Pathetic American ass kissing Stephen Harper is forced to appoint a former Liberal deputy Prime Minister in a desperate attempt to find a face saving exit strategy from his illegal, hugely unpopular, and totally unwinnable war of occupation
robert...@aol.com
Last Updated: Friday, October 12, 2007 | 10:01 PM ET
CBC News
An independent panel has been established to review Canada's mission
and future in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced
Friday.
As Canada's current mandate in Afghanistan is set to expire in 16
months, "our government wants a full, open and informed debate about
our options," Harper said from the foyer at the House of Commons.
"Given what's at stake ... we are prepared to announce today an
independent panel to study our options."
Harper named former Liberal deputy prime minister John Manley to chair
a five-person committee that will recommend what Canada's role in
Afghanistan should - or should not - be after the mandate for the
current mission ends in February 2009.
The committee will then advise parliamentarians on the best course of
action, Harper said.
Harper listed four other "eminent Canadians" appointed to the
committee:
Former CBC journalist Pamela Wallin, an officer of the Order of Canada
who serves as a top adviser on Canada-U.S. relations to the president
of the Americas Society and the Council of the Americas in New York.
Canadian businessman and former U.S. ambassador Derek Burney, who was
a key political strategist for former Conservative prime minister
Brian Mulroney.
Former Bombardier CEO Paul Tellier, who served as clerk of the Privy
Council under Mulroney.
Former Mulroney health minister Jake Epp.
Manley was also a Liberal cabinet minister in charge of the finance
and industry portfolios.
The five-member panel will receive its terms of reference Friday, then
travel to Afghanistan to assess how best to provide aid to the
country.
The panel will report directly to Harper by the end of January 2008.
Harper said that he wanted to ensure the panel would be non-partisan
and that he hoped the committee would bear in mind "the sacrifices
Canadians have made there" at the cost of public funds and military
staff, as well as what implications Canada's next actions might have
on the country's international reputation.
Harper said he was asking the panel to consider four main options in
their study:
Option 1: Continue training the Afghan army and police with the goal
of creating a self-sufficient security force.
Option 2: Focus on Kandahar reconstruction, passing on main security
responsibilities to another foreign force.
Option 3: Move military operations and reconstruction efforts to other
areas of Afghanistan.
Option 4:Withdraw Canadian forces altogether after February 2009,
leaving only a small contingent to ensure security for diplomats.
Pundits in Ottawa raised their eyebrows on Friday to news that Manley,
a prominent Liberal, had been named to head a mission reporting to the
Conservative prime minister on the Afghanistan issue. The selection
was regarded as a strategic move from the Conservatives four days
ahead of Harper's Oct. 16 throne speech.
'Poke in the eye for the Liberals'
"It seems that it is certainly a poke in the eye for the Liberals, to
scoop up one of their veterans, one of their luminaries, and put him
in this advisory role," the CBC's Julie Van Dusen noted from Ottawa.
"This will certainly cause havoc amongst Liberals, who will be asking
what John Manley thinks he's doing."
'I came to this conclusion: I am a Liberal; I am a supporter of the
Liberal party.'
- John Manley, chair of the Afghan study panelAsked whether he had
informed Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion about accepting his new task on
Friday, Manley told reporters he called Dion the previous night and
explained to him that Canada's future in Afghanistan "really
transcends partisan politics."
"I came to this conclusion: I am a Liberal; I am a supporter of the
Liberal party," he said.
"I hope that [Dion] understands that it's necessary to consider the
best advice possible and I hope that our recommendations will be
useful not only for the government, but also for Mr. Dion and for the
Liberal party," he added later.
Liberals hope panel will create discussion
Manley told reporters he had not yet made up his mind on the best
direction to take on Afghanistan, but he has given some insight in a
recent essay. In his article published in the magazine Policy Options,
Manley wrote: "There is no possible way to separate development and
the humanitarian mission from the military one."
Roughly 2,500 Canadian soldiers are serving in the violent southern
Kandahar region of Afghanistan. To date, 71 Canadian troops have died
there and one Canadian diplomat was killed.
Later Friday, Dion said he thought the panel can be useful, but should
not be used to delay Canada's withdrawal from combat.
"I'm not against a panel of experts. I have a strong regard for many
of the members of this panel, especially the president of the panel,"
Dion said.
"What I'm saying though it should not be a pretext for the government
to postpone what the government has to do. And it is to notify NATO
and the government of Afghanistan that our combat mission in Kandahar
will end in February 2009 and that Canada will be available and
willing to help otherwise than through a combat mission."
Bob Rae, the new Liberal Foreign Affairs critic, welcomed the idea and
insisted the panel's study should continue in concert with debate in
the House of Commons over the Afghan mission.
Layton criticizes panel
Newly appointed Liberal foreign-affairs critic Bob Rae said discussion
over Canada's role in Afghanistan must continue within government.
"The panel can do its work, but this issue rests solidly with the
government of Canada and the Parliament of Canada," said Rae, who
doesn't have a seat in the House of Commons.
"You don't shut down Parliament just because the prime minister has
set up a little panel somewhere. That's not how our Canadian political
system works."
The Liberal party stands by its position that Canada's combat role in
southern Afghanistan should end by February 2009, Rae said.
"This is an effort by the prime minister to try to manage this issue
in a political fashion. You'd have to be a very naive soul not to see
what the prime minister is doing," he said.
Meanwhile, NDP Leader Jack Layton criticized the high-powered panel
Friday, saying he was surprised that the government cobbled together
an independent group of outsiders instead of having parliamentarians
do the work of what is essentially a policy issue.
Harper said the panel would be putting forward "expert advice," but
that it would ultimately "help parliamentarians make the right
choice."
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/10/12/afghan-panel.html?ref=rss
GaryRock
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