Canada Doing its Part in Afghanistan

Todd Wiebe

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion among students across the country pertaining to Canada’s role in Afghanistan. There is a belief, among some, that Canadian troops are only in Afghanistan to appease the Americans in the War on Terror and further the hidden American imperialist agenda.

In the fall of 2001, U.S. Special Forces assisted the last remnants of opposition to the Taliban, the Northern Alliance. Supported by American troops, the Northern Alliance was able to retake Kabul, and Hamid Karzai was chosen to lead an interim government. Since that time there has been a multinational force consisting of 36 nations that have troops in Afghanistan, operating under a UN sanction to create peace and security for the people and to begin the reconstruction of the country.

Afghanistan, like so many other countries that have been exploited by Western powers, is always suspicious of any foreign attempts to undermine its sovereignty. The British occupied the country from 1838-1881. In 1979 the Russians launched a massive campaign to take over the country but left after nine years. Throughout both invasions the people quickly organized resistance and conducted a massive guerrilla campaign to drive back the invaders.

The Afghan people are more than capable of fighting another war from the mountains against Canadian troops and have the resolve that would far outlast our own. However, it was only the Taliban that fought against this most recent invasion. The question arises, then, as to why the majority of Afghanis do not oppose what the rest of the world knows to be an invasion to secure the wealth of the country to aid the neo-cons and their friends in Halliburton.

The simple answer is that the people believe that the Canadians, as well as all international troops, are there to help them. The people have demonstrated this through the presidential election, which elected Hamid Karzai with 55 per cent of the vote in 2004. Karzai has been asking for more North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) presence in Afghanistan, which includes Canada.

The thought of international troops occupying their country, while humiliating, is still preferable to the Taliban. The Taliban gained control of the country after the Soviets left, and under their rule Afghanistan became one of the worst places to live in the world; it was found by the UN to be one of the poorest countries on the planet. The Taliban government, which was only recognized by three countries, led a repressive government that was especially brutal in its treatment of women.

One Taliban minister of education said, “There are only two places for Afghan women, in her husband’s house and in the graveyard.” Under the Taliban, movies, music and television were banned, and thieves had limbs amputated.

Since the fall of the Taliban government, many substantial improvements have been made in Afghanistan. The UN has repatriated two million refugees, schools have been built, a new constitution has been written and infrastructure has been improved and in some cases reconstructed.

The Canadian International Development Agency itself has given micro-loans to roughly 100,000 people. It has recently begun operations in the Kandahar region with a Provincial Reconstruction Team that coordinates the efforts of the local police, the Canadian military and international aid agencies to rebuild the most dangerous part of the country.

The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission has stated that the immediate departure of the international force would lead to more fighting between the various tribal leaders that are in charge of the rural areas. Canadians are restraining these warlords and helping to maintain human rights, for which, according to freelance journalist Aisha Ahmad, the people of Afghanistan are grateful.

The Canadians are not involved in a massive campaign to kill civilians and destroy property, as so many activists claim. One would be hard pressed to find any incident where a Canadian has directly killed anyone in the country. That is not to say that the mission is not dangerous, as are all peacekeeping situations.

Canadians do not believe that peacekeeping involves violence, however, there is a reason that the armed forces are sent with live rounds. Sometimes the best way to secure a dangerous country is through the deterrence that armed troops can give and, if necessary, the application of such force.

Despite the success that the international force has had in helping the people of Afghanistan, there is much more that needs to be done. The country is still in turmoil, farmers continue to grow massive amounts of opium and poverty is still a major concern, with a 78 per cent unemployment rate. Without an international presence, there is little doubt that the situation would continue to deteriorate.

Todd Wiebe is a third-year political studies student.