New Media

Pakistani militant fanatics murder over 100 Pakistani civilians. Time to steamroll the Taliban once and for all and put an end to their reign of terror?

Nah. Just blame the Yanks.

Because that will fix everything.

I’m guessing they won’t be giving the money back.

Just got back from the Big Apple. Some impressions in photographs.

Wild.

Colorful.

Triumphant.

Connected.

Strident.

Tragic.

Resilient.

Cosmic.

Surprising.

Serene.

Inspiring.

I find out over breakfast this morning that US President Barack Obama gets the Nobel Peace prize. By the time I get home from work, ever pundit from the far left to the far right has already said just about everything that needs to be said.

So there’s really only one final thing to say at the end of the day.

Congratulations, Mr. President.

If the Afghan government falls to the Taliban or allows Al Queda to go unchallenged, that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can.

As President, my greatest responsibility is to protect the American people. We are not in Afghanistan to control that country or to dictate its future. We are in Afghanistan to confront a common enemy that threatens the United States, our friends and our allies And the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan who have suffered the most at the hands of violent extremists.

Those were US President Barack Obama’s words in March. The same conditions still apply in Afghanistan today.

Canada’s and our allies’ response to the challenge of Afghanistan needs no new justification, either. As John Manley put it:

Our presence in Afghanistan is fully justified whether considered from the point of view of international law, humanitarian needs, or Canadian and global interests in security. If we’re not willing to lend our military resources when asked to so by the United Nations, in a mission coordinated by NATO, in a country whose democratically elected government wants us, and whose citizens desperately need us, then we wonder: where and when would Canada do so?

We’re at war against an irredeemable enemy. No more new arguments are needed. We don’t need fine speeches. We know what needs to be done. Let’s get on with it.

It was a great trip. But I missed Vancouver.

Scenes from Laguna Beach, California. That’s not smog. Hot day plus water makes lots of mist.