Hey Steffi...

The primary purpose of any military force is to break stuff and kill people... what part of that... do you not understand?

-- OTTAWA -- Canada's Afghanistan mission must dramatically scale back troop size and shift to training and other non-aggressive roles if it's to win Liberal support for an extension, says Leader Stephane Dion.

And he's not alone.

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A warm welcome to readers of Canadian Cecilia... all three of you. Apparently, warm fuzzy-bunny 'CC' has her nose out of joint... yet again.

Anyway, let's take a look...

ar·my [ahr-mee]

1. the military forces of a nation, exclusive of the navy and in some countries the air force.
2. (in large military land forces) a unit consisting typically of two or more corps and a headquarters.
3. a large body of persons trained and armed for war.

Now, pottymouth 'CC' seems to think a standing army is some sort of Christmas ornament... you know, nice and sparkly... but please don't touch. A nice accessory when you're having a parade... but what the hell are you doing giving them guns?!?

Anyway, when CC's not pissing all over the mother of a dead Canadian soldier... she's got way more important stuff to talk about.

Good grief.

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UPDATE: The French step up

Nicolas Sarkozy, the first French president to visit Afghanistan, signalled that French troops would not pull out of the country any time soon. He told Mr. Karzai that France has a long term political and military interest in Afghanistan, Mr. Karzai's office said in a statement.

"We did not want to give the signal of a withdrawal, which would have been a detestable signal at a time when we see the ravages that terrorism can do to the world," Mr. Sarkozy said on France-Info radio.

And Australia's in as well...

"We will be, as I said before, in this country, Afghanistan, for the long haul, and it's important for us to be here in partnership with countries from NATO," he said. He said he would be encouraging other countries to continue or expand their commitment to Afghanistan.

Hey... better late than never

-- KABUL, Afghanistan -- Echoing pledges by the leaders of France and Australia, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi emphasized his county's long-term commitment to Afghanistan in a meeting with President Hamid Karzai on Sunday, the presidential palace said.