Romeo Dallaire accuses Harper of lacking courage in policy decisions

MONTREAL (CP) - Senator Romeo Dallaire accused Stephen Harper on Friday of political jockeying over Afghanistan and other issues and berated the prime minister for "an acute lack of courage."

The retired general, who commanded a poorly supported United Nations peacekeeping mission during the Rwandan genocide of 1994, said Canada's military commitment abroad shouldn't be limited to Afghanistan.

He decried the "emasculation" of the Canadian Forces through more than a decade of budget cuts and said even increased spending promised in the latest federal budget won't meet the military's needs.

"I think that some of the decisions being taken are less than courageous," the Liberal senator said during a news conference announcing that his award-winning memoir, Shake Hands with the Devil, is being made into a film with Quebec actor Roy Dupuis as Dallaire.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=3c0e4478-4973-4761-8be8-e5e74c5d91da&k=41254

I am glad he is speaking up about this, he is right, Harper is the epitome of a man with no courage along with a whole lot of other things.

I was disappointed in Dallaire's vote supporting the continuation of the "mission" in Afghanistan but, unlike other Liberals who either voted for it or were absent, I believe his vote reflected his real feelings rather than political expedience.