Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Father of soldier speaks out against Afghan pledge

The father of a Nova Scotia soldier killed in the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan is speaking out against the prime minister's decision to reaffirm the commitment to leave the country in 2014.

Jim Davis of Bridgewater told CBC News he's conflicted over Canada's withdrawal but said he believes entering the Afghan mission was the right decision.

"I believe we did the right thing by going, I know we did," Davis said, "The problem is that we didn't see the mission through."

Davis's son, Cpl. Paul Davis, was the ninth Canadian soldier to die in the Afghanistan mission after the vehicle he was riding in rolled over in March 2006.

"It hurts," Davis said, "My goodness, it's been six years. It's been a long time.

"It's been a long time, but the pain doesn't change."

On Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Canada would pledge $110 million annually to help fund the embattled Afghan National Army after the withdrawal of Canadian soldiers in March 2014.

It is estimated that it will cost $4.1 billion a year for Afghanistan to run its security forces once the NATO-led coalition pulls out in 2014.

Canada had been asked to consider leaving some soldiers in Afghanistan post-2014 to continue to help with training, but Harper said the deadline is firm. He said it is not an abandonment of Afghanistan but a transfer of responsibility to the Afghans.

Since 2010, the coalition has been planning to finish the military mission at the end of 2014, even as moves by nations such as France to pull combat troops out early has tested their strength.

Original Article
Source: CBC
Author: cbc

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