It's unfortunate that Foreign Minister Peter MacKay has flip-flopped on Afghanistan, agreeing to a debate on the role of Canadian forces there.

The change is blatantly cynical political posturing.

The Tories used to say that such a debate would undermine the morale of Canadian troops; now Mr. MacKay says it might strengthen morale.

What it is more likely to do—what I'm sure Mssrs. MacKay and Harper hope it will do—is buy NDP support for the Conservative government. But pandering to the NDP's mistaken pacifism is merely shallow opportunism.

The NDP's policy towards Canada's military role in Afghanistan amounts to appeasement of terrorism; it sounds very much like Neville Chamberlain's promise of "peace in our time" after he signed an agreement with Hitler in 1938; that agreement ceded Czechoslovakia to the Nazi dictator—a move that doubled his armament manufacturing capacity and made Germany the strongest power in Europe.

Philosopher George Santayana was right when he said, "Those who will not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

The Conservative government's willingness to sacrifice support for our troops because the party needs political support for its minority government is callous and cowardly. In Opposition, the Foreign Affairs portfolio was carried by Stockwell Day who understood the importance of Canada being strongly allied with the only democracy in the Middle East-Israel.

Under Mr. MacKay, things look infinitely more bleak: naked political opportunism has replaced principle and wisdom.