The good news emerging from last week’s 70-nation conference in Kabul is that Pakistan will be prevented from starting to take over Afghanistan a year from now. The bad news is that Canada, unless the Harper government adjusts to reality, will be even more out of step with its allies if its troops pull out of Afghanistan a year from now.
Underlining both points is a historical footnote that probably wasn’t intended but is significant, nonetheless. If 2014 is, indeed, the new deadline for international forces helping the Afghan government protect the country from Islamist extremists and rapacious neighbours, it will be 100 years since 1914 and the beginning of the First World War.
Read Full Article »