Canadians in Afghanistan

Canadians do not belong in Afghanistan. What is the justification for their being there? Time passes, things change. Canada has entered into a long term commitment to the “war” effort in Afghanistan. Why?

I am not overly concerned about the dollars that are being spent to help the people of countries that suffer from war activities. I do not support Canadian involvement  in military activities. Too many of our military personnel have died to date. Now we learn that our Canadian military personnel have brought about a death and wounding of police personnel who are supposed to be friendly to our forces. What went wrong? Will this happen again? Perhaps!

Are we sending military personnel who lack the appropriate training to carry out the missions assigned to them? Do they have the necessary equipment and sufficient personnel to do what is required? Who is responsible for the strategies being employed? Are the rules of the “game” changing? Are we there to support American policies and American interests in Afghanistan? Is Canada there because Canada did not join the Americans in the war against Iraq? There are many questions being asked by Canadians. More will be asked in the future.

An election may be called to justify the Canadian settlement of the “soft wood” problem with the United States. I think that an election should be called on the basis of the questions being asked concerning the Canadian policies regarded Afghanistan. Would the Prime Minister dare to call an election now? I doubt this very much!

What a Waste!

The Los Angeles Times recently published an article relating to terrorism. I noted the words: “We need to support democratic societies and stop terrorism at all costs.” The following is the complete article which I read.

LOS ANGELES – “A group of 85 Hollywood notables – among them Nicole Kidman, Bruce Willis, Dennis Hopper and Sylvester Stallone – have placed their names on full-page ads accusing Hamas and Hezbollah of being terrorist organizations.
   “We the undersigned are pained and devastated by the civilian casualties in Israel and Lebanon caused by terrorist actions initiated by terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas,” said the statement, which ran recently in the Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Reporter and Variety. “If we do not succeed in stopping terrorism around the world, chaos will rule and innocent people will continue to die. We need to support democratic societies and stop terrorism at all costs.”
   The effort was put together by movie producer Danny Dimbort and Avi Lerner, in conjunction with a variety of others, including Israel’s consul general in Los Angeles, Ehud Danoch.
   “As 1 million Israelis sat in bomb shelters and 3 million were in the line of fire of Hezbollah and Hamas missiles, it strengthened the citizens of Israel to read that high-level members of the Hollywood film industry came out so clearly against terrorist organizations, which threaten them and free societies all over the world,” Danoch said.

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES


We know that many people around the world want to stop terrorism.  Now we see Israeli supporters in Hollywood coming forth to express the need to stop terrorism.

Israel is a “democratic society.” These Hollywood supporters agree that there is a “need to support democratic societies and stop terrorism at all costs.” That sounds like supporting the Israelis after war against Hezbollah, to justify the atrocities committed against the people of Lebanon by the Israeli military.

There are people in the world who view the actions of Israel as terrorism at its worst. If Israel could have waged a war that would have lasted one week and which would have brought about the results desired, perhaps the peoples of the world would close their eyes and forget what did take place. But no, the war continued for over one month with a greater loss of lives of innocent Lebanese civilians and greater destruction of property and the economy of Lebanon than occurred in Israel. In any case, what a waste!

To respond to terrorist activities with a form of terrorism can not be condoned; there is no justification there! Israel went too far! The Hollywood notables have gone too far. They would do better spending their money on eradicating the many social problems within their American “democratic” society.

Cluster Bombs

Cluster Bombs were used in Lebanon! Their use will result in more casualties from a war that was not started by the people of Lebanon. How many future terrorists are created with each death of innocent civilians?

The war in Iraq and that in Afghanistan are “creating” many terrorists for the future. When will the military actions of the United States and some other nations end? Even if these wars are “won”, in truth they will be lost. Just think about the many innocent people who have died and will die and those who have been wounded in body and spirit who have lost relatives and friends as well as property.  

Why are these wars being waged?

All peoples from those countries which brought wars to these foreign lands will suffer as they come to understand and feel the results of these wars on those distant lands.

The “free” world, the world of democracies will feel the wrath of terrorist activities for many years to come. These democratic countries are suffering from fear and are continuing to pay for the required security measures that are in place and the many more that will come on force in the future. Even after the wars end, the democracies that waged the wars will continue to suffer from the after shocks of terrorist activities.

Osama bin Laden “declared” war on the United States of America. That “declared” war will continue to be waged long after bin Laden’s removal from this earth.

Now, I admit that I know very little of what is taking place around the world but I must question why the world is in such a state of conflict, of poor health, of hunger and of ill-will to others. What part do religious leaders and religions have to do with what exists and the potential of peace in the future?

What does GOD have to do with all that exists?

A Man of Action

Although all Canadians do not agree with all of the policies and programs endorsed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, there is little doubt that he is a man of action. There are almost daily news items relating to decisions that the government has made.

I, for one, disagree with the government’s long-term policies relating to Afghanistan. In fact, I wish that the Canadian military who are there would return home. We have enough internal problems needing resolution. The dollars spent on the resolution of external world problems would go a long way to help resolve our many Canadian social problems.

Canadians have had week-kneed prime ministers in the past. It is refreshing to see what our “new” prime minister has accomplished during his government’s first six months.

of the earth

I am of the earth
with words I sing

praise for nature
life and limb

trees and leaves
oceans and gulls

purity of sound
music from the heavens

enchanting, invigorating
flashes of light

falling rain
filling chalices

warmth, comfort
dark nights

snows cold
winds unabating

depths of waters
images present

heights of space
images lost

of the earth
love and life

© 2006 by Lou Reeves

Wars are horrific

Wars are horrific and the consequences are felt by the innocent in ways that only they can hardly understand. The statistics from wars include casualty rates but what is not included are the family casualty rates relating to the loss of bread-winners, loving partners, the children who grow up not knowing relatives who have died or children who live with family members who live for years suffering from war wounds be the physical or mental. These are among the true tragedies of wars. Economic systems are ruined and social systems are as well. But this is the history of the developed parts of the world. It has been recognized that in-breeding is not good for a people and that the infusion of "new blood" does wonders for the people. Invading forces that conquer leave behind a generation of children who have mixed parentage coming oftentimes from different races and religions. Here we sometimes see the blending of cultures.There can be no doubt that my ancestors have come from different countries, religions and cultures. In fact that I do not doubt that my ancestors would include murders, rapists and all sorts of other criminals. My roots go deep and the recognition of this permits me to think in more global terms with a sense of love and justice for all.