OTTAWA — Afghan Ambassador Omar Samad made a blunt plea for an extended Canadian military commitment to his country yesterday, saying it is too soon to discuss exit strategies.
"Given the nature of the conflict and the nature of the problem, it would be premature to announce a timetable or an exit strategy when the job is just starting and we're not even close to the end of this mission," Mr. Samad said.
In his remarks, made in response to a House of Commons debate on Monday regarding the Afghan deployment, Mr. Samad steered clear of specific criticisms of any one point of view. He said he found the debate "educational."
aPs="boxR"; var boxRAC = fnTdo('a'+'ai',300,250,ai,'j',nc); However, the ambassador made it clear that the Afghan government is uncomfortable with even the discussion of plans for the eventual departure of Canadian troops -- a subject raised repeatedly by New Democrat MPs in the debate.
"I can tell you that from our point of view, it will take us maybe four to five years to finish the job of rebuilding our military institutions, our security institutions in Afghanistan," Mr. Samad said. "We're already halfway through the process."
In Parliament yesterday, NDP Leader Jack Layton pressed the government for answers to a list of questions about the Afghan mission raised in the House of Commons in November by Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, who was then the opposition defence critic.
"What is the command and control structure?" Mr. Layton asked. "What are the criteria for success? What will be the definition of progress and how is it going to be reported back to the Canadian people? What is the exit strategy?"
Mr. O'Connor responded that the government has goals, rules and policies with respect to the mission, "everything we need to be effective in Kandahar," but said he could not answer in greater detail within the 35 seconds allotted to him.
Canada has 2,300 troops serving in Afghanistan, 2,200 of them in the volatile Kandahar Province. Their mission's mandate is due to expire in February. Twelve Canadians have died in mishaps, friendly fire or enemy fire in Afghanistan since 2002. All but one were soldiers.
Ambassador Samad yesterday played down recent polls showing that Canadians are deeply divided about the merits of putting troops in harm's way in his country. "I believe we have seen different polls at different times in the past few months that show different figures," he said.
He countered the assertion, common among critics of the mission, that Afghanistan is an ungovernable amalgam of factions, tribes and geographic regions that will revert to the rule of the strongest once international troops leave.
Afghanistan's problems do not stem from ethnic or tribal strife, he said, but from invasions -- first by the Soviets, then by al-Qaeda.
"We are putting Afghanistan back together as the common home of all Afghans," he said. "The overwhelming majority of Afghans are in favour of peace and stability and reconstruction in one united homeland." |
