Tuesday October 07, 2008
Victory need not be total
The reported remarks of Britain's top commander in Afghanistan should not be taken as defeatism, but as an opportunity to clarify the West's war aims. It is important to be clear on what Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith said. He did not say Britain, Canada, the United States and the rest of the NATO and non-NATO countries fighting in Afghanistan should withdraw, or that a secure Afghanistan is no longer vitally important to the West. He told the Sunday Times, ''We're not going to win this war. It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army.'' That is hardly a surprising statement after nearly seven years of fighting Taliban insurgents, with no end in sight.
It's the economy, now
With little more than a week to go in the federal election, the man likeliest to lead the next government has finally seen fit to address the most pressing issue facing the country. It is encouraging that Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has acknowledged the economic uncertainty that has Canadians fearing for their investments, jobs and homes. But it is curious that it took him this long.
The masses like the arts
In justifying the $45-million in cuts to grants for artists his government announced just before the election, Stephen Harper has repeatedly stressed his concern for the sensibilities of a notional everyman. He said last month that ''ordinary working people'' were unconcerned by the elimination of grants. He also complained that unchecked subsidies could encourage ''creators or producers who are entirely cut off from public need or public demand.''
Siege diplomacy
The announcement last week that the United States will relocate its London embassy from Grosvenor Square, in the heart of the British capital, to an out-of-the-way spot south of the River Thames may be good news for property developers, but should concern almost everyone else.
