Remembrance thoughts Video
Some thoughts about the upcoming Remembrance Day national statutory holiday. The Afghanistan mission & Canada's role in it is a topic that doesn't seem to be getting serious debate. Any real questioning is seen as being unpatriotic, or "not supporting the troops." While the level of nationalistic fervour and flag-waving jingoism is not as intense as that seen in the US, any dissenting views that our forces are fighting & dying for our "way of life" and our "democratic values," or that we are making a big difference in the lives of ordinary Afghans is met with accusations just short of treason.
The original mission was to search & destroy bin Laden & his gang, or to bring them to justice, a more preferable outcome. Canada's sovereignty, was never threatened directly. We are not fighting to defend the homeland, there is no clear & present danger. Yes, terrorism is a worlwide concern & Canada, no less than other countries is targeted by & may be vulnerable in many ways to such attacks -- but such attacks will never be enough to destroy our liberties, democracy or way of life.
The September 11, 2001 attacks in New York & Washington, D.C., were horrendous and shouldn't be minimimized, but realistically, how much lasting effect did they have on the US? Why were aggressive military expeditions required to address this threat? Terroism is international criminal behaviour & that is how it should be approached. I'm not saying that small highly specialized military units shouldn't be used to accomplish the aim -- they were and are totally appropriate in this context. The fact that the Bush administration clearly dropped the ball in the events leading up to 9/11 is not arguable. The damning Presidential briefing memo of August 2001 spelled out clearly what was about to happen. The FBI did it's job & so did the CIA -- not as well perhaps, but nevertheless Bush had pre-warning.
The bigger issue is that of US foreign policy & the games of geopolitics played over the decades that are the ultimate cause of this grief. There is a clear cause & effect of the application of American exceptionalism and projection of power starting in the 1920's when the large oil companies (US and British) carved up that part of the middle east at a secret meeting in Scotland for their own profit, with the active approval & support of the US government,. Then there was the CIA plot to the overthrow of the legitimately elected government of Iran in 1953, to the support of Saddam Hussain, the arming of the Taliban as a thorn in the Soviet Union's side in their action in Afghanistan 1979 -89 -- an action that was secretly encouraged to give the Soviets "their own Vietnam" in the words of Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was President Carter's national security advisor and the architect of America's current geopolitcal stance.
Some Brzezinski quotes:
"It is imperative that no Eurasian challenger emerges capable of dominating Eurasia and thus of also challenging America. The formulation of a comprehensive and integrated Eurasian geostrategy is therefore the purpose of this book. (From his book - The Grand Chessboard)
"How America 'manages' Eurasia is critical. A power that dominates Eurasia would control two of the world's three most advanced and economically productive regions. A mere glance at the map also suggests that control over Eurasia would almost automatically entail Africa's subordination, rendering the Western Hemisphere and Oceania geopolitically peripheral to the world's central continent . . ."
The most immediate task is to make certain that no state or combination of states gains the capacity to expel the United States from Eurasia or even to diminish significantly its decisive arbitration role." (p. 198)
"Moreover, as America becomes an increasingly multi-cultural society, it may find it more difficult to fashion a consensus on foreign policy issues, except in the circumstance of a truly massive and widely perceived direct external threat." (p. 211) Hmmm, does the Iraqi WMD b.s. ring a bell here?
Now you know. Here's my message young men and women of the western democracies. DO NOT join the armed forces to fight in wars that support these policies. The draft is gone in the US, you do not have to serve. Those who are already serving, put in your documents for release if you can and do not "reup" when the time comes. This of course doesn't apply if you homeland is under real rather than "perceived" massive immediate threat from foreign invading forces.
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kevinanity: It's kevin-anity or kev-inanity :) Eloquent. Very nicely done.
tattooskin72: very well said :)
AmericanResponses: As someone who served two tours in Afghanistan and who has a brother there now I can only say I agree with your assessment of the war our efforts there It is a quagmire that will bring little change
GriffinPilgrim: I agree with you wholeheartedly, my friend. And may I say I am wearing a poppy right now and I would like to believe that I know what it really means. Particularly the NOT Christian aspect. My grandfather was an officer in India in WW2, he was mentioned in dispatches. He never would say way, just said he did "something on a hill." He had nothing but praise for his Hindu solders. He was devout Christian, but knew this isn't about thay.
PhyllisSophical: Well said, sir. My father was a British soldier during WWII and will not talk about it, although he does believe it was a necessary war. However, when my brothers and I were raised in Canada, he would not let us wear the poppies. I think it was because he did not want to remember. Therefore, I have never worn a poppy to this day. My thoughts are with soldiers and their families, past and present, throughout the year.
ashaman72: Well spoken, sir.
AzazelMachine: Too cool. Dont see that kinda of honesty, and honor too often in this day and age.
Author: wspol624; Uploaded: Nov 6, 2009; Duration: 8:53; Views: 69
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