Harper on Afghanistan
Frank realism or rank defeatism?
The Prime Minister’s widely debated remarks to CNN on the war in Afghanistan have divided opinion. In elite circles, his admission that the Taliban insurgency cannot be decisively defeated, is being heralded as refreshing candor, including this endorsement from John Manley, the former Liberal cabinet heavyweight who headed a commission on Afghanistan. But for a leader to admit a war can’t be won is a tough message for many to swallow, as evidenced by the "disheartened" reaction of the father of a soldier killed in Kandahar.
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