Progressive Policy Canada

The social democratic case for supporting military action in Afghanistan....

Social democrats can support military action in Afghanistan in good conscience. Good public policy, indeed, good New Democratic Party policy, calls for support for Canada's friends and allies at a time when our shared values are threatened.

The New Democratic Party has a long history of principled stands against Canadian military action. J.S. Woodsworth, a staunch and lifelong pacifist, resigned from the leadership of the C.C.F. in 1939 rather than voting with the C.C.F. caucus in favour of a declaration of war against Hitler (although history has since proven that his stance was wrong). Audrey McLaughlin maintained a stand against Canada's participation in the 1991 Gulf War long after dissent from the U.S. line became unfashionable. In perhaps the most famous episode of all, Tommy Douglas and the N.D.P. caucus voted against the imposition of the War Measures Act on November 4, 1970.

Many within the N.D.P. have misconstrued the meaning of these well known episodes, drawing on them as proof of an anti-militarist tenet in party policy. There is nothing in official N.D.P. policy to suggest that the party will oppose war under any circumstance, nor is there a clear parallel between any of these past episodes and current circumstances.

In fact, social democrats would do well to reacquaint themselves with Tommy Douglas' words in 1970, "We cannot protect democratic freedoms by restricting, limiting, and destroying democratic freedoms", he said. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacks on democratic values and freedoms, values we share with the U.S. and with dozens of social democratic governments around the world, all of which are supporting the current efforts in Afghanistan.

Supporting the efforts of the U.S. and other NATO allies is good public policy:

- For the first time in its history NATO has invoked Article 5, its mutual defense clause, and Canada is duty bound to respond. NATO is comprised of 19 of Canada's closest allies and friends -- and every member country is a democracy. All of the countries of the former Eastern Bloc have lined up to join NATO because it has gone beyond being a cold war mechanism to being the centre of gravity for the common defense of most of the western world.

- NATO's role in recent years has gone beyond military action to humanitarian intervention. Only the threat of NATO troops stopped the fighting in Bosnia and NATO actions in Kosovo stopped genocide in progress and helped to topple the last regional dictator, Slobodan Milosevic.

- Canada's security is directly threatened by the existence of an international network of terrorist cells -- military action is not the solution, but is a necessary ingredient in an international effort to confront both the terrorists and the states that provide security for the perpetrators of heinous crimes against thousands of people.

Supporting the efforts of the U.S. and other NATO allies is good party policy:

-The military efforts in Afghanistan are supported by virtually every mainstream social democratic party in the world. Lionel Jospin of France, Gerhard Schroeder of Germany and Tony Blair of Britain have lent support, as has Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres - current President of the Socialist International. Even the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) which represents 54 Muslim nations, meeting on October 10, decided against condemning the U.S. led air campaign and rather condemned the September 11 actions.

-Calling for U.N. direction of a response to the events of September 11th is out of step with virtually all of world opinion. The U.S. has informed the Security Council of major military initiatives against Afghanistan, and even within U.N. structures there are few calls for U.N. control. In its recent call for U.N. "direction" of a military response, Canada's N.D.P. has aligned itself with dubious bedfellows including Iraq, Iran and Libya.

Military action only part of the solution:

Military action will not end the "war" on terrorism. Extremists like the al Qaeda network live in a symbiotic relationship with repressive authoritarian regimes. Autocracy, corruption, and the lack of accountability feed powerlessness, poverty, and despair. Authoritarianism bars change within the system, except as dictated from the top; among its subjects, it creates easy rationales for extra-legal methods-including terrorism. Attracted by simple answers and the perverse romanticism of groups like al Qaeda, politically disaffected people come to relish their role as "fighters" against what they perceive as corruption and hypocrisy at home and abroad.

As Canada moves forward in partnership with the U.S., NATO, and a broader coalition, the N.D.P should push for more than one policy agenda --support for the war effort, yes, but also support for humanitarian initiatives and plans for rebuilding Afghanistan. It is entirely possible, and desirable, for Canadians to support necessary military action in Afghanistan while simultaneously working to create the conditions for lasting peace. Above all, attacking the root causes of extremism should become a part of the N.D.P. lexicon -- support for freedom of speech and expression, for fair elections, for representative political institutions, and for a voice for all the world's citizens in the decisions that affect their lives.