On backward progress

Not surprisingly, the Cons have done their best to avoid following through on their supposed intention to provide some measurable benchmarks in Afghanistan. But it should be safe to say that whatever the goals are, a massive increase in civilian deaths (particularly ones caused by government/international forces) would have to be a sign that the combat mission isn't accomplishing what it's supposed to:

Bolstering signs that the security situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating, UN reports indicate there have been 62 per cent more civilians killed during the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year, putting the death toll on track to top the more than 1,500 Afghan civilians killed in 2007.
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According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) officials in Kabul, there were 1,500 civilian casualties in 2007. Of these, 46 per cent were caused by insurgents and other anti-government forces, 41 per cent were inflicted by coalition and pro-government forces, while 13 per cent were "un-attributable" and the result of land mines or crossfire.

By comparison, between January and May 2008, some 698 civilian deaths were recorded by UNAMA, representing a 62 percent increase over the 431 non-combatant deaths recorded in the same period in 2007. However, insurgent attacks were reportedly responsible for 60 per cent of those deaths, compared to 37 per cent being caused by pro-government forces.

What's worse, the breakdown in the article doesn't show just how large the increase in deaths caused by international or government forces looks to have been. Applying the percentages listed in the article, the number would have been in the range of 160 for January to May of 2007, rising to 286 in the same period in 2008 for a 78% increase.

As a result, there doesn't seem to be any plausible case to be made that another year of combat has either made Afghan civilians more secure. And with the number of deaths caused by the government side increasing dramatically, there's plenty of reason to think that the competition for the support of the Afghan populace is also looking worse from last year to this one.

All of which means that once again, about the only goal the current mission seems to be achieving is to bog down as much of the Canadian military for as long as possible in an effort that's going in the wrong direction. And that should offer ample reason for Canadians to want a way out.