Afstan: Now we really know what the Globe's Editor-in-chief thinks

I think this screaming front page headline in today's paper says it all about Steady Eddie's view.

SUPPORT PLUMMETS FOR AFGHAN MISSION: Canadian opposition to troop deployment growing fastest in Quebec, poll finds

Note: The survey was conducted by the Strategic Counsel for CTV and The Globe and Mail on Wednesday and Thursday.

I'd love to see the actual questions--and hear Strategic Counsel chairman Allan Gregg describe how the answers to them led him to conclude unequivocally:

"Active military combat is just not consistent with Canadians' self-image of what we should be doing abroad..."

Mr Gregg goes on (his statements actually seem simply to be his personal opinion--not based specifically on the poll--but the story doesn't mention that inconvenient point):

For good or ill, we continue to see ourselves as kind of the Baden-Powell of the world community, doing good deeds, not getting killed or killing others.

The boy scouts of the world indeed. I think Mr Gregg is just too tragically hip but he may be right (compare with Update here).

In any event, as our "hollow army" now stands, it will have hard time engaging in sustained active military combat for very long. When our current Afstan mission ends in February 07 expect a substantial reduction in the size of any follow-on force regardless of political considerations. We probably just do not have the troops to do Afstan at current levels (2,300 CF personnel) and train an expanding (one hopes) army at the same time.

Mark C.

Posted by markc at May 6, 2006 12:21 PM