First Stephane Dion demanded that Canada "rebalance" the mission in Afghanistan

Earlier this week, Canada delivered $1,000,000 in cash to farmers who had been displaced by fighting. Now we get the announcement of "hundreds of millions of dollars" in aid for Afghanistan. One would think that the mission has been "re-balanced", and would regain the support of the Liberal party, right?

WRONG! Apparently Dion misspoke when he said the mission needed to be re-balanced, what he to say was it needs to be ended. The Liberals released a statement about their "plan" for Afghanistan today:

* Committing to ending Canada’s mission in Kandahar in 2009 and immediately informing NATO of this deadline so that a replacement nation can be found;
* Better integrating military, aid and diplomacy efforts;
* Developing an effective strategy to combat the problems stemming from the local economy’s dependence on the illegal opium trade; and
* Addressing the chronic fresh water shortage.

Basically what Dion and the Libs are saying is that the current strategy will do just fine, until 2009; at which time control of Kandahar should be given to whomever fills the power vacuum left behind by the Canadians.

As a Liberal cabinet minister when Canada committed itself to the Afghan mission, one can only assume that Dion supported the war. When it comes to winning the war, he's not so supportive.

Labels: Afghanistan, Liberal Party, Stephane Dion