Dear Editor
Who is surprised about Steven Harper's announcement that he plans to renew the Canadian commitment of troops and planes to the war against ISIS in Iraq, and possibly to extend it?
Not me for sure. I can still recall how, as Leader of the Opposition, Harper angrily and loudly attacked Jean Cretien in Parliament for not sending troops to join the disastrous United States invasion of Iraq in 2003, an invasion generally seen as the real beginning of the present conflicts in the Middle East today.
And of course, there is an election coming up. We all hate the bloody and barbaric actions taken by the followers of ISIS, who seem determined to take us all back to the Dark Ages, so being seen as a “strong man” could be good for Harper's chances in the election. After all, it seems to be working for Putin in Russia.
But the present situation in the Middle East is far from a case of good guys against the bad guys. If it were, who could question the commitment of armed forces to quickly solve the problem? No one today can see a quick military end to this conflict — at least no one that I've heard of. One problem would be who our troops would find as allies in the field, such as the troops of Iran and Bashir's Syria, already in the fight against ISIS, but that would be only one of many problems.
I'll admit I don't have a solution. Harper does. Getting Canada more deeply involved in this conflict could be good for his chances in the impending election.
Russell Lahti
Battleford
