Four Visions: Afghanistan
NDP View: Shhhh!
Finding a clear stance on the NDP website is a lost cause, even searching the word gets you nothing straightforward in the first two pages of results and how many voters will even put that much effort into it? Clearly Layton is either backing away from or keeping quiet his plan to end Canadian involvement in the Afghanistan mission, although other candidates have mentioned it as one of the four pillars of the NDP platform. And yet he attended Obama’s official nomination at the DNC. Square that circle if you can.
Liberal View: Out by 2011
Dion claims Harper followed his lead by announcing a firm deadline of 2011 for the Afghanistan mission.
Conservative View: Not a key issue
Afghanistan does not appear on the “Key Issues” page. Clearly a war is not a key issue to the conservatives. The conservative website lacks a search feature so I guess our quest for information, guidance, or leadership ends there.
Green View: Afghanistan is actually important!
I can’t believe I’m saying this but the Green Party seems to be the only party with any depth of understanding of the issue (indeed the only party who sees it as an important issue at all) and the only party with a detailed plan. For the full plan go here: http://www.greenparty.ca/en/policy/visiongreen/partfive#_Toc180047658 but essentially they want to shift the organizational structure from NATO to the UN by February 2009 with a corresponding troop drawdown and support the Poppies For Medicine initiative that wants to convert poppy harvest from the drug trade to lifesaving medicines.
Conclusion: Greens. No, Really
I can’t believe this but the Greens seem to be the only party willing to be leaders on this issue. You know, this minor issue of war. The have a depth of understanding and analysis that acknowledges the multiple sides, forces, and issues involved. It respects the Afghans while realistically facing the mistakes that have been made and has a plan for the future that understands the organizational structure and challenges. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like they’re commitment to withdrawal of troops but versus the one-dimensional commitments of the NDP, Conservatives, and Liberals the Green position actually seems dynamic enough to respond to the realities on the ground.
I don’t want to sound like a jerk here but I am truly, deeply shocked at this revelation. I have sorely underestimated the Green Party and I sincerely apologize for that. I was operating under an old paradigm for the party and frankly had less faith in the Canadian will for progress and change than I should have. I’ve been so caught up in the Obama phenomenon and placed so much of my faith and hope for the future in that campaign I completely failed to notice a fundamental shift in the politics at home. I can’t wait for the debate; May is going to clean up on this issue if she isn’t shouted down.
If you give a damn about Afghanistan, the war, our troops, or the future of international relations you owe it to yourself and your country to give the Greens’ position a serious look. If the war and our military is your issue the Greens are the only people taking you seriously.
So the Grazing Rites scorecard for this election so far is NDP 1, Green 1, everyone 0. Stay tuned.
