This Won't Improve Their Popularity

Poor Harpo. He should've gotten rid of them by now. If he'd only done that there wouldn't even be a Senate to criticize the government's Afghanistan policy.

But there is a Senate and it's keenly interested in Canada's military and it's not at all impressed with just how well Harpo and Hillier are doing with the troops over there.

A Senate report says it's time Harper put NATO on notice: either come up with a lot more troops from other member countries or we'll re-evaluate our committment to the Afghanistan mission. The Toronto Star got a copy of the report entitled, "Taking a Hard Look at a Hard Mission."

A "hard look". Gee, there's an idea. Too bad our MPs didn't take their own hard look instead of settling for that sham debate Harpo staged in the Commons.

Speaking truth to inept power, the Senate notes that, "There are all kinds of problems to be solved if the Canadian deployment to Afghanistan is to achieve what any reasonable person would define as 'success.'" All kinds of problems? Damned right!

What kind of problems? Canada's effort to win the "hearts and minds" of the local population has been badly undermined by civilian casualties caused by NATO air strikes and a development program that has little to show for its big budget.

"The combination of too many lives being lost and too little development assistance ... contributes to making life bleak and dangerous in the Kandahar region," it reads. For that reason, it says development dollars should be given to the Canadian military – $20 million a year – to make progress quickly until aid organizations are able to function safely in the region.

"We may have something more and better to offer than the Taliban, but we don't have much time to prove it."

"It is ... doubtful that the mission can be accomplished given the limited resources that NATO is currently investing," it says.

The report, adopted unanimously by Conservatives and Liberals alike, says we must find the means to seal the border with Pakistan against insurgent infiltration and the rest of NATO had better start pulling its weight on the ground and in combat in Afghanistan.

The report notes that Taliban fighters have "time and geography on their side. ...Are Canadians willing to commit themselves to decades of involvement in Afghanistan, which could cost hundreds of Canadian lives and billions of dollars?" Now, there's something to toss about, eh?

Of course all of these questions and criticisms and complaints are only relevant if "the mission" is actually about more than political opportunism. If it's not, then Harpo is right on track by staying the course. However unlikely it may be, if Little Stevie is sincerely committed to the mission and to our soldiers in Kandahar, there is much to be done and the time for doing it is running out fast.

Meanwhile, he really should put a little more effort into dealing with that pesky Senate.