A letter in the National Post that is bang on:

We’re not getting a true picture of Afghanistan

Re: We Can’t Win In Afghanistan, letter to the editor, Aug. 24.

While letter-writer Mahmood Elahi is correct to point out Pakistan’s duplicity, he rather misrepresents the effectiveness of the Taliban. They certainly are not “slaughtering” NATO forces “with impunity.” In fact, a recent Taliban attack against the Kandahar air base was so inept the attackers were wiped out almost immediately [see end of this post]. Meanwhile, if the Taliban set a roadside IED and months later a NATO vehicle sets it off, it will be described as a “sophisticated” attack that shows the “growing boldness” of the Taliban who are “escalating the violence.” Yet, nothing will happen for weeks or months until the next IED explodes.

The media basically reports the Afghan war through NATO casualties and mistakes while the Taliban get a free pass. WikiLeaks gives out unverified raw combat data and everybody rushes to find U.S. “lies.” However, a UN report showing the Taliban responsible for 80% of civilian casualties and condemning them for using “human shields” is ignored [see this post]. Any wonder the Afghan mission is unpopular and “hopeless”?

Finally, nobody seems to realize the vast majority of NATO have never been involved in combat operations while the belated U.S. “surge” is years late and not yet complete. We can’t win? We have not even bothered to try.

B. Cybulski, Toronto.

These people certainly don’t want us to try:

Petition: Stop the Attack on Kandahar

More on Ceasefire.ca and St. Steve Staples of the Rideau Institute at the end of this post.

Mark
Ottawa