Spare some change?

Because of the recent economic debacle that has spread from the U.S., into Canada and across the globe, Canadian involvement in Afghanistan has somewhat fluttered in and out of focus throughout this campaign

Whether politicians choose to focus on this topic at any given time, significant events are taking place every day in both Afghanistan and Canada that affect our military and our countries role overseas.

At home today, charges were dropped against a soldier facing court martial over the shooting death of his friend and comrad back in 2006. In Afghanistan, news reports and regional analysts are stating that Taliban ‘tactics are changing’, as an increasing number of aid workers and top Afghan official are targeted and killed.

Although the economy came up above the ‘war’ in Afghanistan in many polls as the main issue throughout this election, the point that most Canadians should focus on, if nothing else, is that these two issues—the economy and the Afghan mission—have never been more linked.

It seemed like all you had to do was blink, and suddenly Canada’s mission was extended from 2009 to 2011. Two years is a long addition to make, and whether you agree with it or not, likely no one can dispute the fact that the money involved in continuing our countries operations in the region will effect the economy and military spending overall like never before seen.

According to a report by the Canadian and Associated presses, the estimated cost associated with Afghanistan will be around 18.1 billion by 2011. Considering that many agencies are not sharing their spending information with budget officer Kevin Page in Ottawa (you know, the little guys like…Foreign Affaires, Veterans Affairs and the Canadian International Development Agency), you don’t have to be a political or economic pundit to guess that the 18.1 billion estimate will end up being much higher.

Since Canadians are largely kept in the dark in terms of how the spending on this mission will come to affect their household incomes, it also should not be surprising that puvlic support for the mission is sinking like a stone.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/09/05/poll-afghan.html#socialcomments

I think the comments section of this article is worth taking a look at.