Did Lewis make a mistake?

Say it isn't so. Lewis MacKenzie, General to the stars and a man who have never met a microphone he didn't want to drone into, made a mistake by suggesting that 10,000 more NATO troops are needed in Kandahar, Afghanistan?

He stated this in a interview with the precious CFRA tyke, Michael Harris., last week. He then sent Mikey a memo the next day correcting himself by saying that the 10,000 was for all of Afghanistan. Only 3,000 more are needed in Kandahar, where all the real fighting is.

Two problems, Lew. Why do you need 7,000 more in the relatively tranquil north? Also, if you send 3,000 more troops in to help out the Canadians in the already target rich south, what would you do with them that you cannot do with the current contingent?

I suggest, General Lew, that you read the book, Utility of Force, written by your British peer, General Rupert Smith. Smith talks about war amongst the people, as he describes Afghanistan and Iraq. He maintains that, when you fight a war amongst the people, rather than an industrial war, the key is not bulk; the key is intelligence and stealth. Rather than 3,000 more troops, let's send in 3,000 sneaks and spooks to infiltrate the local population and ferret out where the insurgents are and what they are doing.

Also, with respect to rigid withdrawal time frames as advocated by the NDP and the Bloc, I urge the Liberals to back a continuation of the mission, for now, with the proviso that Harper, MacKay and Hillier read Smith's book. The Taliwackers in Afghanistan are in no hurry to conclude the strife. To pull out before we make some real progress would be an error.