National Post | 12Jul2011 | Orest Slepokura
http://www.financialpost.com/todays-paper/Afghan+worth+cost/5086560/story.html

Afghan war was worth the cost

The recent Taliban suicide mission targeting the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul was a bad omen. As Canadian forces prepare to pull out of Afghanistan, it sends a clear message: The war will go on in our absence; no grandiose "Mission Accomplished" banner will be unfurled there.

After 2014, once U.S. forces withdraw from Afghanistan, Kabul may fall to the Taliban -- followed by acts of grisly revenge. Afghans who gave our troops and diplomats both moral and material help during their time in Kandahar should, in the event of an imminent Taliban victory, be evacuated to a safe haven. Let's not abandon our Afghan allies to a cruel fate. Canada has a duty to protect them.

Orest Slepokura, Strathmore, Alta.