Anyone else feel that the justification given by different parties for having a debate ("We need more information.... The public needs to know more...") is somewhat tepid?
FIRST POINT: we've been in AFG since 2002, and the situation there, while overshadowed by Iraq, has still been reported in the media. It only would take a little digging to learn the real situation over there.
Because, of course, previous Liberal and present Conservative statements about the purpose and risk of the mission can't be trusted. The two parties practically hate each other, so if they agree about something, then they MUST be hiding the truth.
As for info from NDHQ, well, that's not even an option assuming that you believe, as far too many NDP types do, that the Canadian military chain of command can't be trusted when THEY explain the situation because they are simultaneously a) too low-brow and stupid to get "real" jobs that would allow them to do something actually productive and meaningful for society, like attend anti-globalization rallies or stop evil fishermen from clubbing poor, defenceless baby seals, and b) so smart that they'd run some kind of coverup / conspiracy that could hoodwink the whole Canadian public, the mainstream media, the political establishment, the civil service, and the blogosphere about the true state of affairs there...
SECOND POINT: who in the Canadian public is going to watch the debate anyway? Less than 100 MPs attended the debate themselves, and most of them left after the MND's comments! Perhaps a few really interested stakeholders, like soldiers and their families and political junkies, but their minds are made up already.
Oh, and the Bloc and NDP, they who brayed and cried about having this whole thing in the first place - I see that CTV is reporting that 8 NDP and 2 Bloc MPs are present. So much for piously being interested in the welfare of the troops. I think this shows that they were simply making political hay of the issue.
(To be fair, the Conservatives had rather few MPs there, too - but they were hardly pushing for this.)
"And I saw that this, too, was meaningless, a chasing after the wind."