| Afghan War May Be Lost: Experts From The Canadian Press: Quote:
Two Afghanistan experts painted a sobering picture of the conditions there yesterday, arguing support among Afghans for NATO forces is plummeting, the U.S.-driven policy of poppy eradication is wrongheaded, and the war might not be winnable in its present form.U.S. scholar Barnett Rubin and Gordon Smith, Canada’s former ambassador to NATO, delivered their withering comments to a Commons committee only days after Canada’s top military commander, Gen. Rick Hillier, touted progress being made there. (...)
Rubin, who has been to Afghanistan 29 times over more than two decades, said yesterday many Afghans are growing frustrated with the pace of Western efforts to stabilize the country.
“They’re not at all happy. Support for both the international presence and the government has plummeted in the past year or so,” he told the foreign affairs committee.(...)
Both Rubin and Smith suggested Canada needs to have a new debate about its role in Afghanistan. Liberal MP Keith Martin welcomed their remarks.
| Yes, it's going to be interesting to watch Lapdog-in-Chief Stephen Harper as he tries to square growing public disenchantment in Canada with his allegiance to Washington.:)
"I wish I was as cocksure of anything as Tom Macaulay is of everything."
-- Viscount Melbourne |