Brown-Noser

Well, it's official -- not long after Bush departed from the former Taliban stronghold, Harper showed up sniffing. The bad-boy from the wild-wild-west spent two days in Afghanistan, shoring up the morale of troops and telling them that Canada will stay -- and not leave at the first sign of trouble. Canadian troops are coming under increased fire from insurgents -- so much so that their rebuilding efforts now include a combat role. This didn't seem to phase Harper, who wandered around being macho. Unconfirmed reports even boast that the Prime Minister burped and farted, just like a real man, for the troops.

Yeah, yeah -- whatever. While the headlines are applauding Harper, who stayed longer than the few hours Bush was there, the cynic in me has a different story to tell. Harper wasn't there for the troops -- he was there for himself. Harper is set to meet with Bush and Fox in Mexico at the end of this month. The brown-nosing has started. Harper's trip was to send the message that Canada isn't about to leave the US alone in the war in Afghanistan. Harper is determined to show Bush he's tough guy, the same as Bush. I just hope that when he returns to Canada on April 1st, he doesn't bring back a stench.