Liberals on the wrong side of Canadians on Afghanistan

A poll in the Globe and Mail shows that most Canadians are in support the NDP's motion to end the mission in Kandahar as soon as possible.

"The survey also found that 46 per cent of Canadians want the troops home as soon as possible, while 24 per cent believe the soldiers should stay in Afghanistan as long as it takes to rebuild the nation."

So what exactly are Liberals doing by saying they will oppose that motion in Monday's vote?

The Liberals are so caught up in the political chess game in Ottawa that they are ignoring Canadians.

Their motion last week - which was defeated - to keep the troops in Kandahar until 2009 is supported by less than 8% of Canadians according to the poll. Stephane Dion's motion also put the Liberals in the bizarre position of having to defend the current mission and its $4 billion price tag for another two years, when only a year ago Liberals were saying they were against the extending the mission to 2009.

But as was exposed earlier this week, the Liberal motion was all about politics - not principle. Dion refused to work with the NDP to put a deadline sooner than 2009 in their motion because they wanted to force the NDP to vote against their motion.

Even James Laxer, who for decades has been a better friend to the Liberals than the NDP has concluded that Stephane Dion is wrong on this one.

If the Liberals vote with the Conservatives on Monday to keep our troops in Kandahar until 2009, they will not just be defeating the NDP on their motion, they will be rejecting the wishes of the majority of Canadians as well as condoning the prisoner abuse scandal and giving Harper and O'Connor a blank cheque for the next two years.

If Stephane Dion was a real leader he would put the chess board away and get back to doing what Canadians expect from a "progressive" party.