Reflections on what we were fighting for in Afghanistan from a handful of Canadians who actually waged the war or led the battles over issues of principle and peace...
WAS THE WAR WORTH THE COST? – "The mission was worth the cost because it toppled a repressive regime, removed a major terrorist threat, helped Afghans begin rebuilding their lives and institutions after decades of war. Canada played a leadership role in education, rural development, as well as in a major, UN-mandated NATO mission. Canada and the world are safer for it."
Chris Alexander – former Canadian ambassador to Kabul, then the UN’s deputy special representative to Afghanistan until 2009 and now a Conservative MP.
WAS
THE WAR WORTH THE COST? - "Certainly not to the people of Afghanistan or
Canada. After 20 years war and five years of the Taliban, Afghans got
another decade of violence and corruption. Canadians got skyrocketing
military budgets and underfunded social programs. The winners were
defence contractors and the power elite willing to trade the leftovers
of Canadian independence for more business in the United States."
Raymond Legault – prominent anti-war activist, community college teacher in Montreal and spokesman for Échec à la guerre
WAS THE WAR WORTH THE COST? – "Despite the heroic efforts of Canadian
Forces men and women, and the great respect they deservedly won for our
nation, our mission in Kandahar was definitely not worth the cost of
over 150 Canadian lives lost and countless others destroyed by the
fallout of war, let alone the tens of thousands of Afghan people and
other coalition forces who have also been killed."
Pat Stogran – retired colonel, who led the first Canadian combat contingent in Afghanistan in 2002 and later served as Canada's first Veterans Ombudsman where he was a tireless champion of better treatment for wounded soldiers
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/was-it-worth-it-canadians-reflect-on-the-war-in-afghanistan/article2326272/
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