April 17, 2008
To the Editor,
I am exceedingly saddened by the action taken by our political leaders, including some members of the Liberal party, that have decided to carry on with the offensive mode in Afghanistan.
There is another way, one that all Canadians could respect as in our former role as peace-keepers. Canada could take a leadership role under the auspices of the United Nations in initiating negotiations for a peace agreement with the people of Afghanistan. This is a war-ravaged, poverty-stricken country, that is presently also experiencing rocketing food prices.
As a Christian, or as a member of the global village, I cannot support that kind of violence. Nor can I see or accept the Bush administration's action of a preemptive war as being a form of self defence, especially when a military force is aggressive in a sovereign foreign land.
The leaders of our government are constantly telling us that the sacrifices made by our troops is improving the lives of the Afghan people. However, I have also read a two-page article in a magazine specifically outlining the reality of present day Afghanistan. The author of this information is Michael Skinner, who is a Ph.D candidate in Political Science at York University. In the summer of 2007, he joined Afghan-Canadian Hamayon Rastgor in a five-week tour of five Afghan provinces, including Kabul.
The following paragraph is the second last of Mr. Skinner's article: "The bottom line is that war is good for business in Canada. Businesses in the military and development sectors are already reaping large profits from Canada's war, while Canadian resource extraction companies are poised to profit from the privatization of resource extraction concessions currently owned by all Afghans."
You can read the whole article in the March/April issue of the Briarpatch magazine.
Leo Kurtenbach,
Box 268, Cudworth, Sask., S0K 1B0
Phone: 256 3638