Afghanistan

Apparently we are split on our troops serving abroad: 45-46.  Of course it depends on the poll and the question, as support has been as high as 70%.  And it seems the NDP position has been noticed abroad: 

In Afghanistan on the weekend, a spokesman for the insurgent Taliban said he believes the resolve of Ottawa to stick with the mission is in question. "We think that when we kill enough Canadians they will quit war and return home," said Qari Yuosaf Ahmedi.

If you want to know why we are there, consider this:

Let's refresh ourselves about what Afghanistan was like a mere five years ago. Under the Taliban, TVs were banned. So was music. And children's toys. And forecasting the weather. Non-Muslims had to wear yellow badges in public. Soccer stadiums were turned into execution arenas, where gay men would have stone walls pushed on top of them. Women suspected of adultery would be stoned to death. Suspected prostitutes were shot. But, since the Taliban disallowed women from getting jobs, prostitution and begging were often all some women could do to survive.Women caught begging were beaten on the street. They were beaten if any of their skin was visible. Or if their shoes made noise when they walked.

If there was ever a fight tailor-made for liberal sensibilities, it was ousting these barbarians. Bringing minority and women's rights to Afghanistan? That's a struggle even a flower child like NDP Leader Jack Layton could get behind.

If we cut and run from a UN sponsored mission, what does that make us?  We should be there as long as we are needed.  Let's up this country still has the character that made it great and world renouned in the first half of the last century.