This is Private Sebastien Courcy, the 125th Canadian to come back from Aghanistan in a box. Yesterday his commanding officer gave the customary speech saying what a fine man and good soldier Pte. Courcy was. Today we witnessed the customary "ramp ceremony". Tomorrow will bring the customary motorcade along the "Highway of Heros"."Customary" suggests that this is something that has been done before and will be done again...and again...and again. Walt asks why. Why should even one Canadian life have been wasted in a war which is a paradigm of futility?
Why was Pte. Courcy in Afghanistan? Poor lad, he probably didn't want to go. But he joined the Armed Forces, and when you accept Her Majesty's shilling, you go where they tell you and do what they tell you. That's what Pte. Courcy did. He did what he was told and now he has paid the highest possible price. He never asked "why".
Maj. Christian Bergeron, leader of the Van Doos battle group to which Courcy belonged, said Courcy's death is a terrible loss for his comrades. But, he said, Courcy's fellow soldiers will carry on with the mission. "Afghanistan needs them," he said.
Rubbish! Afghanistan doesn't need them and doesn't want them. Our mission to bring peace, prosperity, democracy, respect for human rights etc. to Afghanistan was a lost cause right from the get-go. Why? Because the Afghanis apparently don't want those benefits of western civilization.
Sadly, more than a hundred Canadians perished out there in the armpit of the world before our political "leaders" figured that out. But would they bring our troops home? No!
Not even now when (according to an Ekos poll released the same day as Courcy's death) the majority of Canadians in every region agree that it's high time we admitted our mistake and left the battle zone. Stubborness, thy name is Harper!
Please don't let it be said that Pte. Courcy and 124 others died for their country. That's also rubbish! Walt supports our troops, but doesn't believe for a minute that their being in Afghanistan has anything whatever to do with protecting Canadians or Canadian interests.
The Canadian Army was ordered to join the fray as a kiss-and-make-up to the Americans for our refusal (surprising, when you think about it) to join in their invasion of Iraq. And lest you accuse Walt of being anti-Tory or pro-Liberal, I hasten to add that it was a Liberal government that made that commitment, and a Liberal politician, John Manley, who advised Steve to see it through to the bitter end or 2010...whichever comes first.
It's a bitter end, all right, but not for John or Steve. It's a bitter end for Pte. Courcy and 124 others who made "the ultimate sacrifice". That's the customary phrase. Let us hope and pray that the stubborn Mr. Harper will hear the voices of their families and millions of other Canadians saying "Enough is enough!"
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