Layton: No tanks for Afghanistan

A Cannonball Press report:

TORONTO (CBP): Federal NDP leader Jack Layton issued a statement today strongly condemning the Conservative government's apparent decision to send 15 Canadian Army Leopard tanks to Afghanistan.

In the statement Mr Layton said "sending tanks to destroy the homes of innocent Afghani civilians only serves to demonstrate even more strongly the futility and immorality of Stephen Harper's cheerleading for George Bush."

Mr Layton went on to say that "While our troops may not be acting like terrorists in Afghanistan, if they use these armoured German dinosaurs they certainly will look like storm troopers to any objective observer. This is just one more reason why we must withdraw Canadian troops immediately in line with the resolution adopted by the NDP convention last weekend."

The statement concluded by noting that "The Liberals at least got one thing right when they decided to get rid of these Darth Vader behemoths. Stephen Harper seems ready to reverse that decision, obviously out of his macho desire to have guns as big as Bush's."

When asked to comment, Jane Taber of Bell Globemedia said that "Jack's nerves are eiskalt as he's turning up the HEAT on Harper!"

Globe and Mail columnist Norman Spector noted that "Jack Layton was among those who cheered when the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Rick Hillier, said that the mission of our troops was to target the 'detestable murderers and scumbags' behind the rise in international terrorism." Mr Spector wondered about Mr Layton's motives in changing his view.

Mark "Cannonball" C.

Posted by markc at September 11, 2006 04:33 PM