POSTED COMMENT TO A COLUMN IN TORONTO'S GLOBE AND MAIL
"What happened over there that he has become so bitter against our troops and freedom."
How many times have we read a variation of this completely uninformed comment?
It originated with that great bulk of twisted ethics, Stephen Harper, the very man who is entirely responsible for the behavior of the government and its representatives abroad, including troops.
What are the facts?
Armies are disciplined to do what they are told - that is a major part of their often humiliating basic training, always saluting and saying “Sir.”
Armies, in every modern democracy, are under the command of an elected government.
Armies' policies are all set by civilian overlords.
Armies go nowhere and do nothing without civilian direction.
And we would not have it any other way.
So, who are the civilians responsible for what happened in Afghanistan?
Stephen Harper.
This is Harper's shabbiest performance to date.
He's blaming others for his own failure and trying to sound patriotic while doing it.
I do recall him doing other very similar things. It clearly is a basic part of his character. After Israel's savage slaughters in Lebanon and Gaza, he attempted to pin the label of anti-Semite on honest Canadian critics.
Our own prime minister calling us names because we say things with which he disagrees.
What a disaster he is as a national leader.
How far we have fallen.
