supremacy.
For their part, high-ranking Russian
generals have openly gloated about the difficulties facing the Americans in Afghanistan,
reminding them that the Afghanis defeated a much more powerful Red Army and
that no one in history – not even Alexander the Great – has ever succeeded in
defeating the Afghan people and occupying their country. Both the Russians and
the Chinese view the U.S.
predicament in Afghanistan
and Iraq
as an opportunity to advance their own imperialist interests in various parts
of the world and to defeat the American attempts to encircle their countries
with satellite states and military bases. Calling on Russia
and China to assist the U.S. in
establishing a uni-polar world under its dictate
leaves Mackay looking extremely naïve, at best, or, at worst, a fool.