On October 2, 2003, two Canadian soldiers were killed and three injured in Afghanistan when their jeep struck a landmine while on patrol outside Kabul. In response, an intense propaganda campaign is underway to justify Canada’s military mission and the deployment of 1,900 troops.

In this campaign, “our troops” are portrayed as “peacekeepers,” and the word “occupiers” is banished from the vocabulary. The good guys versus the bad guys scenario is played to the hilt while Canada is portrayed as doing its duty in the war against “international terrorism.”

Such propaganda ignores the fundamental questions. Why are Canadian forces in Afghanistan? Is there any justification? Or is it important for anti-war activists to campaign to end the occupation of Afghanistan and bring the troops home now?

Occupation of Afghanistan

In late 2001, the US bombed Afghanistan and helped its allies in the Northern Alliance to topple the Taliban government. However loathsome the Taliban, the US aggression had no legal, moral or political justification, and it set a dangerous course to be followed in the invasion of Iraq. Following the heavy bombing of Afghanistan, the US quickly installed Washington’s man, Hamid Karzai, in the presidency. In effect, US bombers blasted the Afghani right to self-determination out of existence.

Opponents of the US aggression against Afghanistan argued it had little to do with liberation or fighting the Islamic extremists that the US was only too glad to back in the 1980s. Nor was this a just “war on terrorism.” Instead, it had plenty to do with US geo-political and economic interests including its drive to control oil resources. These same interests, and the desire to install compliant regimes in this key strategic region, were responsible for the invasion of Iraq two years later.

Legitimizing Occupation

The US was able to get international cover to legitimize its presence in Afghanistan. The UN Security Council quickly mandated the dispatch of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to help provide security in Kabul. The mission was portrayed as a stabilizing force, supplying order in the face of complete chaos. However, it also helped prop up the Karzai presidency. In October 2003, the Security Council mandated the ISAF to serve in the whole of Afghanistan, not just Kabul.

Canada has been an important player in this process, with Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan in 2002. On the surface, the co-operative relationship between the US and Canada appeared strained by the Canadian government’s refusal to join the invasion of Iraq. Large mobilizations kept the Canadian government from jumping into the coalition of the willing.

However, the Canadian government has actually been very supportive of the Bush administration’s “war on terrorism.” Despite its public refusal to join the war in Iraq, Canada sent ships to the Gulf vicinity to “fight terrorism.” More significantly, it did a back-door deal with the US whereby Canada made a major contribution to the ISAF that left the US freer to focus its forces and attention on Iraq.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is now involved. On August 25, NAT0 officially took over the leadership of the ISAF. NATO, instead of dissolving after the Cold War, is reinventing itself. The Afghan mission shows it ready to serve as an arm of imperialism in the far corners of the globe.

Unravelling

The occupation has failed to bring stability, and most of the people of Afghanistan have seen few benefits. Much of the promised international aid for reconstruction never came. The vast majority of the aid that did come was siphoned off and never reached those most in need.

Dire poverty is everywhere. There are vast numbers of refugees, displaced and injured people. Reported civilian casualties from land mines are over 100 a week. Since the US aggression, opium production has soared astronomically and is now at record heights. Warlords control most of Afghanistan with extensive private militias of over 100,000 people.

Despite rampant corruption, the pro-western liberal democrat Karzai is being praised and elections are scheduled to help legitimize Karzai as president. But the reality is that there is shelling not far from Kabul’s city limit. It could signify a brutal factional struggle for power, mixed with inter-ethnic rivalries.

Afghanistan marks a turning point in Canada’s military role. The Martin government plans to extend this turn. As imperialism is struggling to maintain its grip over the world, Canadian forces are likely to be openly deployed as occupiers in the future.