Choosing Peace

 Canadian flag taken  down in Kabul March 2014 
marking the end of our military presence in Afghanistan. 


If memory serves me correctly it was early 2002 when I stood in Point Pleasant Park in Halifax and watched Canadian navy vessels make their way out of the harbour on their way to respond to the war in Afghanistan. I was with then 17-year-old daughter Jocelyn and a fair number of others, including a man some distance away who sang O Canada. It was moving, but Joc who wondered why we were sending the navy to a war in a land-locked nation. Good question.

There have been a lot of questions about what how we got involved as a nation in Afghanistan, why we stayed as long as we did, and what was accomplished. We do know that more than 150 brave Canadian men and women died there and at least 70 have died by suicide since the war ended, a grim reality we have addressed poorly. We may have created a Highway of Heroes here in Southern Ontario but the way we have treated veterans in body, mind, and spirit is a disgrace. 

A few days ago information was released from a study in the States ironically titled Lessons Learned.The 2,000 pages of documents reveal the bleak and unvarnished views of many insiders in a war that has cost a trillion dollars US for their effort alone, killed  more than 2,300 US servicemen and women, with 20,000+  injured. Tens of thousands of Afghan civilians have died in the conflict. Canada spent at least $18 billion in Canuck Bucks between 2001 and 2014 when we withdrew. 

The sad truth revealed in the American study is that no one really knew what the goals of the war were, and as a result few were accomplished. I heard a Canadian who served as an officer there saying that along with combat there was a "hearts and minds" objective of working in villages, drilling wells and building. Yet when they've returned few of the people remember them. 

There is little evidence that corruption has been rooted out in the Afghan government, or that the Taliban has been defeated, or that the plight of women has improved in the way that was hoped. I hate to think that the contributions of our troops were in vain, especially knowing how some families will mourn deeply in this season. 




Flora MacDonald in Afghanistan

I rooted around and found the blog entry from 2008 which I wrote after hearing former Canadian MP and cabinet minister, the late Flora MacDonald, speak about the work she was doing in rural Afghanistan to bring solar power and literacy to villages. Her foundation staff included herself and her Afghan driver. At the time I heard her in Victoria at FirstMet's Epiphany Explorations MacDonald was in her 80's and still making the trip to what was a dangerous region. She received absolutely no financial support from the Canadian government. 

What are the "lessons learned."? Well, get out of the way of a determined woman, for one.  And how about accepting that war has dubious outcomes for the most part and brings great sorrow. 

Last Sunday was for Peace in our Advent. Perhaps we can reflect on the courage of those who served in Afghanistan and on how we can choose alternatives to military conflict whenever possible in a world of turmoil. 

Here is the link to the Flora MacDonald blog

http://lionlamb-bowmanville.blogspot.com/2008/10/least-of-these.html