A Civilized Debate

Stephane Dion claims Harper has promised a "civilized debate" on Canada's role in Afghanistan followed by a vote somewhere near the end of March.

A civilized debate. How can you debate anything unless you have clear, convincing facts? When it comes to "the mission," what are the facts?

I think it would be fatal to the debate to allow it to be informed by the Manley report. There is so much solid information that exposes the report's many errors and shortcomings. Why doesn't the Commons committee start gathering its own evidence on the state of today's Afghanistan?

Call the UN's drug czar to testify. Let's get a clear picture of Afghanistan's opium economy and let's have a look at the key players - the Taliban to be sure but also the ties to the Karzai government. Let's get an assessment on Afghanistan's slide into feudal fundamentalism with a central government that exists at the suffrance of a warlord power base. Let's have a look at what's going on across the border in Pakistan - in the Northwest Frontier and the autonomous Tribal Lands and Islamabad itself. Let's receive expert (i.e. non-Manley) evidence on the true state of NATO's hapless, disjointed and counterproductive military efforts, how the Taliban was allowed to become resurgent and whether anything is going to end that threat to Kabul. Let's hear about the core principles of counterinsurgency warfare and how few of them are being met in the type of war we're waging over there.

Once we get this sort of honest, meaningful and accurate information then parliament can hold a civilized debate. Then our debate will be manifest to Brussels and Washington. Then Canadians will have an opportunity to decide what they think we ought to do. If we're going to have an election on this issue, our government owes us that much.