Canada Doubts Afghanistan Mission

Canada’s blue-ribbon panel of wisemen known as the Manley Commission handed its report to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and it now seems that most of Canada’s political elite is having second doubts about the Dominion’s role in Afghanistan. The government has accepted the recommendations, and now the fun begins. Just what is Canada doing in Afghanistan?

In a nutshell, the report said Canada should only extend its mission beyond February 2009 if other NATO countries send at least 1,000 more troops and if the Canadian military gets helicopters and surveillance drones.

PM Harper said, “The government accepts the panel's specific recommendation of extending Canada's mission in Afghanistan if, and I must emphasize if, certain conditions are met. That is, the securing of partners in Kandahar province with additional combat troops and equipment capabilities. In other words, while the case for the Afghan mission is clearly compelling, the decision to allow our young men and women in uniform to continue to be in harm’s away demands the responsibility to give them a strong chance of success.”

But the Globe and Mail insightfully noted, “The Manley report, read correctly, tells Canadians that despite much of what they have heard from the government, the military and its media cheerleaders, this Kandahar mission isn't going terribly well and certainly isn't destined to succeed, by any definition of success. If it were going well, then no need would exist for doubling the number of fighting troops. But clearly the security situation has become more difficult, despite the best efforts of Canadian forces.”

Opposition Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion stated that his party is opposed to the kind of “never-ending” mission that the PM’s plan suggests. Instead, he wants Mr. Harper to get NATO off its backside and really work. “If it’s a test for NATO, he should push for the principle of rotation because if we don’t have this principle, I don’t see how the mission will stay for the long haul. Some countries like Canada and Netherlands will not accept a never-ending mission. The Prime Minister may accept it. Canadians will not.” He also pointed out that the Manley Commission also called for a “revamped NATO strategy for Afghanistan, a broad diplomatic strategy for the larger region, and better co-ordination within the Canadian government.” In short, why is anybody in Afghanistan?

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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