I've weighed in on this topic before, though I 'm not going to wade through the search function and find what I've said I will make an effort to throw out a Readers Digest Version of my thoughts.
Please forgive me, I am writing this after an extended time from home, after an extended time awake, with 40 hours before I leave to do it again. (That was not a sympathy/empathy ploy, those are facts, those of us who will be in Afghanistan in the new year for six months are already up to our necks living and breathing the training and prepartation to get there.)
Not supporting "the war" is a personal and political decision, based on whatever factors make up your character and make you Canadian. And as a voter you can have a say. (as a soldier with 27 years in said to me recently "Don't like it, vote Liberal in a couple of months, they'll bring us home and remind everyone why it was a mistake, though everyone will have forgotten it was they who sent us...")
But supporting the Troops is also a personal decision based on whatever factors make up your character and make you Canadian. It can be as simple as not spitting on a Canadian soldier in an airport, or as simple as helping line the road leading to the base with yellow ribbons as they come home.
Personally, and maybe this is due to a lack of understanding, I don't support the 'war' in Afghanistan (surprised?). I remember hearing that more Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan now than in any other war since WWII. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Why are we fighting insurgency in Afghanistan? What good are we accomplishing there? What cause are Canadians dying for? Who benefits from winning this war? Is it even possible to win?
The mission statement of the Candian Troops in Afghanistan has never wavered, we are there to add credibility and stability to the governing authority in the country of Afghanistan. Not warfighting. Yes we are trained to kick ***, and take names. And in the Wild West environment of Afghanistan that is a necessary thing, and it is a damn good thing that we are good at it. But we are also damn good at building schools, building infrastructure. We are not just fighting "an insurgency" (a little anti-US/IRAQ shading there) We are fighting an established terrorist regime, with skewed views of Islamic Law, and we are also fighting entrenched criminals and war lords who have profitted from the civil turmoil that has plagued Afghanistan for decades and who have kept the majority of the population dirt poor.
We as a respected and established HAVE country are providing opportunity for impoverished have-nots. We, as soldiers, believe in these ideals as it is one thing we cherish about Canada, and I don't think we have the morale high ground to let some casulaites take that away from others.
Who benefits? The 6 year old girl who goes to school for the first time and learns how to read. The fifty year old woman who will get to vote for the first time in her life and be treated as a human. The thrity year old mechanic who gets to do what he is trained to do because for so long there was no way for him to do, and he can finally support his family.
Who benefits? Canadians, we can say once Afghanistan takes fledgling steps as a recovering nation and we can say, yeah, we did that...
It seems counterproductive to fight religious fundamentalism with violence. Attacking the insurgents just seems to create a martyr complex which breeds more violence. Do Afghanis even want a democracy? I can think of 10 African countries who'd be better served by a peacekeeping force, or an installation of democracy.
Peacekeeping is dead. We are no longer in between equally strong sides and keeping them apart. We are peacemakers, by whatever means necessary.
We are popluar in Afghanistan, average joe Afghan likes us and wants us there beacuse of what we mean. I don't know if Afghanistan wants democracy. They want freedom to pray the way they want and feed their children.
And you don't stop religious fanaticism by asking nice. You do whatever necessary to stop, interdict, and disrupt their operations, physically, and ideologically. As leaders we do not wnat to send our troops out into sustained combat because it is destructive not constructive, and there is more chance for body bags coming home. But sometimes you have to call a spade a spade and throat punch someone.
That said, I don't support our troops because our troops are enacting a mission I can't support. I empathize with the families and the soldiers themselves. I pray for the safe return of every soldier overseas. I wish Canadians weren't dying (seemingly) in vain. If there's a good reason that we're at war in Afghanistan, fill me in.
We are in Afghanistan because I believe we have a morale obligation to assist an impoverished society that has asked for our support. And because we can.
I don't care if you support us, though I'd like you to. Just as long as you remember that politicians and the public choose our missions, we freely choose the lifestyle.
/steps off soapbox/
