How would you vote ....
 

The Canadian Federal govt., has decided that it will ask parliament to extend the combat mission of Canadian troops in Afghanistan beyond its commitment to 2009. The Conservative govt is in a minority position and is facing opposition from the New Democrats (Labour) and the Bloc Quebecois (guess what they represent). The Liberals who form the majority of the opposition support the Canadian presence in Afghanistan, but not the intense combat role which has led to the deaths of about 80 Canadian soldiers in the last two years. The govt has decided to make the vote a vote of confidence. (Our feds operate just like your house of commons); so, if they lose we will have a general election on the issue. Support for our combat role in Afghanistan is weakening. Support for the troops remains strong, even in Quebec. How would you vote on this divisive issue? What do you think about the conservative gamble of putting this issue to what is, in spirit if not in name, a referendum?

Re: How would you vote ....
 

I may be mistaken but I thought the idea was for a joint Canadian/French taskforce ?
Seems to me Afghanistan is nothing more that a fiasco with Billions of Pounds, Euros and Dollars being tossed down a rat hole , not to mention the hundreds of lost lives of the western allied servicemen and women due to half -assed political policies
I'm waiting for one of our elected leaders to tell us how it is possible for a country under supposed 'military occupation" is able to up its production of opium to levels five times higher than before the occupation and be able to export it to the west without collusion somewhere. The lamest excuse I have read is that the poor Afghani farmers would starve if they couldn't grow the poppies .......pure hogwash , what were these farmers growing during the years when the Taliban banned he production prior to the installation of the Karzai Govt.
My opinion is that history is now begining to show what a mistake Ronald Reagan made in the 80s with his support for the Mujahadeen against the Russian occupancy , if the west had allowed the Russians to stay and maybe even move a few miles more to the south thru Iranian and Pakistani Blauchistan and have a warm water port non of this fundamental Taliban extremism Islamic jihad would have happened .

Re: How would you vote ....
 

The joint Canadian/French task force is just an idea ... and the French seem pretty lukewarm on the idea of their soldiers being in harms way. Canada seems to be getting more and more involved, and as usual things are being done that are not being brought before parliament. The latest scandal involved Afghani detainees in Canadian custody. Canadian forces stopped handing over their prisoners to Afghani authorities because they would be tortured ... what a surprise. So it seems that Canada got into the prison business without parliament being informed. There are also fears that the present govt is using the conflict as an excuse to expand the military, something that most Canadians don't want.