Draw Down

Last week US president Obama announced what is termed a "draw down" in Afghanistan, which in our terms is a withdrawal, an exit, of thousands of troops. Ten years ago nations rushed to support the American invasion of Afghanistan even though we were all a little vague about what we were doing. I have mentioned before that in 2001 I stood in Point Pleasant Park in Halifax with my then sixteen year old daughter while ships from the Canadian Navy sailed out of the harbour. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands of us lining the shore and it was a moving moment. Except that Jocelyn asked why we were sending the navy to a landlocked country. For me it symbolized the confusion in our mission which has never really gone away.

Several European nations have followed suit and announced similar troop withdrawals and the Canadian military is already in the process of stepping out a major combat role. It was so sad to hear that another Canadian soldier died in the past couple of days. The carefully worded announcement couldn`t mask the probability that he took his own life, making him a different kind of casualty of war.

I wonder what we will conclude about our presence in Afghanistan as the years pass. More than 150 Canadians have died, billions have been spent. Was it worth it? Is any war worth the losses? I always feel that in war the truth becomes very blurred.

Perhaps that was why Jesus called us to be peacemakers even though he lived under Roman occupation and was surrounded by passionate resisters to their rule. I would never demean the role Canadian military personnel have played in Afghanistan. These are brave men and women. It just seems to me that all wars are a colossal waste of human energy.

Thoughts and comments.