Canada out of Afghanistan!

[The following is the text of the flyer that was distributed at a picket against the visit of Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Montreal on September 23, 2006 ...]


Canada profits from war and occupation
Solidarity, not charity
CANADA OUT OF AFGHANISTAN!

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is paying a "working visit" to Montreal this September 23. His visit includes staged meetings with so-called "development" NGOs, the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations (whose supporters include notorious Montreal-based war profiteers like SNC-Lavalin, Bombardier, Pratt & Whitney and Bell Helicopter), as well as the Canada-Afghanistan Business Council.

Karzai, propelled into power by the United States and protected by US armed forces, comes to Canada on the invitation of Prime Minister Steven Harper. His visit is part of an aggressive public relations effort to build support for Canada's presence in Afghanistan, a presence justified as part of the so-called "war on terror" and our "responsibility to protect" failed states.

In an effort dubbed "3-D" – defence, diplomacy, and development – Canada has engaged soldiers, diplomats and development industry bureaucrats in what will be a long-term occupation of Afghanistan, along with other NATO countries.

In October 2001, US-led forces began bombing Afghanistan, an aggressive war that has continued to this day. Western bombs destroyed large sectors of Afghanistan, and Afghan civilians have been collectively punished for crimes they had no part in. As this destructive and racist effort continues, Western corporations and "development" agencies move in; they shamelessly call this "reconstruction". Karzai is their cover, like other puppets have been useful idiots for colonialism and imperialism in the past.

Bush and Harper propose a false choice between their soldiers or the Taliban. "Taliban" has become a propaganda term to dismiss any local resistance to foreign occupation. True social justice comes from direct solidarity with ordinary Afghani people and their grassroots institutions, not from accepting the false choices provided by the fundamentalist Bush and his puppet Harper.

Canada's presence in Afghanistan cannot be isolated from the wider situation in the Middle East, both historically and contemporarily. Western powers, led by the US, have consistently, and murderously, undermined social justice movements, to ensure regimes that will allow easy access _in_ to American troops, and easy access _out_ of key resources like oil and natural gas. When Taliban-like forces or dictators suit Western interests, they are supported; when they make useful enemies, they become terrorists. The "War on Terror" is a clear pretext for increased Western economic and military domination in the Middle East.

The "responsibility to protect", Canada's own contribution to American imperialism, is the justification for Canada's destructive involvement in Afghanistan, Haiti and elsewhere. This concept is nothing more than the 21st century's version of the "white man's burden", letting Western economic and military forces create conditions for impoverishment, and then declaring "failed states" that need the charity of our governments, corporations and NGOs.

The role of the Canadian military, government, corporations and development NGOs in Afghanistan is hypocritical, racist, self-serving and destructive. Instead of shallow pretexts like fighting a "war on terror" or the "responsibility to protect", we propose genuine solidarity between peoples, to fight together for social justice and dignity. We are demanding the immediate withdrawal of all troops, including Canadian troops, from Afghanistan. And we denounce the complicity of Canadian corporations and NGOs.

Block the Empire! Montreal
info: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca


[boxed text]

THE "LOGIC" OF MAJOR-GENERAL ANDREW LESLIE

Major-General Andrew Leslie is Canada's military
commander in Afghanistan. Commenting in the summer of
2005 on Canada's increasing military presence in
Afghanistan, General Leslie stated: "Afghanistan is a
20-year venture. There are things worth fighting for.
There are things worth dying for. There are things
worth killing for."

In the same speech, he stated: "Every time you kill an
angry young man overseas, you're creating 15 more who
will come after you."

Let's break down the general's logic:

1. Canadian troops will be in Afghanistan for 20 years
2. Canadian troops will be killing people.
3. Every time we kill people more people will want to
kill us.

Sounds like a plan for disaster, mainly for the people
of Afghanistan. No wonder that "reconstruction" and
"development" are being used as cover for Canada's
"killing"; and no wonder Canada's military is being
used as cover for American-led imperialism in the
Middle East.

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Block the Empire! Montreal
info: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca