By STEVEN CHASE
A key Quebec political leader is calling for an emergency debate on the direction Canada's foreign policy is taking _ including whether Ottawa should pull its troops from Afghanistan.
Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe said there's a growing feeling among Quebeckers that Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper is moving in lockstep with President Bush on foreign policy, from Israel to Afghanistan.
"I think they have more and more the impression that Harper is taking the same alignment that Bush is taking, and they are firmly against that," Duceppe said in an interview as the death toll of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan reached 32.
The Bloc says the Conservative government's foreign-policy actions this summer _ such as strongly supporting Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon _ have broken with Canadian tradition.
In a letter notifying Commons Speaker Peter Milliken of the debate request, Bloc House leader Michel Gauthier says the Tories have strayed from Canada's historical position "of mediation and balance" and from the "major values of the Quebecois and Canadian populations, which are, I am convinced by it, resolutely peaceful."
Duceppe said Quebeckers are disturbed by how the Tories "blindly" backed Israel, and this is translating into fear about where the increasingly violent Afghan mission is heading.
The Bloc leader wants an emergency debate in mid-September before Harper lays out Canada's foreign policy in a speech at the United Nations on Sept. 20 _ a request that doesn't leave much time, because the House of Commons only resumes sitting Sept. 18.
He's the second opposition party leader to raise concerns about the combat. New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton has called for Canada to pull troops from Afghanistan and invite the Taliban to peace talks.
So far the name of only one Quebec-based soldier who has died in the Afghan conflict has been released: Cpl. Jason Patrick Warren, who was buried in August.
Duceppe warned that Quebeckers will oppose plans to make the Quebec-based 22nd Regiment _ also known as the Vandoos _ the main Canadian force in Afghanistan next year unless there's a broader discussion about the direction the mission is taking.
"If we don't have an open debate on that, they'll be against (it) _ I am sure of that _ because they don't have confidence in the foreign policy developed by the Tories and Stephen Harper."
Analysts say Quebec reaction to the mounting Canadian deaths in Afghanistan could end up denying Harper's Conservatives the majority government they seek in the next federal election, expected as soon as the spring of 2007.
The 125-seat Tory caucus is still 30 seats short of a majority in the House of Commons, and the Conservatives had been counting on enlarging support in Quebec as the main route to full control of Parliament. But polls show they've made no progress since the January federal election.
Douceppe's political cowardise
It is amazing how Douceppe as well as Layton turn their back on our soldiers in Afghanistan for political reasons. Both minor party leaders are so short sighted, the drive to make a name for themselves so strong, they will sacrifice everything dear to us, especially the soldiers who have given their lives for us and them as well, and indeed the freedom we presently have. Pull our soldiers out of Afghanistan and the world including Canada will suffer more than we can even imagine. I really hope and pray that Prime Minister Steven Harper will have the courage to stand firm.
Afghanistan
Canada must re-evaluate its role in Afghanistan. Stephen Harper's decision to march in lockstep with the USA to impose a brave new world order through military might is a terrible mistake, both morally and practically.
Morally - because there is no enemy. The internal politics of Afghan civil disputes are far more complex than "Taliban versus good guys". The Pashtun population of Afghanistan, from whom the majority of Taliban originate, has been at odds with other ethnic groups within Afghanistan for over a century. There are dozens of competing forces within the country. And the infamous Al Qaida, the encamped Arab 9-11 troublemakers from far away, is long departed.
Even if the Conservative government's attempt to resolve this Pashtun-Taliban-warlord civil dispute through military means is well-intentioned, it is doomed to failure. The far larger and better equipped armies of the British, Americans, and Russians who preceded us in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries have learned that Afghanistan's mountainous geography gives local geurilla forces a virtually insurmountable advantage.
Far better that Canadians assume a practical philosophy of peacekeeping and civil development. We can and should work with whatever government or governments the Afghans create on their own, and send teachers, engineers, police and peacekeepers, not assault troops. Democracy, when it takes root in the country, will come from within.
What a truly stupid comment,
What a truly stupid comment, worthy of nothing less than a stupid person.
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