Today's New York Times reports that the Taliban appear to be making use of well-trained snipers, who are killing U.S. soldiers and Afghans from longer ranges.
With each passing year, the Taliban seems to be gaining strength. Canada has lost 140 soldiers so far in a war that shows no sign of ever ending.
Vanoc stated before the Games that it intended to pursue the Olympic Truce. This tradition existed in ancient Greece and was revived in 1992 by the International Olympic Committee. It has four goals:
Ӣ raise awareness and encourage political leaders to act in favour of peace;
Ӣ mobilize youth for the promotion of the Olympic ideals;
Ӣ establish contacts between communities in conflict;
Ӣ offer humanitarian support in countries at war.
"During the Truce period, the athletes, artists and their families, as well as ordinary pilgrims, could travel in total safety to participate in or attend the Olympic Games and return afterwards to their respective countries," Vanoc states on its Web site. "Taking into account the global political reality in which sport and the Olympic Games exist, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to revive the ancient concept of the Olympic Truce with the view to protecting, as far as possible, the interests of the athletes and sport in general, and to contribute to searching for peaceful and diplomatic solutions to the conflicts around the world."
Earlier this month, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon issued a declaration calling for all warring countries to lay down their arms for the duration of the Winter Games in Vancouver.
His message had no effect on the war in Afghanistan.
On the same day the Winter Olympics opened in Vancouver, NATO launched a major offensive in Helmand province.
And judging from today's article in the New York Times, the Taliban are fighting back, and sometimes, quite effectively.
I think it's time for the IOC to include some penalties for those who violate the truce, including NATO leaders.
If Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Chief of the Defence Staff Walt Natynczyk, and U.S. vice president Joe Biden were refused entry into Vancouver Olympic venues for being warmongers during a truce period, perhaps this world would suddenly get a little more peaceful.
After all, nobody with free tickets to the Olympic gold-medal hockey match is going to want to miss the game--not even a prime minister.
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Comments
But there's a difference between being anti-war, and being deranged.
Do you really think the IOC or any other international body gives a shit about your sentiments as to who should be kept from the Olympic games?
Oh wait: actually the Afghani mission is a UN mission. Right, forgot about that - multilateralism, and all that. You seem to have forgot that too.
Damn, Charlie, that's got to be one of the funniest things you've written all week! LOL!
How amusing that you've left the original warmonger out of this opinion piece - Chretien. He started it, but he's not a warmonger, eh? How convenient.
Please tell me that this is an attempt at humour? If not, Terry Glavin should be sent over to bitch-slap you.
This paper really is the last bastion of over-indulged, sanctimonious, misinformed, hypocritical silver-spoon socialists.
It's a pity George Bush is gone eh?
it's also totally ok if we accidentally bomb a few dozen or hundred of them into oblivion once in awhile. we didn't mean to do it, so clearly there's no reason to be angry and resist occupation for just a few lethal mistakes. who will miss a couple thousand unknown dead afghans every year? certainly not the media, or our elected clowns who are making their friends epic profit through military contracts. yay let's watch figure skating!!!
The people responsible for this war aren't going to lose any sleep about all those Afghans dying, but they sure as hell don't want to miss a gold-medal hockey game.
I recommend Malalai Joya's autobiography A Woman Among Warlords for anyone who has an open mind on this issue. It provides some insight into why the Karzai government is so despised.
People with an open mind might also want to visit the Web sites of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan and the International Council on Security and Development.