EDITORIAL

Afghanistan War: was it worth it?

The government of Canada is in overdrive to justify its war in Afghanistan.

As the troops are removed from a combat role, we have heard from many in the Canadian forces about the wonderful progress that has been made in the country. But there is one problem with the blanket pronouncements from government officials—there is not a shred of evidence that any of the stated goals have been achieved.

Indeed, the facts show that the country has gone in the opposite direction to what was promised.
After more than 20 million dollars spent and 157 Canadians dead, there is a desperate need to convince Canadians that the war was worth it. So let’s look at the facts.

Since Canada took the reigns in Kandahar in late 2005, violence has increased each and every year. Attacks increased by 51 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 alone.

The much-touted reconstruction has also not materialized. Afghanistan still sits at the bottom of the UN human development index even after billions in aid dollars have poured into the country from NATO governments.

A recent survey on women’s rights internationally has shown Afghanistan to be the worst country in the world for women, with levels of poverty and violence unchanged since the NATO-led invasion began almost a decade ago.

Corruption is also at an all time high. According to Transparency International, Afghanistan sits at 176 out of 180 countries in terms of corruption. That is a staggering jump from 2005 when it was listed at number 117.

And NATO has done nothing to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. A recently released poll conducted by the International Council on Security and Development found that 87 per cent of southern Afghans and 76 per cent of those in the north oppose NATO’s actions in the country.

The war was never about helping the Afghan people. The facts on the ground after 10 years of occupation prove that.