By Gregory Debogorski, Opinions Contributor
Canada is currently set to withdraw from Afghanistan in the summer of 2011. Are we letting our troops down by pulling out? In order to answer this, we must recognize that our soldiers aren’t only members of the armed forces—they’re also taxpayers, citizens and human beings.
From the perspective of a citizen, the greatest issue is always the effectiveness and efficiency in which taxes are spent. The financial effectiveness of the mission in Afghanistan can be defined as the long term outcome of Canadian tax dollar investment, and the efficiency of the mission can be viewed as “are we spending too much to achieve the long term outcomes soldiers desire?”
In a recent report titled “The Fiscal Impact of the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan” by Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer, Kevin Page, the Canadian government has spent between $7.7 billion to $10.5 billion over the 2001 to 2008 period. Given the reported corruption of the Karzai government over this period, and the recent reports of US & Afghan elements seeking parley with Taliban insurgents, you would figure any taxpayer would be frustrated with this gross fiscal irresponsibility.
Some argue that the military was protecting Canada from possible future terrorist attacks, and therefore this huge expenditure is worthwhile. However, in a theoretical thought-experiment where not a single Canadian life was lost, the Taliban would have to knock down half the high rises in downtown Toronto to have cost Canadians a similar financial amount.
This leads to the issue of whether the Canadian military is being ordered to put our nation’s finest men and women in unnecessary harm’s way. In other words, if this war is not financially sound, and after a decade still not won, should the Canadian government continue to send our people to the meat grinder of Kandahar? Soldiers obviously sign up to put their lives on the line, but nobody enjoys risking their butt for futility.
Some claim withdrawing from Afghanistan dishonours those who lost their lives on this mission; at the same time, perhaps it dishonours them to continue in Canada’s version of Vietnam. As of last August, the CBC reported “152 Canadian soldiers and four civilians have died as part of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan since it began in 2002.” This is a far cry from the massive toll of Vietnam, but the continued persistence of the Canadian government to continue will only lead to more deaths.
How many Canadian dead are too many? 150? 500? 1500? And last, what about the Canadian families who would possibly be better served with their loved ones come home sooner, rather than deader?
Ian Fowler is a former diplomat and special envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Niger who was kidnapped in Niger 22 months ago, and is reported by the CBC as saying, “the world does not need more of the kind of Canada they have been getting … The bottom line is that we will not prevail in Afghanistan … It is time to leave, not a moment, not a life and not a dollar later.”
Maybe we should take this gentleman’s advice and do our troops a favour. You decide. Are we letting them down?
Gregory Debogorski finished his bachelor of management at Dalhousie. He is an MA candidate in the economics department.
Recent Comments