Fourth-generation war hits home

Well, not home exactly, thank God, but it feels pretty close.

Four young Canadian soldiers were killed Friday in Kandahar, and attacks on Canadians continue. Meanwhile, Israel and Hezbollah continue bashing each other. It's all very ugly. I feel anxious and frustrated, just not able to get a handle on it.

The other day I read an article - pointed out by someone on the Canadian Anglican mail list - that helped me make sense of this. The author, William S. Lind, describes four generations of warfare. The first three are what we'd call conventional warfare. Our armies understand waging war like that. But what's happening now is "fourth generation war" (4GW), something armies and governments can't handle. It's war waged by cultures, not states; war with informal non-governmental forces, not armies. The strength of these groups is their support among ordinary people. The warriors are the fathers and sons and brothers and uncles and cousins of the ordinary people they live among. That's the source of their power. And it takes more than conventional warfare tactics to break that power.

George W.'s biggest mistake after Sept. 11 was to declare "war on terror". That's something no one will ever be able to win. He might have called it a "struggle for peace" - that would have been closer to the truth, something that can be achieved. Struggle can lead to understanding and compromise, which is what we need.
The original intention behind Canada's mission in Afghanistan, I thought, was to help the people of Afghanistan get their lives together. Occasionally we hear of soldiers and other Canadians helping schools and health facilities; military leaders, we're told, have been working with local patriarchs to try to win their confidence and support (that's why translators working for the Canadians have been specially targetted). These are the sort of things that can help when you're involved in 4GW. They won't win the war but they can help bring peace.

Fourth-generation war can be ended only when we come to realize that "power over" someone else is useless and counter-productive. "Sharing with" is the only answer. And so the suffering and deaths of Canadians in Afghanistan, although tragic, might actually help in some strange way. They might help in the way tragedy has always helped, by arousing pity and terror in the hearts of onlookers. If the people these troops serve, the local Afghans, see foreign friends joining them in their suffering, if they feel pity for Canadian friends and terror for themselves caught in the web of violence, they might begin to work to change the hearts of their friends and relatives who are causing the suffering.

Fourth-generation war can't be won by force and violence. Peace can be achieved only through compassion and understanding. When will we ever learn?

Thai food in Canmore

Tonight we had dinner at the little Thai restaurant across the railroad tracks. It was delicious, at least as good as anything we've had in Toronto or Vancouver. And here we are in a small town in the mountains.

It didn't look promising at first. The waiter who seated us looked more German than Thai, and the other, older one definitely was German. But as it became obvious we were delighting in the food, the senior server explained how there came to be a Thai restaurant in the back of beyond.
Many years ago a businesswoman fled Laos and ended up working in a restaurant Grand Prairie. She was the dishwasher at first because she spoke no English. But one day the cook quit and she took over. Business boomed and she kept the job.

As she could afford it she brought more and more of her relatives to Canada. Eventually they moved to Calgary and bought their own restaurant. Seven of them shared a tiny apartment at first, but time passed and their hard work and determination paid off. They bought land and more restaurants that became known for their great food.

The place in Canmore is one of two owned by the neice of the original woman from Laos - her other is in Banff. And she ended up marrying a German man who was maitre d' at a posh hotel. So now, in his retirement, he's looking after her Canmore place, and the family is continuing to bring in cooks and other staff from southeast Asia.

I love stories like that - stories about people with talent who work hard and succeed. And I love the ethnic mix in this country, summed up in this Thai restaurant with its German host. This isn't the Canmore Ron grew up in, and it isn't the Canada we both knew when we were young. It's way better.

It's hard to believe the riches we're surrounded with here. Banff, with its summer festival of the arts, is 20 minutes away. We've been to a great concert there and a photography workshop. Monday we enjoyed a student concert in Canmore, and next week we see the Magic Flute in Banff. There's a folk festival in Canmore this weekend. We're discovering that there are opportunities to volunteer at the library and the museum. There's a decent choir we hope to join this fall. And there's a fantastic, friendly wool shop a short walk away from our condo.

I could learn to like this place. It's kinda nice staying home for a bit.