Leaving Afghanistan: Another Thought

 Having previously written about the the American decision to leave Afghanistan and what that might functionally mean today I am faced, as we all are, with the reality on the ground.

Having re read my previous Blog I find no compulsion to "correct" or edit those previous thoughts but I do think they are incomplete in capturing some aspect of Canada's involvement.  I finished that Blog with commentary about how Selection and Maintenance of the Aim was so important for any Canadian involvement in deployed operations. It has been so so easy to get distracted from our Strategic Objectives by the "pressing need on the ground"   That pressing need has, over years turned into a "demand signal" which of course is to help those who helped us. 

Admittedly I was previously against bringing back those Afghan interpreters and support staff to Canada. This was years ago.  When there was still a chance that Afghanistan might find its way to some sort of stable Civil Society it was very clear that those who helped us over the years were going to be the very sort of people needed the most. Diluting an already pitifully small number of reasonably educated Afghans was not going to help, in fact it guaranteed things would be more difficult. However as the Senior Afghan Leadership continued to demonstrate their traditional self serving focus at the expense of making any real change, and as the world grew tired of waiting ( and unwilling to help) it was increasingly clear that there was going to be no significant change. The moment the Americans announced their pull out, was the moment of the Taliban's victory and the moment I changed my view about bringing to Canada those who will now no longer be the backbone of transforming Afghanistan but rather be the victims of a refreshed / renewed Taliban regime. 

Afghans have proven over the course of history that their leadership is adroit at adapting to reality and doing their very best to profit from whatever circumstances they may face. Again, having dealt with a countless number of those individuals I have an unshakeable belief in their ability to spout whatever ideology might keep them not just alive but enriched and in positions of power.  Prior to the American announcement it was democracy and human rights, today it is the God given right for the Taliban to rule under the most harsh interpretation of Sharia Law.  Anyone who thinks that the Taliban have changed their spots has never seen a leopard. Because we want something to be true does not make it so. And when it comes to an evolved Taliban it most certainly is a fantasy of those who are either remarkably poorly informed or just simply lie to themselves and others. 

So, all that being said we should evacuate those that helped us. But we do so for more than humanitarian grounds, more than a moral obligation.  We must do so because, however unpopular it is to say, it is good for Canada and its attainment of future Strategic Objectives.  

Quickly reviewing our involvement in Afghanistan would reveal that we didn't go there because we loved democracy nor that we wanted to free Afghans from the yoke of Taliban rule. We went there because the US decided that if you weren't in support of them you were against them.  We participated for close to 14 years as the cost of not doing so, through the eyes of Washington and Ottawa, would be unacceptable. We didn't say that but it is the harsh reality. Claiming we were all about girls, schools and love of peace and freedom just simply isn't true. It's what our people did oh so well tactically but it was not the strategic objective. If it was we would have pushed to focus on Civil Society after the initial years of combat. We didn't because that's not what the US wanted. 

Looking forward and although we may hope that the US will learn from the past 20 years in Afghanistan, Iraq etc their past behaviour should give us little reason to actually hope. Regardless Hope is Not a Method. So, at some future juncture the US will once again flex and occupy a third world country and Canada will once again be called upon to help bring democracy to the world and support the poor and suffering peoples of country X.  That's not why we will go but go we will go nonetheless. 

When we do go, we will rely on the locals for more support than is possibly imaginable back here in Canada. Since the end of the Cold War and wherever we have deployed we have leaned on local communities to support the deployment. Lots of reasons why, most of them very good. But in order to do so those locals not only benefit but put themselves in harm's way should we decided to abandon the effort and leave them labelled as traitors to whichever self serving War Lord assumes control.  The CAF will need to hire locals and will in turn need to be able to point to previous efforts that when the West gets tired of doing the wrong thing over 20 years and pulls out that they will be protected and offered sanctuary. What we do now, how we handle this crisis will echo in our future. The safety of well being of deployed CAF pers requires nothing less. 

So yes there is absolutely a moral imperative to help those who helped us. Such an imperative also helps avoid further moral injuries to those who have served there and feel strongly about those who helped saved CAF lives. But there is also an Operational Imperative which is about setting the conditions for the future. 

Although American is no longer the dominant country it was, and is doubtlessly self imploding, its foreign interventions will dictate much of what Canadian Governments do and don't do with regard to military deployments for years to come.  So if morality dictates we exhaust every effort to support those who supported us then the future safety and capability of the CAF underline such an effort. It's not only good today but it's good for the future.