The Afghans must be quaking in their boots.

A bunch of years ago I complained bitterly that the same of names always seemed to pop up at the government trough when politicos went looking for "experts" to hire. Well, here we go again.

John Manley has been appointed to head the Canadian Afghan mission review. The goals of the review is to determine where we go next in the dog's breakfast we call the Afghan conflict. Specifically, the review team (it is not just a one person mission) will study four main options for the "mission". The options include:

• Option One -- continue training the Afghan army and police with the goal of creating a self-sufficient indigenous security force in Kandahar province so that Canadian troops can withdraw in February 2009
• Option Two -- focus on reconstruction work in Kandahar, which would require other countries to take over security role
• Option Three -- shift Canadian security and reconstruction efforts to another region in Afghanistan
• Option Four -- withdraw all Canadian military forces after February 2009 except for small contingent to provide security for aid workers and diplomats

John Manley is a lawyer turned politician. He spent 12 years as a lawyer and 15 as a politician including a stint as deputy Prime Minister of Canada. I went looking for Manley's bio hoping to find that he had military career, even just an air cadet or something. But nope. No wings or crossed swords or anchors for our boy in Afghanistan. I wonder what experience Manley has to make him a person of eminence who can advise us.

To be fair, Manley is not alone. He has a team of very experience military-savvy people to back him up. They include:

• Derek Burney, Canada's former ambassador to Washington and former chief of staff to Brian Mulroney
• Respected broadcaster Pamela Wallin, who was Canadian consul general in New York
• Former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Jake Epp
• Paul Tellier, former Clerk of the Privy Council and former president and CEO of Canadian National Railway and Bombardier

I feel safer already.

Politics. Ya got to love it!