Sunday, October 29, 2006

Support Begins at Home

How do you feel about this story? Let me know.
Post your comments below.

Definition of support:
- to uphold (a person, cause) by aid, countenance, one's vote, etc.; back; second.
- to maintain or advocate (a theory, principle, etc.).

- to promote the interests or cause of
- to uphold or defend as valid or right

As posted by the Herald:

Afghan mission ‘wrong’ Soldier’s mom joins marchers in Halifax; rally held in AntigonishBy
MICHAEL LIGHTSTONE Staff Reporter

Staging an antiwar demonstration in a military town can be challenging, but hundreds of people in Halifax on Saturday marched for peace in Afghanistan and the end of Canada’s military presence there.
Carrying signs and chanting slogans, marchers of all ages called on the Harper government to bring Canadian troops home from the devastated country.
Protesters were escorted by Halifax Regional Police during their chilly parade through part of downtown. Participants included students, trade unionists, human-rights activists, families and seniors.
The peaceful demonstration was held during a national day of protest. October marks the fifth anniversary of the NATO-led military intervention in Afghanistan.
Marchers in Halifax took their message to popular shopping areas and other high-traffic spots to be as visible as possible. One protest sign said: Troops out of Afghanistan. Another said: Aid Not Combat.
A rally at the Grand Parade before the march drew more than 200 people, including the mother of a young Canadian soldier to be sent to Afghanistan next month. Since 2002, 42 Canadian military personnel have been killed in the conflict. Seven of them were from Nova Scotia.
Military mom Andria Lehr told the crowd that Ottawa’s Afghan mission is "basically wrong, inhumane, unconstructive and unsustainable." She urged other people with loved ones in the Armed Forces to question Canada’s military action in Afghanistan. "Only by asking questions can we actually have a true democracy," Ms. Lehr said.
Salam Nahzat, an expatriate Afghan who moved to Canada in 1996, said the NATO operation has resulted in the deaths of innocent people in his homeland. News agencies last week reported NATO has confirmed that women and children died in air strikes in Afghanistan, although the number of civilians killed is in dispute.
"Our innocent civilians are dying in numbers," Mr. Nahzat told the rally. "How long is it going to go on?"
Alex Colgan, a third-year Saint Mary’s University student, said that if Afghani civilians are getting killed, "that simply drives the insurgency deeper into the population and the population begins to agree with the insurgents, to a certain extent."
He said in an interview that Canada’s "faulty" role in Afghanistan needs to be debated in Parliament. "Pressure needs to be put on the government toward a peaceful solution."
Stuart Neatby of the Halifax Peace Coalition told the Grand Parade crowd that NATO’s mission isn’t improving the lives of people in Afghanistan. It’s a task, he said, that will inevitably result in more deaths of Canadian soldiers.
"We’re here to stand up and make it clear that Canadians are not comfortable with this mission," Mr. Neatby said, adding that Ottawa is following the foreign policy goals of the Bush administration in Washington.
In Antigonish, about 60 people took to the streets, starting with a lunchtime rally outside town hall followed by a march to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay’s constituency office.
Although they faced a few catcalls from drivers who told them to support the war, they received many more honks of approval.
While much of the antiwar event stressed the desire to bring Canadian troops home, there was also concern expressed about risking this country’s reputation as a peacekeeping nation because of its involvement in the war.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

How do you feel???

This mother's son probably loves him mom no matter how she feels.

Our Soldiers have always been peacekeepers not fighting in a war & she is only concerned with his safety like a lot of other mothers's that doesn't mean that she doesn't support him.

Military Mom said...

Dear Anonymous;

His mother probably undoubtebly loves him. I don't quander that.

I support my son 200% in all he does. I would never publicly denounce the troops' mission in Afghanistan saying it was "wrong, inhumane, unconstructive and unsustainable".
Unfortunately, I don't believe it shows re-assurance in his mission, in his troops nor in him. Sorry- that's me.