Liberal Democrats AWOL with the demise of the Afghan government
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an election today that will be held on September 20. All this during an international crisis and assault on democracy in the Middle East.
President Joe Biden is on sabbatical at Camp David as American forces are at great risk in Kabul and elsewhere, that are trying to escape the onslaught of The Taliban.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is on vacation, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is trying to offer re-assurances. We saw this when China imposed a national security law in Hong Kong in May 2020.
Twenty years on, the loss of lives defending human rights in Afghanistan appears for naught. The Taliban say that it has learned a lot in the last twenty years. Yet, there they sit todayin the Afghan presidential palace, all males, photographed holding rifles, smiling, while Shariah Law, no doubt returns to prominence and with that, stonings and amputations . Woman and girls will bear the brunt of this coup d'état as girls are already being segregated and forced out of the education system. Murals showing women in wedding gowns were being white - washed over by Taliban troops, today.
The aftermath has opened the door for Al Queda, Islamic State, and other terrorist factions in the Middle East in Syria and Iraq to set up shop. Despite 2 trillion USD dollars and 2,448 American lives lost, Afghanistan has now returned to its January 2002 état des lieux after capitulating to Allied efforts to displace them from power.
Former Afghan leader Ashraf Ghani has fled to Tajikistan after Taliban insurgents stormed Kabul thwarting his hopes of a power sharing arrangement. Iran has offered space for Afghan refugees fleeing the onslaught, though, says they must return when the situation de-escalates. Turkey is in the midst of a refugee crisis as reports indicate that 500 to 2,000 Afghans are entering Turkey each day since the Biden Administration announced in May that U.S. forces were withdrawing by August.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has reported that the number of civilian casualties has risen 29% this year compared to 2020 with women and children increasingly affected. Iran and Pakistan hold 90% of Afghan refugees while Pakistan stating that it cannot accept any more refugees.
This is not a non violent political take-over of a nation state as extortion by non state actors along with planting of improvised explosive devices (IED) along major roadways are creating further instability. Social services are eroding further diminishing the quality of life along with loss of income attributed to the security situation.
Data compiled prominently by Linda Bilmes of Harvard University’s Kennedy School and from the Brown University Costs of War project below indicate the human cost of this twenty year conflict:
THE HUMAN COST:
American service members killed in Afghanistan through April: 2,448.
U.S. contractors: 3,846.
Afghan national military and police: 66,000.
Other allied service members, including from other NATO member states: 1,144.
Afghan civilians: 47,245.
Taliban and other opposition fighters: 51,191.
Aid workers: 444.
Journalists: 72.
One hundred and fifty nine Canadian Forces personnel have died in the Afghanistan war since 2002. Yet, the Canadian Prime Minister is doing a total disservice to those victims families by calling a snap election as the Liberal Party is leading in the polls 35.6 to 28.8 over the second place Conservative Party according to CBC polling tracker, Eric Grenier. Many Canadians are familiar with the Highway of Heroes, a section along Highway 401 where deceased soldiers were carried from Canadian Forces base in Trenton to Toronto for repatriation. Alas, the Canadian Prime Minister is high on words and appearances, though, short on solutions during his tenure. Change can be good.
The international community is under pressure to respond to this Made in America crisis brought on by the Biden Administration, particularly, made difficult by the COVID pandemic. This pushes Biden into a foreign policy quagmire that may provoke a military response elsewhere if things go badly at home with his popularity. Talk about giving your opponents prime bulletin board material.
With the state of Liberalism seemingly in decay as China's General Secretary Xi Jinping claims, a return to progressive conservatism seems the panacea moving forward. A centrist political party with many socio political tentacles and a strong leader to stand up to authoritarianism is crucial for democracies to navigate this very challenging and complex world for future generations.
