UPDATED 12:40 PM Pacific time – with Harper’s actual SPEECH NOTES (see below)
As a Canadian I’ve literally gone from bouts of outright embarrassment during the Liberal-left era, to full-on pride with our Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the helm.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper addresses Canadian soldiers at their base in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Monday, March 13, 2006. Kandahar is currently home to 2,200 Canadian soldiers and to thousands more of the Taliban’s most die-hard supporters. Harper said he wants to show support for the soldiers, aid workers, and diplomats conducting what he considers Canada’s most important foreign mission in decades.
Photo credit: AP Photo CP – Tom Hanson
Here’s a just-released briefing from the PMO, without liberal-leftist media filtering and obfuscation and watering-down:
Prime Minister rallies Canadian troops in Afghanistan
NEWS RELEASE
March 13, 2006
Ottawa, OntarioPrime Minister Stephen Harper today spoke to Canadian troops serving with Task Force Afghanistan at Kandahar airfield in southern Afghanistan.
“On behalf of all Canadians, I want to tell you how proud I am of the work you are doing. You have put yourselves on the line to defend our national interests, ensure Canadian leadership in world affairs, and help Afghanistan rebuild into a free, democratic and peaceful country,” said Prime Minister Harper.
“Your work, serving in this UN-mandated, Canadian-led security operation, follows in the proud Canadian tradition of providing leadership on global issues and protecting our national interests,” said Prime Minister Harper.
“Already, great progress has been made. Your contributions have enhanced the security of the Afghan people so they can rebuild their country and make a better life for themselves and their children,” said Prime Minister Harper.
“Standing up for these core Canadian values may not always be easy. But you have our full support. Your government is behind you. And most importantly, the Canadian people are behind you,” said Prime Minister Harper.
This web site fully supports the war on terror being waged by the United States and all its allies. This web site fully supports the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan and wherever terror is rooted. This web site stands behind all the fighting men and women in Canada’s military as well as the Americans, British, Australians, and other brave, sensible partners.
UPDATE 12:40 PM Pacific time – And here’s a followup. It’s the actual text of Harper’s speaking notes for his address to the troops:
Address by the Prime Minister To the Canadian Armed forces in Afghanistan
March 13, 2006
Ottawa, OntarioThe Right Honourable Stephen Harper
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Introduction
Thank you for your warm welcome.
I want to begin by telling you how proud I am of the work you’re doing.
You have put yourself on the line to:
Defend our national interests;
Protect Canada and the world from terror;
Help the people of Afghanistan rebuild their country.
I thank you.
Canadians thank you.
And I know that the Afghan people thank you.
Canada’s National Interest
Your work is important because it is in our national interest to see Afghanistan become a free, democratic, and peaceful country.
Before its liberation, under the Taliban regime, Afghanistan often served as an incubator for Al Qaeda and other terror organizations.
This reality hit home with brutal force on 9-11, when two dozen Canadians lost their lives suddenly and senselessly in the destruction of the World Trade Centre.
Those were ordinary Canadians. People with families, partners, children and dreams for a better future. Just like all of our citizens, people who died suddenly and for no reason at the hands of fanatics.
Since that time, Al Qaeda has singled out Canada as one of the countries targeted for terror.
And beyond the threat of terror there’s the threat of drugs.
An unstable Afghanistan represents easy pickings for drug lords who would use the country as a safe haven for the production of heroin, which wreaks its own destruction on the streets of our country.
Our Canada is a great place, but Canada is not an island.
And what happens in places like Afghanistan threatens and affects all of us back home in our own country.
Canadian Leadership Tradition
Your work is about more than just defending Canada’s interest. It’s also about demonstrating an international leadership role for our country. Not carping from the sidelines, but taking a stand on the big issues that matter.
You can’t lead from the bleachers. I want Canada to be a leader. And I know you want to serve your country. A country that really leads, not a country that just follows. That’s what you are doing. Serving in an un-mandated, Canadian-led security operation that is in the very best of the Canadian tradition:
Providing leadership on global issues;
Stepping up to the plate;
Doing good when good is required.
Humanitarian Mission
Finally, but no less important, is the great humanitarian work you’re doing. Working with the Afghan government and Afghan people to enhance their security helps them. It helps them rebuild their country to make a better life for themselves and their children.
Already a great deal has been accomplished. Reconstruction is reducing poverty; millions of people are now able to vote; women are enjoying greater rights and economic opportunities that could have been imagined under the Taliban regime; and of Afghan children who are now in school studying the same things Canadian kids are learning back home.
These are important victories for the people of Afghanistan, and the represent things worth standing up for.
Standing up for Canadian Values
Of course, standing up for these core Canadian values may not always be easy at times. It’s never easy for the men and women on the front lines. And there may be some who want to cut and run.
But cutting and running is not your way.
It’s not my way.
And it’s not the Canadian way.
We don’t make a commitment and then run away at the first sign of trouble.
We don’t and we won’t.
Conclusion
Friends, we have made real progress here. You’re work is vital to Canada.
To the free world.
To the Afghan people.
As you get ready to go back to work, know that I am behind you.
Your government is behind you.
And, most importantly, the Canadian people are behind you.
Thank you. God bless Canada.
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