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Canada, Pearson and Peacekeeping

According to CBC Newsworld this morning, today is the 50th aniversary of Lester B. Pearson (then Canada's external affairs minister) proposing a United Nations (emergency) peacekeeping force to help bring an end to the Suez Crisis.

He was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize -- and thus began Canada's reputation as one of the world leaders in peacekeeping.

It makes me wonder how Pearson would react to Canada's role in Afghanistan. Maybe he would see our participation as a step in long term worldwide peace and security. Or maybe he would see Canada's transition to a more aggressive role -- and the deaths of Canadian soldiers -- as troubling. The debate gets interesting when we attempt to frame it in terms of these historic figures.

Related: Reporters from the Ottawa Sun have mock two-sided protests in six cities to see Canadians' reactions to the war.

Posted at November 01, 2006 at 09:15 AM EST
Last updated November 01, 2006 at 09:15 AM EST
Comments

I think it's better to have our troops on peacekeeping missions than to let the situation escalate to a point where there is another war. Although I feel for those who have died and their families, I think it's a much better situation than having to fight an all out war because we didn't stop it while we could. We could have a lot more people dying.

» Posted by: Kibbee at November 1, 2006 10:13 AM

I'd consider this a war. True, it's not a state-against-state war like The Coalition of the Willing vs. Iraq, but the allied soldiers are fighting against a trained Taliban army/malitia.

Afghanistan seems like an "all out war" to me, unlike present-day Iraq where the army has been defeated and they are fighting an apparently decentralized "insurgency". I have to admit though, I haven't been following either super-closely. Feel free to jump in.

» Posted by: Ryan at November 1, 2006 02:51 PM
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