The Afghanistan War: When will the lies end?

Peter Van Loan in the house on Tuesday answering an NDP question about Afghanistan: "the security situation continues to improve".

That's what the Conservatives would like Canadians to believe, even when contradicted by a NATO commander and the facts on the ground:

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Militant attacks in Afghanistan increased dramatically last year, with civilians accounting for nearly a fifth of people killed, the U.N. secretary-general said in a new report.

In a report to the U.N. Security Council made available on Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said there were an average of 566 "insurgent and terrorist" incidents per month last year compared with 425 per month in 2006.

"Of the over 8,000 conflict-related fatalities in 2007, over 1,500 were civilians," Ban said in the report, which was dated March 6.

And, while the Cons are boasting about the redevelopment work going on there:

Over 40 convoys delivering food aid for the U.N. World Food Program were attacked and looted in 2007, the report said.

"In over 130 attacks against humanitarian programs, 40 humanitarian workers were killed and 89 abducted, of whom seven were later killed by their captors," Ban said.
[...]
He said that 36 of 376 districts, including most districts in the east, southeast and south, remained virtually inaccessible to Afghan officials and aid workers.
[...]
This hinders the delivery of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people, a situation exacerbated by the harsh weather conditions of the past few months," Ban said.

He added that poor governance and limited development efforts, especially at the local and provincial levels, was resulting in "political alienation that both directly and indirectly sustains anti-government elements."

When the vote on the motion to extend Canada's involvement in the war comes up on Thursday, despite the fact that the mission is failing on all fronts, Stephane Dion has pledged to support the Conservatives because as he puts it:

Canadians don't want an election between "a snowstorm and Easter."

When it comes to matters of life and death, one would think Dion would take this matter much more seriously rather than insulting Canadians in order to justify his party's acquiescence to Conservatives who continue to lie about what's really happening in Afghanistan.

We are reminded, once again, that war is a racket and that's the bottom line.

Related:

Afghanistan: UN Food Agency Races To Prevent Humanitarian Crisis

Afghanistan’s political transition faces serious challenges – UN report