Can Canada Take It?

 

We, as Canadians, pride ourselves on not being American.

We wrap ourselves in the cloak of moral superiority, feeling that we, as a nation, have taken the high road to the US’s base imperialism. Repeatedly we look on with disdain, as the US seems to stumble about alienating nations worldwide.

Many Canadians rolled their eyes at the US invasion of Iraq believing the American public would change their support the moment soldiers started dieing. After all, isn’t that what happened with Vietnam? Canadians derided the US as weak-willed, taking on only the easy stuff and running away when the going got tough.

Now we see the US and Canada are not different at all.

In the wake of the September 11^th terror attacks of the World Trade Center, we stepped up to the plate with all the ardour of a country ready to combat tyranny. With much flag waving and chest thumping, we were determined to put an end to terrorism and its threat to the world. We watched as a final ultimatum, put to the Taliban in Afghanistan, told them to comply with the UN resolution demanding the surrender of Osama Bin Laden or face the consequences. When the Taliban refused, we, as a nation, stood up and demanded action.

Then Prime Minster Chrétien announced on 8 October 2001 that Canada would be joining the US in the war on terror in Afghanistan.

"We are part of an unprecedented coalition of nations that has come together to fight the threat of terrorism," Chrétien said. "I have made it clear from the very beginning that Canada would be part of this coalition every step of the way."

He also warned it would not be quick or easy.

"The struggle to defeat the forces of terrorism will be a long one. We must remain strong and vigilant. We must insist on living on our terms, according to our values, not on terms dictated from the shadows," Chrétien said.

"I cannot promise that the campaign against terrorism will be painless. But I can promise that it will be won."

Canadians responded positively. Prior to the announcement, an Ipsos-Reid poll showed that 73% of Canadians believed we should join the US in the war on terrorism while an Ekos poll showed that 57% of Canadians supported the idea of military retaliation in response to the September 11^th attacks and 22% neither supported nor opposed.

The fervour did not die down once Canadian troops were actually on the ground. An Ipso-Reid survey January 2002 found that 66% of Canadian favoured a combat role for our troops while only 33% favoured a traditional peacekeeping role. Another Ipso-Reid poll in the same month also found that 67% favoured an expansion of military activity against other countries in the war on terrorism.

Even a year after 9/11, Canadians still felt the military should be involved in Afghanistan. An Ekos survey done in August 2002 found that 58% of Canadians still supported Canadian involvement in Afghanistan while only 20% opposed.

Now, suddenly, we are hearing calls to bring our troops home from Afghanistan.

Have we forgotten why we went in the first place? Have we forgotten that the Taliban was one of the most repressive regimes in the world? Have we forgotten that the Taliban not only gave refuge to Osama Bin Laden but also actively supported his terror training camps? What about their refusal to abide by the UN resolution to turn Bin Laden over for his part in the attacks on the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1998 killing 220 people and injuring almost 4,000? What about the fact that Afghanistan was the training ground for, not just Al Qaeda, but numerous other terrorist groups bent on attacking the west?

We talk about wanting to be taken seriously on the world stage yet, when our country is asked to do the hard jobs needed, certain politicians and members of the public want us to turn away. We cannot be a country that runs as soon there is trouble or we become nothing more than a joke. There is a reason we send soldiers and not boy scouts overseas and that is because it is dangerous. However, if we are to be a world player we cannot shirk our global responsibilities and run whenever the job gets tough.

If we pull out now, we might as well be the US. From our mount of moral superiority, we point out what happened in Vietnam, Somalia, Lebanon, and we shake our collective heads. Nevertheless, are we any different if we pull out of Afghanistan now? No.

It would also leave Canada in a tenuous position in the future. If we were to pull out of Afghanistan now, then we would be a bigger target if we needed to intervene in any future situations around the world. The US is a target partially because the belief is, if you kill some Americans, the US will tuck tail and run. We would be in the same boat.

We have to stand up to threats wherever they emerge in the world. We have to expect there will be casualties because those who live by violence will not stop until they are forced. Threats to world peace, and our way of life, will not go away on their own. Burying our heads in the sand will not make the world safer; it will only ensure the violence eventually comes to our country, our homes. They have declared war on our way of life and in war there are casualties.

The main question is, are we strong enough to face the challenge?