I think Ms. Parrish is a little confused as to the reasons why countries maintain armed forces. The army is a tool the government employs to further its ideological aims. In this case, the Canadian government has concluded that the only way to secure and promote democracy in Afghanistan is to participate in an international effort to eliminate the root causes of Afghanistans problems, namely the Taliban, Al Queda, rampant opium production, and abject poverty and illiteracy. We (Canada) can't just wish those problems away, we have to be involved, in a concrete and meaningful fashion. Not even the likes of a Parrish can dispute the progress Afghani women have enjoyed over the last 3 years, thanks wholly to the elimination of a brutal, fundamentalist Islamic regime. I think with the next election, Ms. Parrish's 15 minutes of ill gotten fame will thankfully end, along with her grandiose threats to bring down the government.
