Taliban Steve's New Look

"Once we get rid of the bad people, we can carry on

with full force

in terms of the reconstruction and development"

- Stephen Harper, Kandahar, 2006

With those words our Furious Leader, Lardo, swept aside the Taliban insurgents and al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan as a gang of unruly imps.

Oh my goodness that how that great lump was full of jingoistic pronouncements about how we would bring democracy to that country and liberate its women and spread freedom throughout the land and we would never, ever "cut and run," not on his watch. Now there was a Commander-in-Chief for Canada cut from the very same cloth as his American Idol, George w. Bush.

And how things change even for fierce warriors like Mr. Harper, real men of action and resolute principle.

Harper to the UN General Assembly 21/9/2006

"After all, if we fail the Afghan people, we will be failing ourselves. For this is the United Nations' strongest mission and, therefore, our greatest test. Our collective will and credibility are being judged. We cannot afford to fail. We will succeed."

Parliamentary Debate on Extension 17 May, 2006

"Mr. Speaker, working with our allies and the Afghan people, Canada has achieved great things. But there is more to do.

Afghanistan remains the fifth poorest country in the world. The Taliban is seeking to regain power. And too many people have to resort to drug trafficking to meet their families’ needs.

We need to extend our mission so we can work to finish the job the previous government started.

We need to improve the security situation in southern Afghanistan to bring it in line with the north and west of the country.

We need to ensure that children in southern Afghanistan will be able to go to school without fear of attack.

And we need to ensure that people there can get the things we take for granted: clean water, mine-free roads, reliable sources of energy.

Stability in southern Afghanistan will also help the Afghan National Government focus on improving the country’s emerging democratic infrastructure: An independent human rights commission, A professional police force and a new central bank."

Funny how Harper has staunched the flow of that drivel lately. By all appearances he's dropped Afghanistan like the proverbial hot potato. Now it's the preserve of Harpo's minions - McKay and Bernier. Let those losers get saddled with it. As for the "bad people," suddenly getting rid of them has become SO 2006. Now we want to negotiate with them.

You want hypocrisy? There it is.