Jack Layton and the War on Terror
Jack Layton, the leader of the NDP, has taken the decision to support the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan. His decision is peculiar, I shall contend, for two reasons, one moral and the other concerning political tactics.
Leaving aside what motivated the liberation of Afghanistan, it is uncontroversial that the Taliban had little respect for human rights, and their treatment of women, in particular, contemptible. Forcing men to wear a beard, women to be covered from head to toe, restricting the movement and expression of members, not to mention lopping off limbs. (Destroying the Buddhist statues was reason enough to invade them.) The list is long, in any case. They were an Islamic fascist state.
The American response to the Taliban was measured, and even weak, allowing a month for them to decide their fate. The Americans never sent in ground forces, but relied on the Northern Alliance, as well as air power (which have been cited as a cause of Bin Laden’s escape from Tora Bora). Similar flexibility was not extended to the Iraq regime, notice.
The unspoken problem is Pakistan. Pakistan supported the Taliban, with American assistance, from which all the major leaders of Al Qaeda have been caught, and from which terrorists camps still operate. Pakistan, for reasons relating to its diplomatic legacy with the Americans, and careful maneuvering by General-turned-President Musharraf, survived the dragnet. That is to say, instead of pulling out of the war on terror, we should be extending it, in the right directions.
The Afghanistan war remains well-supported by the Canadian public. The NDP have never held federal office, and taking an unpopular position is politically curious. We cannot count on the NDP to defend Canadian citizens who oppose the Iraq invasion-cum-occupation, since it appears that they are just against war. They have undermined their position as offering an alternative to the Conservatives. We cannot reason with people that refuse to do so, which brings us to the war of worlds. With Mr. Layton, it has become a war of words.
Leaving aside what motivated the liberation of Afghanistan, it is uncontroversial that the Taliban had little respect for human rights, and their treatment of women, in particular, contemptible. Forcing men to wear a beard, women to be covered from head to toe, restricting the movement and expression of members, not to mention lopping off limbs. (Destroying the Buddhist statues was reason enough to invade them.) The list is long, in any case. They were an Islamic fascist state.
The American response to the Taliban was measured, and even weak, allowing a month for them to decide their fate. The Americans never sent in ground forces, but relied on the Northern Alliance, as well as air power (which have been cited as a cause of Bin Laden’s escape from Tora Bora). Similar flexibility was not extended to the Iraq regime, notice.
The unspoken problem is Pakistan. Pakistan supported the Taliban, with American assistance, from which all the major leaders of Al Qaeda have been caught, and from which terrorists camps still operate. Pakistan, for reasons relating to its diplomatic legacy with the Americans, and careful maneuvering by General-turned-President Musharraf, survived the dragnet. That is to say, instead of pulling out of the war on terror, we should be extending it, in the right directions.
The Afghanistan war remains well-supported by the Canadian public. The NDP have never held federal office, and taking an unpopular position is politically curious. We cannot count on the NDP to defend Canadian citizens who oppose the Iraq invasion-cum-occupation, since it appears that they are just against war. They have undermined their position as offering an alternative to the Conservatives. We cannot reason with people that refuse to do so, which brings us to the war of worlds. With Mr. Layton, it has become a war of words.
Labels: Afganstan War, NDP, war on terror
posted by Anoop Gupta at 12:28
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