The Hypocrisy in Stephane Dion’s Position on the Canadian Mission to Afghanistan

All does not seem to be well with Opposition Leader, Stephane Dion and the Liberal caucus these days.

There is an article in the Montreal Gazette in which Dion publicly attacked 24 of his own MP’s for voting to extend the mission in Afghanistan. Comments made by Dion seem to imply that his fellow MP’s were not intelligent enough to listen to arguments, both for and against the extension of the mission and come to a sound decision.

Dion said the 24 Liberal MPs who supported the motion were wrong to have done so.

"They believed the government," Dion explained.

In other words, not only were they wrong, they were duped.

It does not matter to him that this mission begun under a previous Liberal government. It also does not matter to Dion that the decision to move the Canadian troops from the relative safety of Kabul to Taliban-plagued Kandahar in June 2005 was endorsed by the Liberal cabinet, of which he was a member. They were aware that the mission in Kandahar would be a dangerous one, where they risked attacks from and combat with al-Qaida and Taliban insurgents, but they still proceeded.

Then Prime Minister, Paul Martin responded to criticism from those who said that sending troops to Afghanistan would endanger Canada, by saying that fighting terrorism is the government's responsibility.

Even back then, Gen. Rick Hillier of the Canadian Armed Forces admitted that there was a likelihood of Canadian troops encountering Taliban fighters and their al-Qaeda allies.

"Gen. Rick Hillier said last week that Canadian troops will likely encounter Taliban fighters and their al Qaeda allies".

As far back as 2005, critics of the Afghanistan mission were already expressing concern of the increased risks, including IED’s that Canadian troops would face, but the Liberal government still proceeded with it with full cabinet approval.

According to, Eric Margolis, a seasoned war correspondent, in his criticism of the Canadian mission.

"You cannot go into a war and expect you're not going to get shot at. It's foolish and it's illusory to do so, so Canadians have to be prepared,"

Other critics of expressed the concern back then that Canadian soldiers could face dangers in Kandahar similar to those seen by American forces in Iraq.

As late as August 2005, only three months before the fall of the Paul Martin government, the combat aspect of the mission to Afghanistan was not only taking place, but was being reported by the MSM. Not only that, but the war rhetoric that the Liberals and their left-wing allies in the MSM are now criticizing the present Conservatives government of doing was actively taking place before the Conservatives even got into office.

"When you project an image that you're ready for a fight, they'll go somewhere else to look for a fight," Commander Robbie Ball (Aug, 2005)

Taking all of these factors into account, the thing that is most disingenuous about Staphane Dion and his cheerleaders in the Liberal party and the MSM is his insistence that the Canadian mission changed to a combat mission under the Conservative government. That is definitely not true. As early as 2002, Canadian troops were involved in conflict with Taliban and Al-Qaeda insurgents and their snipers were lauded by the MSM for their exceptional performance in combat.

Lets not forget the reason why foreign troops are in Afghanistan. The Taliban government allowed Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda allies into Afghanistan. They then started carrying out terrorist activities against other countries, including destroying the World Trade Towers in New York, which killed close to 3000 people, including 24 Canadians. The United States gave the Taliban the option of keeping their government, but extraditing bin Laden and closing their terrorist camps and they refused. So the Taliban only have themselves to blame for losing power in Afghanistan.

It is absolute hypocrisy for Mr. Dion to criticize his fellow MP’s for voting their conscience in their support for extending the mission. A lesson that he needs to learn is that being Opposition leader does not necessarily mean opposing everything that the government does, especially when previously supporting it. It means being an effective counterbalance to the government to keep them honest, responsible and accountable to the Canadian people.