I wrote this column originally about three weeks ago, but never posted it, when the number of Canadian soldiers lost in Afghanistan was 88. As of a few days ago, it’s apparently at 90. It’s possible that before Christmas, we will break the 100 mark, not a national achievement that we will accept with pride. While it’s a statistic that pales in comparison to the world wars, it’s a statistic that is gradually eroding away the support of the Canadian public for that engagement, and no doubt number 100 will bring a louder call to “Do something about it!”

I think most of us support our military. When support rallies are held, they generally carefully phrase the purpose as being for the military, not for supporting the conflict in Afghanistan. People are more divided on that, and I would not be surprised if only a minority of Canadians support the rationale for that “war on terrorism”.

We’re “between a rock and a hard place”, as the old saying goes. There is a generally accepted belief that if we and others pull out of Afghanistan, there will be chaos, bloodshed, and many things they’ve accomplished over the last few years will be gone in a heartbeat. I have little doubt that will happen. That fact is the main reason we are there, and for the next year at least, staying there.

It’s a complex situation in this mid-east nation, certainly more complex than I can fully understand, and too complex to get deeply into here. People are confused when learning that some of the people we fight are the people that at least the USA previously supported. Confused when some of the weapons they use against western forces might well be the weapons that the US supplied them with a few years ago.

If you think back a while ago, you might recall that the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in late 1979 and attempted (unsuccessfully) to conquer it with one of the largest and most equipped armies of our time. Officially they were backing the existing Afghan government in repelling an attempt by the Mujahedeen rebels to take over the nation and return it to Islamic rule. This worried the Soviets, since much of the Soviet Union close to Afghanistan was strongly Islamic as well, and getting restless. The Soviet army spent almost a decade being harassed by rebels who attacked like ghosts in the night, before they finally pulled their army out. The stubborn Mujahedeen rebels were to a considerable extent supplied with weapons and trained by the American CIA, even before the Soviet invasion.

The “Mujahedeen” that western nations supported has basically evolved into the group called the Taliban (Students) who still seek a return to Islamic fundamentalism, while another group developed that western nations now fight as Al Queda. The two groups generally support each other, since they have common enemies. The Taliban had power in Afghanistan following the Soviet pull-out, and want it back, while Al Queda’s interests are larger in scope, seeking the promotion of Islamic government in the world, and an overthrow of western nations, particularly the USA.

As western people, by comparison pathetically weak in our religious beliefs, we see wars as situations based on ideals like representative government, freedom of people from oppression, and establishing or holding onto what we see as “peace, order, and good government”— to quote something from our own constitution. We can’t fully understand war based mainly on religious beliefs, or at least touted to be based solely on that (there are always power issues). In our concept of war, when a nation gets to a point where the tide seems against them, they humbly surrender. Things are worked out, reparations are paid, aid is given, and life goes on. We managed that with Germany and Japan, and we are all chums now.

This is not the way it works in the mind of rebel groups who base their fighting on religious beliefs held far more strongly than most of us hold ours. I’m no expert on the Arab mind, but I think we have heard enough about the people of Al Queda and the Taliban to realize that a good number of them will never surrender their intentions, will never stop their fight. To do so is not just a military option, to do so is to turn their back on what they believe is the purpose of God (Allah) himself.

The announcement of death number 90 for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan (far less than the American casualties in Afghanistan and now Iraq), brought the usual rhetoric that “peace in Afghanistan will not be accomplished over the short term, but only in the long term”. There is little doubt of that, but Canadian politicians and military leaders, and most of all the Canadian people, have to understand that the long term is very long— it’s my belief that if we stay in Afghanistan, in 20 years time we will be in almost the same situation that we are in now, and the results of pulling out then will be much the same as pulling out now.

Vietnam should have been a lesson to the Americans, but it seems it never was. At the start of that war, on paper it would be short and decisive in favor of the American forces supporting the south. It wasn’t, and years and many thousand of deaths later the US pulled out, basically, for all intents and purposes, losing that war. All the B-52’s, Huey helicopters, and the best armament of the time could not defeat forces that would go to any length to remain hidden, remain troublesome, and never surrender. The western mind has difficulty comprehending this type of warfare, really this type of devotion to a cause (and religion had little to do with it there, just a single-minded belief that they were right). The Americans are in the same situation in Iraq, and we and others are in the same situation in Afghanistan. Winning, where all meet around a table and sign gentlemen’s agreements, is not an option in these kinds of wars.

So what do we do? Not an easy matter for our politicians, far more troublesome than cutting one percent off the GST. I see the choices as stay there relatively forever– as much a police force as anything, with the numbers of killed Canadian soldiers steadily creeping upward as just a fact of life for a military role– or pull out and watch the Taliban take control of the country, enforcing severe Islamic Sharia law that will cause trouble, cruelty, and bloodshed, particularly for women, and no doubt also watch a purge of all who supported the present attempt at government.

The Americans are in a similar no-win situation in Iraq, and the possibility of their pulling out of there after a change of presidential leadership will give us a picture of what that kind of move provokes. Iran sits between the two nations, and certainly their attitude doesn’t give any assurances of support from there for peace in either place, quite the contrary.

And all of them sit on top of that magic substance…..oil.

I guess whether we like it or not, we’ll all be watching, from a distance that at one time we thought was safe.

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I believe the death of a 17-year old in Winnipeg last week after being Tasered by city police brings to about 22 the number of people killed in Canada with the device since 2003.

Coincidentally, that would be one-quarter of the number of soldiers killed to date in Afghanistan, tragic events that bring pomp and ceremony, flag lowering, somber parades serious national debates and calls for change. I don’t know if you can draw any intelligent revelations from that comparison, but I just thought I would mention it and see if anything strikes you (zaps you?)… two different worlds, both our Canadian people.

We still hear claims from some of the law enforcement community that the “stun gun” is a comparable device to things like Billy Clubs, and perhaps even safer since you don’t get welts on the head from it. Certainly it’s been judged as safer for the officers involved, who wish to avoid a thrashing on the ground with the enraged “arrestee”, something that might have resulted in harm to them. I noted with interest the recent racially charged incident in Digby where a highly trained off-duty police officer took a swing at a young man outside a lounge, and was promptly felled and hospitalized with one punch (then the young man was soundly Tasered, of course, and arrested). There is a danger in mixing it up.

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It’s difficult to know what to do with telemarketers. I know some people have their own approach to the nuisance phone calls from them, but few of the responses seem completely ideal. I’m aware that one common approach is to immediately hang up, while another is to issue a stream of profanity and replace the receiver with some force, but I’m not sure how much of a deterrent this might be. I doubt that it stops anything, and the latter technique (although telemarketers voluntarily invade your space) might get you reported to the phone company.

There’s a side of me that is aware of many of these people being stuck in cubicles all day, trying to build a record of sales or donations, struggling to get by in this world. Accents will tell you that a lot of them might be immigrants who need the work, though this might be a misconception from the belief that you are receiving the call to donate to the Canadian Disabled Bearded Motorcycle Repairmen Fund from someone in Toronto, when in fact it’s really Mujubar calling from Calcutta.

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Last Friday evening into early yesterday morning, or later on the next few weekends, people will be taking part in the Canadian Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life”. It’s an inspiring, tiring, and often poignant night.

I was in a couple of Relays in recent years. In the first we met at a sports site with a track in back of Yarmouth, pitched a tent in a grassy field with dozens and dozens of others, and were fascinated immediately by the experienced teams who arrived more ready for the event than our team of novice teachers: wild costumes, signs, banners, and enough camping equipment to make the night really special even for those not on the track. We made vows to get more “geared up” the next year.

If you’re not familiar with the relays, the procedure is that you have to form a team of at least ten, and be prepared to have at least one member of the team (usually a few) walking on the track at all times for the next 12 hours– generally from 8 p.m. until morning. Each team member has to raise at least $100 in pledges. We fudged things a bit, since some of us knew that staying awake all night would play havoc with our sleep cycles, and since about half of our team lived in the Yarmouth area and half back here in Barrington. We set up a system where the Barrington bunch started off the night, and about 2 a.m. the Yarmouth half, having grabbed at least a nap or two, arrived as relief and allowed us to get home and to bed by about 3 a.m.

We had to arrive early. Although the Relay portion started about 8 p.m., there were “opening ceremonies” and special events before we started. These were not boring “I’d just as soon not be there” formalities; in fact, the late shift people were somewhat disappointed not to be on hand for them. Some of the speakers were recovered cancer patients, a few seemingly snatched back from the brink of death, and some some spoke in honor of people who were stalwarts in the Relays of the past, but during the last year the fight they thought they might win had turned against them.
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