call it whatever you like, just bring the troops home

This morning's headlines tell us that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has "softened" his stance on extending Canada's military presence in Afghanistan, and will seek "consensus" before keeping the troops there longer.

If you read a bit further, however, Harper manages to "soften" while still blaming the Liberals for a potential pull out.

I don't want to send people on a mission if the opposition is going to, at home, undercut the dangerous work they're doing in the field.

So Canada won't leave Afghanistan because that's what most Canadians want, and it won't leave Afghanistan because it has no business being there. And it certainly won't leave because the Tories needs votes in Quebec, where polls show a whopping 70% opposition to the war. Certainly not. Canada will leave because the Liberals are undercutting the mission. Uh huh.

But politics aside, the main thing is that the debate is out there, that the discussion is moving forward. That gives us hope for Canada to do the right thing.