Promoting War and Bush’s Lies
[The following column by Andrea Johnson, Editor of the Quesnel Cariboo Observer, appeared in the September 10, 2006 edition of that newspaper. Andrea’s column is typical of the mainstream media’s attempts to continue the charade began by Bush and Cheney and those mysterious players who orchestrated 911. I am presenting it along with my letter of response. Whether or not it gets published in the Observer I wanted to present my position as it reflects the lie of 911 and all the subsequent carnage that’s come out of that hoax since. Ed.]
P.S. My letter did appear (intact) in the September 13th edition of the Observer. Ed
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Peacekeepers deserve praise and applause
By Andrea Johnson
Sep 10 2006
When Bryce Hipkin visits with Legion members this weekend, he should receive a hero’s welcome.
The Quesnel soldier has recently returned from his tour of duty as part of Canada’s peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.
Saturday, he’ll be at Royal Canadian Legion visiting with veterans after a formal presentation.
Hipkin, like the rest of his Canadian Forces comrades,
should be applauded for his work in helping rebuild Afghanistan.
Canada’s role is to help that country become a secure and self-sufficient democratic state and ensure it never again serves as a terrorist haven.
After years of war and oppression and after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, more then 14,000 Canadian Forces members have been deployed to the region under the umbrella of NATO and United Nations to rebuild the nation.
And while it’s devastating 16 Canadian soldiers have been killed while on duty in Afghanistan in the last three months, they should continue their mission.
The national NDP opposition is demanding the Conservative minority government recall the troops because their mission in Southern Afghanistan is not succeeding.
We must remember the Liberal government was in power when the troops were deployed.
Canadian Forces make up about 10 per cent of the 20,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan. Along with British and Dutch forces, they’re leading the fight against the Taliban resistance in the south.
Peacekeeping is not what it used to be in the 1960s or ’70s. While the majority of their work is still bridging cultures, building infrastructure and trust between the government and the international community, there is still a risk involved.
They’re still met with resistance by the Taliban and that has dangerous consequences. But troops know that.
When they enter the Canadian Forces, men and women recruits are trained to attack and kill. They’re trained to defend themselves.
They know the risks involved and they’re willing to put their lives on the line to defend their country or stand up for the rights of others.
They, and those such as Hipkin, deserve our support.
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Andrea Johnson is editor of the Quesnel Cariboo Observer.
She can be reached at: Editor Quesnel Cariboo Observer newsroom@quesnelobserver.com
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My letter of response written on September 11, 2006:
Editor
Quesnel Cariboo Observer
newsroom@quesnelobserver.com
Editor.
Re: Editorial comments in Peacekeepers deserve praise and applause, Sep 10 2006
It may be appropriate writing to you on September 11, 2006 precisely 5 years after the 911 event in New York city to remind you of some obvious errors in your article “Peacekeepers deserve praise and applause”.
Rather than praising Hipkin and the rest of the Canadian Forces for their work in supporting yet another US puppet regime in Afghanistan you would be doing a greater service to Canada and its military and its citizenry by presenting a correct version of history rather than merely regurgitating US, imperialist propaganda.
May I suggest that you begin by explaining to readers that it was based upon the lies of the American government, lies which stated that Afghanistan was somehow responsible for 911 and that Bin Laden was directing the show from some cave in the mountains, that the US military invaded that country.
For you to state that it was some sort of peacekeeping mission designed to help Afghanistan to “become a secure and self-sufficient democratic state” is to merely reinforce this lie in order to prop up other similar and greater lies by the USA such as the one used as the pretext to begin the other illegal and immoral war against Iraq; another lie based upon the now proven, non-existent weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that Bush told the world were there.
You might also be honest and remind readers that while the former Soviet government of the USSR was attempting to do the same thing in Afghanistan they lost close to 33,000 soldiers before finally pulling out and leaving the country to work out its own destiny.
Then again you might explain to your readers that many of the areas of Afghanistan in which Canadian soldiers are now operating have been poisoned and polluted forever with depleted uranium (DU) from US manufactured munitions and those soldiers breathing in this nuclear dust will, like those in Iraq, return with high levels of cancer to infect their families and eventually die from even if they managed to escape the bullets of the Afghanistan resistance movement.
While it may give you a warm, fuzzy feeling of patriotic accomplishment to push this untenable argument for war and imperialism you are, in reality, doing a disservice to your country and to the young men and women who have died fighting for a proven lie.
Give us the facts Andrea and stop covering up for the warmongers in Ottawa and Washington and London. That would be a truly patriotic move on your part and a credit to your newspaper and your country.
Arthur Topham
Cottonwood, B.C.