Peace yes, truce no

The commander-in-chief comments on the Olympics and the war in Afghanistan.

Shortly after signing on as official patron of the Olympic Truce for the 2010 Winter Games, Governor-General Michaëlle Jean rejected a suggestion Monday that a truce be imposed on Canadian military action in Afghanistan for the 17 days of the Olympics. "I think we must build peace in Afghanistan, and that’s what our soldiers are trying so hard to achieve," Ms. Jean told reporters...

Canadian troops are "working so hard" to help build a civil society in the worn-torn, mountainous country, Ms. Jean added before being whisked away by her team of handlers.

In her earlier remarks to the truce forum, the Governor-General recalled joining Canadian soldiers in an emotional chorus of John Lennon’s anti-war anthem, Give Peace a Chance. "[There were] hundreds of voices echoing through the dark Kandahar night ... and it was powerful, because I knew the soldiers were risking their lives every day ... to support the aspirations of the population to live in a secure place, to live in peace," Ms. Jean said.

The Governor General’s position seems to be in keeping with that of the Vancouver Olympic organizing committee and, for that matter, the International Olympic Committee’s own description of the modern Olympic truce.