b)+Should+Canada+withdraw+our+troops?+Why?+(Do+we+have+a+responsibility+to+the+Afghan+people+as+citizens+of+the+world?+Or+are+we+simply+interfering+in+other+people’s+politics?)

I think that before we pull out of afghanistan, we need to make a big change. I think that we should teach the afghan people how to survive and stand up for themselves. We are no different from them, and they are no different from us. Afghanistan is called a "developing country" because they are still developing. Us, as canadians, live in a developed country, so it is our duty to help afghanistan develop to its full potential. We need to teach the soldiers to fight for there rights, and teach the women how to stand up for themselves. Once afghanistan is on the right track to becoming a beautiful country once again, we can pull out. I don't think we are interfering in there politics, but simply helping their country and their people restore to their previous state. Maya

hi

Cody I think Canada should in-fact withdraw there troops. there is many different ways they could withdraw there troops. I think that the best way is to slowly remove them so as I said in my previous posts it is like putting a fish into a knew tank you let the tale into the tank and let it waggle its tale around for a bit, and then you let it go but you always keep an eye on it. That is what I think canada should do i think it would be wrong if we just pulled out and not let them with any support. Even if we teach them to protect themeless we should still be helping them or at least let them now we are there. As citizens of the world i thin we do in fact have a resbosibility. If you see someone get bulied you have the resbonsibiltity to help the victem, It is very much the same in afganistan. That is why we cant just brush it of.

b) Should Canada withdraw our troops? Why? (Do we have a responsibility to the Afghan people as citizens of the world? Or are we simply interfering in other people’s politics?)

I believe that there are reasons for both sides of the argument, but I think that if I had to decide, I would say that they should stay in Afghanistan, fighting for the rights of the suppressed Afghani people. I believe that we shouldn’t be cynical and believe the worst in people, but believe that the government set out to Afghanistan for noble reasons and that we have the perseverance to continue to fight for the freedom of the Afghani people. If we withdraw now, it will be like we were abandoning our cause and leaving these people to fend for themselves. From what I know, these people have few or no rights and it is our job as citizen of the world, to support them in their challenges and help them in any way they can. Notice that I said ‘from what I know’. To look at the other side of the argument, I think we need to address the fact that we do not have that much information on the subject. With technology nowadays, I think that we should be receiving far more information about what is actually happening. If I knew more my thoughts may change, but my general opinion, based on what I know of the conditions in Afghanistan, is that the troops should not withdraw. By Rachel

Sage I believe the Canadian troops should stay in Afghanistan, because we have helped them so much already I think we could help them more. Schools have been built and women have more rights than ever. We have come a long way from ten years ago. Ten years ago we went into Afghanistan and almost everything was bombed, shot at, or in some sort of natural disaster. Most Afghans were refugees and if they weren't refugees then they were starving to death or getting beaten to their grave. Because we have come such a long way, I believe that if we continue our mission in Afghanistan we can make an even bigger change. Sage

Maggie Great response, Sage. I agree with you when you say that we have made great improvements and that if we continue with it, we will make even more. I think that we have given the Afghani people hope, and that by leaving, we are taking it away from them. Hope is important, we should not leave. Maggie

I believe that Canadians have a responsibility, as human beings, to remain in Afghanistan. Fighting as Peace Keepers is something that Canada is well known for. The troops in Afghanistan are there because they know how important it is to fight for something like human rights and fairness and to give up everything so that others may live the life they deserve. Before Canadian troops went to Afghanistan, the situation there was terrible and it will decrease even further for the Afghans if we leave. I believe it is important to train the people of Afghanistan so that they can have their own powerful military, but that is not enough. To leave Afghanistan right now would be sentencing people to death and suffering at the hands of the Taliban. We have a responsibility to stand up for humans, whether they speak the same language as us or not. Also, if the situations were reversed and Canada was being oppressed by the Taliban and Afghanistan had powerful Peace Keeping forces then I’m positive that Canada would need and want help from them. We are not interfering; we are rescuing, helping and liberating. Kara
 * 2. Should we withdraw our troops? Are we interfering, or do we have a responsibility to be there?**

Maggie Great Job, Kara! Your opinion was really well put. I agree with you when you say that we are not interfering, we are just rescuing. I also agree that if the situation was turned around, we would want help too. I personally also think that we have the responsibility as the international community to help those who cannot help themselves. I think Canadians should live up to their expectations as peacekeepers and give hope to the people of Afghanistan. Maggie


 * I have mixed ideas on weather or not Canada should withdraw from Afghanistan. On one hand I feel that they should stay to defend the innocent people of Afghanistan because if they don’t then the people of Afghanistan won’t ever stand a chance against the Taliban. I also think that if we were to leave completely then the Taliban would take over completely and the chance of us ever being able to free the people of Afghanistan would be nill if we did ever decide to go back in. On the other hand I think that we should just leave and not force our belief and opinions of the Taliban and onto the Afghan people. I also feel this because if we continue to stay in Afghanistan then more Canadians will continue to get killed by the Taliban. I also believe that we are not ever going to be able to completely defeat the Taliban because once we leave they will just start to take control again so we will have to stay over there permanently wich will expensive. After considering both of these ideas I have decided that in my opinion we should not withdraw our Canadians from Afghanistan because human life is worth the money needed to stay over there. **


 * POSTED BY: N.V. **

Personally I think Canada along with all other countries fighting in Afghanistan should withdraw because we have been fighting there for ten years and it is costing tones and we are just making everything worse. Also it isn’t Canada’s business to get involved in other countries politics unless it directly affects them. All the money we are wasting on Afghanistan could be spent on improving schools in Canada and other stuff that the public benefit from. by neil mcfadden

I think that we should stay in Afghanistan (for now). Afghanistan is a big country with lots of places to hide. The Taliban are not normal soldiers, they do not wear uniforms and look like any other Afghan person. Even if we stay for another 10 years will not kill all of them unless we destroy Afghanistan and the countries surrounding completely. Thats why I think we should stay and train the Afghani people so they can defend themselves once we leave. Whenever we leave the Taliban will try to gain control again. Staying in a country like this costs a lot of money. The most important thing we can do is to train them. Pakistan is also a safe haven for terrorists so no matter how long we stay for we cannot win against them. But I don’t think we should leave now. Afghanistan is not strong enough to fight back.. yet. I think we should stay a little while longer and help them rebuild and train so when we leave they are ready. Kenyon

Maggie I think they should stay, considering all the things we have done for them. We have made many improvements in a mere ten years and if we continue to aid them in a time of immense need, even more improvements could be made. According to Terry Glavin, there were sometimes slips in security of schools and if we stay, we would probably fix that problem in time. Also, like I stated before, the things that we have been doing may grow weaker if we leave and abandon our posts. It might make our efforts worthless. The impression that we would make by leaving would probably be very negative. The Afghan people would get the sense that we are giving up on them or that we are simply to selfish to continue to help them in defending their country. It would give a very bad impression on Canadians, so all in all, we should not leave. The Afghan people were helped a lot but I think that they are still in need of it and if we withdraw, it would make matters worse. Yes, we are going to provide training for the Afghan troops, but I think that quantity is more important than technique right now. I think the Taliban just being held back by the consistency of the peacekeepers so the departure of Canadian troops would take away from that prospect. I think we do have responsibility as the international community. It would be inhumane to leave a country that is so much in need of help alone to the forces of the Taliban. We should help other areas of the world, we should support one another in times of need. To not do anything would be selfish, and if it came to a time where we were in need of help, we would also want the aid of others. To not interfere would mean leaving women and children and all those who are treated harshly under the Taliban’s rule alone. Leaving the problem alone would make it worse over time, even harder to get out of for the citizens of the area. People would be abused, suppressed, being forced into accepting that the male race was superior. We as North Americans know that this is not true, we accept women in our society and we should feel the urge to help other females. We believe that everyone should get education, be allowed a job, and be able to express themselves freely. We believe in a free country. Why shouldn’t we believe in it for other areas of our own world? We should intervene and help those who are not able to help themselves. Maggie I think we need to keep our troops there to help the afghan people because if we leave I think they will slip back in to their old ways. Then we would just send them back to cost more money and start all over again. I think they like all of our help and they don’t want us to leave because they are scared of the country turning back in to their old ways.

By: Brandon **__b) Should Canada withdraw our troops? Why? (Do we have a responsibility to the Afghan people as citizens of the world? Or are we simply interfering in other people’s politics?)__ **

**Yes I think we should withdrawl from Afghanistan. Yes it is good karma to help these people, yes we have been helpping for 11 years. But I think that forst of all it was not our probelem we are loosing lives of young Canadian soldiers in a forein countrie. Canadian troops have been trying to help change their ways of life which is kind of wrong. Yes their ways may seem very differant to ours and they may think our way of living is horrible but we live in differant places oposite ends of the world. Their country has not developped as well as ours. I understand that it is very wrong what the Taliban have been doing to the women and children, but this is not our probleme anymore. I think we should pull out because this is not our problems these are not our people.** **Soleil Patterson**
 * No, Canada should not withdraw our troops in Afghanistan. There is still far too much fighting for the withdrawal of Canadian troops to be anything short of disastrous. Canada is not only in Afghanistan on a combat mission, but also there with the responsibility to protect Afghan citizens. Furthermore, the withdrawal of Canadian troops would drastically deplete the number of soldiers in Afghanistan, so it is also our responsibility not to abandon the remaining soldiers. Canada has far to many responsibilities and far to crucial a role as peacekeepers to withdraw troops now. **
 * BY: K L-B **