Jack Layton: Military Expert

Jack Layton is an insensitive buffoon whose ill-timed and feckless comments today are tantamount to pissing on the graves of Canada's fallen heroes.

OTTAWA — Canada should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible, NDP Jack Layton demanded Thursday.

"This is not the right mission for Canada," Layton told reporters at a news conference.

What would be the right mission, Jack? Providing security for Empress Chow? Patrolling stores on Davie Street to ensure GLBT quotas are being met? Security at the inSite building where heroin junkies can get their fix?

Layton said the mission in Afghanistan is not making the world a safer place and, with no end in sight, he wants troops home by February 2007 at the latest.

I'd say it's making the world a lot better for the men and women who were tortured/raped/beaten by the Taliban.

Layton said the current mission has no clear mandate, no criteria to measure its success, no timeline and no exit strategy.

"We believe we should bring our troops back," he said.

Izzat so? Well, if Jack! had taken four point two seconds of his time and accessed the Department of National Defence's Afghanistan website, he would have found a clear mandate...

Canada is in Afghanistan today to:

* defend our national interests;
* ensure Canadian leadership in world affairs; and
* help Afghanistan rebuild.

folks discussing criteria for measuring success, and the requirements for our exiting the country. As far as the timeline goes, it is idiocy to set a date for a troop withdrawl when there is still work left to be done.

Layton accused the Harper government of "blindly following" the lead of the Bush administration when making foreign policy decisions.

It just wouldn't be Jack! without a gratuitous anti-american statement, would it?

"It’s time once again for a made-in-Canada foreign policy … it’s time for Canada to reclaim its place in the world," Layton said.

Uhhhhh, correct me if I'm wrong here... but Stephen Harper was born in Canada. The Conservative party is a Canadian political party that was elected to form government in Canada. Canadians elected him! We are reclaiming our place in the world thanks to the work being down by our brave and noble troops in Afghanistan.

But the real clincher is this:

Layton prefaced his call for troops to come home by saying that not supporting the mission in Afghanistan doesn’t mean a lack of support for Canadian military.

Well what in the blue bloody blistering Hades does it mean? He's effectively stated that our troops are not doing any good over there. They are rudderless and without direction or focus. He has essentially stated that our troops are useless flotsam over there. Truth be told, the Canadian military is doing a great job over there under very harsh conditions.

Has Jack Layton even been to Afghanistan? Has he seen the work our troops are doing? Has he ever asked one of them?

Ask Marilynn Chenette if she thinks her work has no clear mandate or criteria for success. Ask the Engineers in charge of rebuilding Afghan infrastructure. Or the troops on the front lines that endure daily occurances of terrorist warfare. How about asking the President of freakin' Afghanistan what he thinks of Canadian involvement in his country.

Or how the the families who have lost loved ones defending freedom for residents of Kabul? Ever ask one of them, Jack?

It seems to me that each of our fallen soldiers knew exactly what they were doing over there. They were there to do a job and were fully aware of the risks. They choose to give of themselves for a cause greater than themselves because they have certain traits like honour and courage and bravery and selflessness. Although I cannot imagine what it must be like for the wives, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters of the fallen soldiers, I can state without any hesitation they they can hold their heads up high and know they their loved one did not die in vain.

But to call for a troop withdrawl. And say our forces have no business being there. And say we are blind followers. And claim we have to strategy or reason for being there.

It is an insult and a slap in the face to each and every soldier working in Afghanistan. Worse still, it is equivalent to vandalizing the tombstones of each Canadian who has died serving in Afghanistan since we 2001.

Jack Layton, your words have offended many Canadians, including this one.

You do not speak for me.

Update 9:00pm - I've jumped into the fray, and began a bit of a discussion with Youngfox and his commenters. A very robust conversation ensues...