Ottawa to create Panel to Review Afghan role?

What a joke! It is clear our role is to help the US as a junior partner in US imperialism. Interestingly, this was made clear by a report on the National last night. The US did not expect us to send military support to Iraq but instead we were to play a prominent role in Afghanistan. This is exactly what we are doing. This of course happened under the Liberals. The US did expect us to provide moral support for their invasion but we did not and this angered Rumsfeld et al no end!
The invasion and overthrow of the Taliban, wretched extremists though they be, was illegal and certainly immoral . See the article by Michael Mandel a Canadian Law Prof. Another article on both Afghanistan, Iraq, and the principles involved at this site.
Hopefully the Throne Speech will dethrone Harper and force an election call so that the taxpayer's money will not be wasted on such PR games as this.


Ottawa to create panel to review Afghan role: report
Last Updated: Friday, October 12, 2007 | 8:09 AM ET
CBC News
Ottawa plans to set up a non-partisan panel to review Canada's mission and future in Afghanistan, according to a report published Friday.

The Globe and Mail says former Liberal deputy prime minister John Manley will chair a five-person committee asked to recommend what Canada's role in Afghanistan should — or should not — be after the mandate for the current mission ends in February 2009.

The report, which cited anonymous government sources, named the other four prominent Canadians selected for the committee as:

Former CBC journalist Pamela Wallin, an officer of the Order of Canada who serves as a top adviser on Canada-U.S. relations to the president of the Americas Society and the Council of the Americas in New York.
Canadian businessman and former U.S. ambassador Derek Burney, who was a key political strategist for former Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney.
Former Bombardier CEO Paul Tellier.
Former Mulroney health minister Jake Epp.
Manley was also a Liberal cabinet minister in charge of the finance and industry portfolios.

The Globe reported that the five-member panel would receive its terms of reference Friday, then travel to Afghanistan to assess how best to provide aid to the country.

The panel will report directly to Prime Minister Stephen Harper within a few months with their view on whether Canada should reduce combat troops, withdraw them altogether or focus on reconstruction projects, the newspaper said.



Reports about the creation of a Canadian Afghan mission review come four days before Harper's throne speech on Oct. 16. The minority government's position on the war in Afghanistan has been a divisive issue and sources said Harper wanted to take partisanship out of the equation.

Roughly 2,500 Canadian soldiers are serving in the violent southern Kandahar region of Afghanistan. To date, 71 Canadian troops have died there and one Canadian diplomat was killed.