London attacks underscore Canada's need to be in Afghanistan: Hillier

[Allen]

If it makes anyone feel better, I recently read of a Cdn. poll where the majority felt we should stay in Afghanistan - can't remember where, but it was in the news after the London attacks. Also, a few days ago, CFRB in Toronto did a poll where 70% agreed with our troops going to Kandahar. So don't assume from one message board that these CBC types are in the majority.

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

I fired a round at the CBC tonight - we shall see.  I tried to keep it short, but it still turned into a bit of a rant...  I hope others do the same.

BTW, I'm dead centre on the Political Compass...who knew??

Cheers,

Teddy

 

[Roy Harding]

In fairness, not ALL the media is upset.  Following is an editorial in Saturday's National Post:

In praise of a plain-spoken general

The pointed comments by General Rick Hillier, Canada's no-nonsense Chief of Defence Staff, regarding the role of Canada's military, the reason for its mission in Afghanistan and the risks associated with such work, represent a welcome rejoinder to the politicians and mandarins who seek to remodel the military as community helpers in fatigues.

    In particular, it is Gen. Hillier's blunt assessment of the nature of the job of the Armed Forces and their role in safeguarding national interests at home and abroad that is so refreshing. Said Gen. Hillier: â Å“We're not the public service of Canada, we're not just another department. We are the Canadian Forces, and our job is to be able to kill people.â ?

    Indeed they do have to be able to kill people, notably those who have sworn to kill them, or who would bring their evil to this country or those of our allies in the war on terrorism. This message may not go over well with some in Ottawa, but that is the essence of their job, and Canadians will be grateful for these words and also for this frank appraisal of the enemy Canada's soldiers are engaging in Afghanistan:

    â Å“These are detestable murderers and scumbags, I'll tell you that right upfront,â ? said Gen. Hillier.

    â Å“They detest our freedoms; they detest our society; they detest our liberties. They want three things: They want power to dictate people's lives to them ... they want money so they can continue to have more power; and they want immunity from responsibility for their own actions.

    â Å“They want to break our society â ” I believe that. And I believe that therefore we are going to be a target in their sights.â ?

    Gen. Hillier's statements follow similarly welcome remarks by Anne McLellan, the Public Safety Minister, who rejected the notion that because Canada did not participate in the Iraq war, we could sit safely on the sidelines of the war on terrorism. After all, Canada is in Afghanistan, and will soon be taking the front to the terrorists' doorsteps in that country, with Joint Task Force 2 commandos joining the fight.

    Gen. Hillier said there may well be casualties in the fight, but that that risk is no reason to retreat.

    He cited the role Canadians played in the Second World War: â Å“Did they say, 'No we might be attacked over here if we actually stand up against those despicable murders and bastards?' No they did not.â ?

    If a general were to use the language of a diplomat or a guardian of political correctness when defining the enemy or setting out a mission, then the result would be most unlikely to be successful. Thankfully, there are no such worries in the case of Gen. Hillier. But the rah-rah speeches only go so far. This message really needs to be delivered from the barrel of a gun.

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

Yes, and a tad more balanced today - this from the CBC's interview with the Commander 1 CMBG:

Canadians in Kandahar will be nation building
Last Updated Sat, 16 Jul 2005 21:27:18 EDT

The Canadian soldiers who are going to Kandahar in Afghanistan next month have a dual mission: fight insurgents, and help rebuild the war-torn country.

The first group of 250 soldiers, mostly from Edmonton, will leave for the city on Tuesday. A second, larger group from Petawawa, Ont. will head to Afghanistan by the end of month.

They will form a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), a group of soldiers, police, diplomats and aid workers who will work to reinforce the Afghan government and stabilize the region.

"The Provincial Reconstruction Team will be conducting security tasks, patrols of the Kandahar area to establish a secure environment so the other agencies, including CIDA, Foreign Affairs and RCMP can assist the Afghans," Col. David Fraser said.

The nation-building work done by the PRTs is Canada's most important contribution to Afghanistan, said Mark Sedra, an expert on the country with the Bonn International Center for Conversion.

"Preventing the failure of the Afghan state â “ one more time â “ and preventing Afghanistan from once more degenerating into a terrorist state can, in fact will, really advance Canadian security substantially," he said.

The mission is dangerous, Fraser said. "Canadians have to be prepared that we could have casualties on this mission."

Fraser's comments echo those of Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of defence staff, on Thursday.

FROM JULY15, 2005: Helping Afghanistan will protect Canada, says top soldier

Hiller said the infantry would be joined by special forces soldiers from JTF2 to fight what he called "detestable murderers and scumbags."

The Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan, Christopher Alexander, also thinks Canadians may be fighting.

"Let's be clear, when there's an insurgency it has to be met with, by qualified military assets that are prepared to engage in combat. Canadians will be part of that."

Canadian soldiers first went to Kandahar in 2002, where four were killed by an American bomb.

Since then, Canada has kept about a thousand soldiers in Kabul, but the capital is now secure and the main base in moving to Kandahar.

The Kandahar mission is expected to last about 18 months.

I still get wound up if I read the letters section following the CDS' interview, though...

Cheers,

TR

 

[Roy Harding]

Yes, and a tad more balanced today - this from the CBC's interview with the Commander 1 CMBG:

I still get wound up if I read the letters section following the CDS' interview, though...

Cheers,

TR

They haven't published yours or mine, yet (mine was basically repeat of a previous post here - somewhat cleaned up and "de-acronymed").

As it is the weekend, and I'm not sure what kind of support they give to their board then, I'll wait until the end of the day tomorrow before I conclude that they will not be publishing too many letters in support of the CDS.

 

[rcr]

[quote author=Teddy Ruxpin]
Yes, and a tad more balanced today - this from the CBC's interview with the Commander 1 CMBG:

I still get wound up if I read the letters section following the CDS' interview, though...

Cheers,

TR
[/quote]

Namely this one?

"I would like to apologize to the terrorists on behalf of the rest of Canada and ask that Mr. Hillier please forward his home address to al-Qaeda if they wish to respond to his comments."

I am somewhat curious with regards to how that little gem was posted.  To me that seems outright slanderous of Hillier's frank statements, and he himself as a person.  I am still awestruck by some of the responders labelling Hillier as a man who doesn't read history books, or doesn't operate within a modern niche of understanding.  Obviously, these readers haven't looked outside our borders, atleast openly, therefore they reserve no moral highground to condemn a General.

 

[Britney Spears]

amely this one?

"I would like to apologize to the terrorists on behalf of the rest of Canada and ask that Mr. Hillier please forward his home address to al-Qaeda if they wish to respond to his comments."

I am somewhat curious with regards to how that little gem was posted.  To me that seems outright slanderous of Hillier's frank statements, and he himself as a person.  I am still awestruck by some of the responders labelling Hillier as a man who doesn't read history books, or doesn't operate within a modern niche of understanding.  Obviously, these readers haven't looked outside our borders, atleast openly, therefore they reserve no moral highground to condemn a General.

WHOOOOOOOSH!

 

[paracowboy]

I am still awestruck by some of the responders labelling Hillier as a man who doesn't read history books, or doesn't operate within a modern niche of understanding.  

I would like to see a comparison of the General's various detractor's education levels and daily reading, to his.

 

[Slim]

"I would like to apologize to the terrorists on behalf of the rest of Canada and ask that Mr. Hillier please forward his home address to al-Qaeda if they wish to respond to his comments."

Frankly I find this above statement quite frightening, and made all the more severe by the fact that it was posted by a fellow Canadian. While I realize that there is anti-American sentiment out there (not that I agree with it, just acknowledging its presence) I would have though that the average person realizes that we are at war and the opposition means to eradicate our way of life if they can get away with it.

Thankfully I believe this type of person to be a vocal minority in this country and that the majority of Canadian citizens stand behind our CDS and our CF.

As for the person who made the above statement: Buddy, Treason is still on the books! :-*

 

[Britney Spears]

Frankly I find this above statement quite frightening, and made all the more severe by the fact that it was posted by a fellow Canadian. While I realize that there is anti-American sentiment out there (not that I agree with it, just acknowledging its presence) I would have though that the average person realizes that we are at war and the opposition means to eradicate our way of life if they can get away with it.

Thankfully I believe this type of person to be a vocal minority in this country and that the majority of Canadian citizens stand behind our CDS and our CF.

As for the person who made the above statement: Buddy, Treason is still on the books! Kiss
Posted on: Today at 12:50:33
Posted by: paracowboy

Uhh.....What were you saying about WOs and their sense of humour again?

 

[Slim]

Uhh.....What were you saying about WOs and their sense of humour again?

If Mr Frazer James of Vancouver wants to say things like that out loud he can exect a certain amount of opposition from the rest of us thats all.

Slim

 

[Baloo]

Namely this one?

"I would like to apologize to the terrorists on behalf of the rest of Canada and ask that Mr. Hillier please forward his home address to al-Qaeda if they wish to respond to his comments."

Uh, guys, I'm just as disgusted by the opinions I am reading in the Editorial section of the Toronto Star with regards to Gen. Hillier...but a couple of you seemed to miss the fact that the above quote was a sarcastic comment made to SUPPORT Gen. Hillier, not the opposite. Take a minute to look at the broader message.

 

[Slim]

Uh, guys, I'm just as disgusted by the opinions I am reading in the Editorial section of the Toronto Star with regards to Gen. Hillier...but a couple of you seemed to miss the fact that the above quote was a sarcastic comment made to SUPPORT Gen. Hillier, not the opposite. Take a minute to look at the broader message.

Well...With all due respect to Mr James I'd say he needs to re-evaluate the way he wrote that article as it did not come across that way to most of us.

Slim

 

[Britney Spears]

OK Slim you're starting to make me doubt my own sanity. Am I seriously the only person who can see that this:

"I would like to apologize to the terrorists on behalf of the rest of Canada and ask that Mr. Hillier please forward his home address to al-Qaeda if they wish to respond to his comments."

is a witty jab at all the other moonbat comments, and NOT a serious suggestion that Gen. Hillier's address be forwarded to AQ? Does the use of the word "terrorist" to refer to AQ  and "I would like to apologize to the terrorists on behalf of the rest of Canada" not give it away?  I didn't bother when scm77 thought it was, but you too?

EDIT: Beat me to it, but you know how I always need to get in the last word.....

 

[Slim]

OK Slim you're starting to make me doubt my own sanity. Am I seriously the only person who can see that this:

is a witty jab at all the other moonbat comments, and NOT a serious suggestion that Gen. Hillier's address be forwarded to AQ? Does the use of the word "terrorist" to refer to AQ   and "I would like to apologize to the terrorists on behalf of the rest of Canada" not give it away?   I didn't bother when scm77 thought it was, but you too?

EDIT: Beat me to it, but you know how I always need to get in the last word.....

Sorry Brother

When you live in Toronto and work among the rich and spoiled you tend to hear stuff like that allot and have no trouble believing it. Also I searched the forum for the comment and saw it not in the context of the article but by itself.

However I must say that even in humour it rings a pretty dim tone.

Sorry just my 00.02 cents worth

Slim

 

[rcr]

OK Slim you're starting to make me doubt my own sanity. Am I seriously the only person who can see that this:

is a witty jab at all the other moonbat comments, and NOT a serious suggestion that Gen. Hillier's address be forwarded to AQ?

I have to admit, I am quite jaded by the attitudes of many towards particular subjects such as this.  My discretion for sarcasm has worn away, I suppose.  Witty jab or not, not everyone will see the comment as humour after reading all the other comments, and it may only serve for others to build on Mr. James' remarks.   Well read, Britney  

However I must say that even in humour it rings a pretty dim tone.

I'm in agreement with you, Slim.

 

[Britney Spears]

Cheer up guys.....

Stop Comparing Me to American Moonbats

Iowahawk Special Guest Commentary
By Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi

As a holy activist battling infidel crusaders and their heretic lackeys here in Mesopotamia, Allah knows I have to have a thick skin. Still, every once in a while, I'll run across something that really gets my blood boiling. For instance, after my last opinion piece I got this nastygram from some choad over in Great Satanland:

    I am appalled and sickened that anyone would draw a parellel between Al-Zarqawi and the American Left.

Oh, ya think? Well, I got news for you, Moby: I'm not exactly thrilled about any such comparison MYSELF, okay?  See, I didn't spend the last ten years crawling in the sand at jihad training camp, getting my knuckles thwacked by an Imam every time I forgot a Quran verse, and living in smelly Baghdad safehouse just to get compared to a bunch of trucker-hat AltWeekly motards from Austin and Seattle.

Me, like the American Left? I mean, are you ******* joking me?

As. *******. If.

Oh sure, the infidel progressives like to talk a good game. They'll call you â Å“freedom fightersâ ? and â Å“the resistanceâ ? and â Å“Iraqi Minutemen.â ? But soon as you need some volunteers to take out a grade school full of collaborators, they're like, â Å“sorry dude, I've got to run off some International ANSWER fliers at Kinkos.â ?

Next, when you string up some smoldering infidel carcasses from a Fallujah bridge, they're all like, â Å“**** yeah, screw those mercenaries! High five, man! C'mon, man, don't leave me hangin' bro!â ? But where were these guys when there was dismemberment and heavy carcass-lifting to do? Updating the UBB scripts on their ******* message boards, that's where.

And please, don't even get me started about the armchair quarterbacking. They want you to kill crusaders, but only enough that the other ones go home, I guess so they can film the survivors for a weepy poignant Vietnam documentary. Oh yeah, great plan, Field Marshall Von Sundance. I'm right on it, just as soon I FIND A PLACE WHERE I CAN GET TWO ******* HOURS OF BOMB-FREE SLEEP.

Holy dung, like I don't have enough of my own local idiots to put up with. Do you realize how hard it is to find decent jihad recruits when you're taking fire from infidels and Iraqis? Cripes, you should have seen the collection of numbnuts and  droolers on the short bus from Saudi yesterday. Good Allah, I swear the only way we're ever gonna turn these morons into martyrs is to plant detonation buttons inside their nostrils.

Where was I? Anyway, sorry for the rant, but it's been a tough couple of months and the last crap I need is to get associated with a bunch of infidel college radio imbeciles totally unclear on the concept. Get insulted by one of Rove's little satan assholes, and what do they do? Whine and ***** and threaten to â Å“shut their ******* mouths while I'm pummelling themâ ?and â Å“..me & my brick in a dark alleyâ ? and â Å“sharpen your knivesâ ? and â Å“just punch the stupid ****** outâ ? and â Å“they'll consider the possibility of getting a shot in the teeth,â ? yada yada yada. Hel-loooo people: how do you expect anybody to take an anti-war movement seriously if its all 'jibba-jabba' and no 'chop-chop'?

Man, I just don't get it. There are lots of other American groups who are joining us against Bush's crusade, like David Duke and Fred Phelps and Stormfront. But who do I get automatically lumped in with? East Village Rage Against My Allowance fuckwits in Fred Perry tracksuits who can't figure out the controls on an iPod, let alone an international revolution.

It's not fair, and I swear to Allah the next time somebody tries to link the jihad with these infidel dipshits, I am totally going to snap. And the next time one of you chicken martyrs puts on a keffiya and starts babbling about â Å“solidarity with the resistance,â ? remember this: just because we are planning to kill you last doesn't make you our buddy.

Thanks to <a href=http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2005/07/stop_comparing_.html> The original source</a> and <a href=http://lightfighter.net/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/9036044533/m/3331065151>this Lightfighter thread.</a>

 

[Slim]

Brilliant! ;D

Thanks for that bit of plain-spoken sarcasm which is much easier to understand that the subtle and 'film-niore' type that those in Vancouver seem to like using.

 

[scm77]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't pick up the sarcasm from the guy who wanted to apologise to the terrorists.

Is this guy being sarcastic too??

General Hillier's name-calling and hate mongering should be severely punished. It echoes that of David Ahenakew.

Bernard Daly

In case you don't know David Ahenakew is the guy who said Jews were a "disease" and tried to justify the holocaust.

 

[Britney Spears]

No, the sarcastic one was the smartest one of the bunch (last time I read it, of course some members here may have since contributed).