Defense Minister O'Connor's backward logic

Defense Minister Gordon O'Connor justifies our military presence in Afghanistan by implying it somehow protects us against terrorism. "Events in Bali, Madrid and London have all showed how vulnerable we are to terrorism," he insists, and goes on to ask, "Must we wait for terrorists to appear in Vancouver, Montreal or here in Ottawa before we recognize the very real threat that they present to our security?"

The Minister does not choose his examples wisely. The authorities in both Spain and the U.K. have conducted thorough investigations and concluded the Madrid and London bombings were home-grown -- unconnected to foreign terrorists. They were carried out by young men alienated from their own societies, alienated largely by their countries' involvement in Iraq. And the Bali bombings were reprisals against the Australians for their participation in Iraq. For their own idiosyncratic reasons, these people take exception to killing Muslims, and they retaliate against those who do.

The message is crystal clear. If we want to protect ourselves against terrorism, we keep our troops out of Muslim countries, not send them in. Mr. O'Connor has it precisely backward. If this is typical of the kind of thinking that has gone into our Afghan adventure, and I fear it is, we are headed for serious trouble.