The great service of General Hillier

General Rick Hillier (ret'd) is an ambiable Newfoundlander who for some time was chief of Canada's defence staff. According to Gen. Hillier, defending Canada included joining in the American war on Afghanistan. In fact, Hillier was a most effective promoter of Canada's military mission in Kandahar.

Some of us questioned whether Hillier was genuinely in agreement with the mission's policy rationale. It was suggested that perhaps he was just doing his master's bidding -- his master being "Call me Steve" Harper -- and parroting his master's hawkish rhetoric.

Sometime in 2008, Gen. Hillier appeared on CBC Radio's Cross-Country Checkup to defend our military presence in Afghanistan, and make us feel better about the mounting toll in lives and treasure. Agent 3 asked him if he and his political masters were truly singing from the same hymn-sheet, or whether he had any disagreements with the Conservatives' Afghanistan policy.

Oh no, replied the general, Mr. Harper and I see eye-to-eye, absolutely and completely. Anyway, my job is not to question the commander-in-chief's orders, but to execute them. (Did he really say "execute"? ed.)

Apparently General Hillier dissembled. ("Dissemble - v. intr. - To disguise or conceal one's real nature, motives, or feelings behind a false appearance." American Heritage Dictionary)

In his just-released autobiographical book, Hillier contradicts the impression that he was the main architect of the mission. He says that his strategy was to concentrate Canadian efforts in Kabul, rather than take on the more dangerous Kandahar assignment, which had little chance of success.

Hillier goes on to say that our military effort was hampered by timorous and quarrelling civilian and political partners in the Afghan capital. The multi-national endeavour was doomed from the start, he argues.

Hillier is highly critical of NATO, painting the alliance as bereft of ideas or strategies for the Afghan mission. But he cuts closer to the bone in attacking political operators in PM Harpoon's office, along with the pin-striped dips in the Department of Foreign affairs, for undermining the mission and misrepresenting it to the Canadian people.

General Hillier has thus kissed goodbye to any chances he might have had of becoming a Tory candidate in the next election. Could we have had a Minister of Defence who actually knew something about waging war? We'll never know.

We should be grateful to General Rick though for telling the truth, at last. By so doing, he has, perhaps unwittingly, done a great service to Canada and particularly the Canadian troops who might be asked to remain in the hell of Afghanistan for years to come.

Hillier's admissions and attacks have pretty well scuppered any chance of the military mission being extended past the present 2011 end date. The Americans want us to reconsider that deadline. The spineless Peter McHack was already sending up trial balloons to the effect that we might have to stay a little longer and shed a little more blood.

Hillier's book makes it less likely than ever that the tide of Canadian public opinion, running strongly against the Afghan war, can be reversed, even by a majority Tory government.