Wednesday War News - New Media and Politics

July 21 2010 // News

This is a sad place to start: Another Canadian soldier has given his life for the mission in Afghanistan. Sapper Brian Collier, was killed by a bomb in Afghanistan Tuesday He was killed while on a foot patrol in the village of Nakhonay, in the eastern part of Panjwaii District by an improvised explosive device (IED). Collier who was just 24, was born in Toronto and raised in Bradford, Ont. He was a member of the 1 Combat Engineer Regiment based at CFB Edmonton and was serving in Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment.

 

Of the soldiers service Harper said "The bravery and remarkable commitment of Canadians like Sapper Collier are bringing safety and stability to the people of Afghanistan." There's neither safety nor stability in Afghanistan but what else can Harper say?

The international conference that was held Tuesday in Afghanistan with Western leaders, quietly decided 2014 as the war’s unofficial end date. In the Globe and Mail this was reported as, a move that could now mark Canada’s intended 2011 withdrawal as premature. Maybe they like war - someone sure does.

James Dobbins, the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan during the Bush administration and one of the diplomats responsible for installing Mr. Karzai as President after the fall of the Taliban in 2001 said, “They’ve rather subtly shifted the goal posts from 2011 to 2014. I think you’ll see a steady downplaying of 2011 on all fronts as it doesn’t turn out to be the turning point many people thought.”

The Guardian reports, General David Petraeus, the new US commander in the country, is less committed to a speedy transfer of power and a Nato official said the change reflected Petraeus's wish to slow the pace of the transfer of power.

Looks like kicking the can down the road on the path to endless war to me.