Do you “Support Our Troops?”

September 20, 2007

At the invitation of the government of Afghanistan the former Liberal government made a decision to send troops to this war ravaged country in an effort to rid it of Taliban terrorists.  Since that decision was taken, much discussion has taken place both inside of and outside of Parliament as to the wisdom of this decision.  In this article I would like to set aside the pros and cons of this decision and deal with the reality of the current situation.

We have a few thousand Canadian soldiers, men and women from all corners of our country that find themselves currently serving in Afghanistan.  Regardless of whether the decision to have a military presence in Afghanistan is correct or not they find themselves facing a ruthless Taliban army.  These courageous troops deal with the reality of facing a crazed enemy 24 hours per day, seven days per week.  Most of our troops serve on six or nine month rotations and some are serving on their second or even third mission.  The conditions these military heroes serve in are unbelievable.  Unbearable heat and dust and constant danger and stress are just a few of the conditions they live with each and every day.

Last year I began a “Support Our Troops” project to distribute lawn signs throughout the riding and asked constituents to show their support for our troops by signing letters of support.  We collected 1780 signatures and distributed the same number of signs.  On Remembrance Day, I sent the 1780 signatures of support to our troops serving in Afghanistan.  This action was warmly received by our soldiers and their officers and I received a number of emails of appreciation from them.

I have decided to repeat the effort this year.  I have purchased 2,500 “Support Our Troops” lawn signs that are available at my constituency offices in Cornwall, Morrisburg and Winchester.  Signs may also be picked up at the Canadian Legion branches in Martintown, Finch, Chesterville, Iroquois and Long Sault. If you choose to, you may also sign a letter of support that I will be sending to our troops on November 11th.

I sincerely believe that regardless of our position on the war in Afghanistan we must show that we “Support Our Troops”.