Canada's Answer for NATO: No
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Posted by Laura Steiner Aug 8, 2009 |
The time has come to begin discussing the end to the mission in Afghanistan. Canada's combat troops are scheduled to be pulled out in 2011, and there are requests from NATO (North Atlantic Trade Organization) that we stay in that capacity. Foregin Minister Lawrence Cannon's answer was no, the government would respect the will of Parliament and pull the troops as planned.
And No is the right answer. By the time the troops arrive home Canada will have been at war for 10 years- a long time for a nation associated with peacekeeping and humanitarian missions. And it feels like the Canadian army has done its share of the fighting, lost 128 of our best men and women. And for that price, our army deserves a rest from its combat role.
But, if Canada decides to stay it should be in a humanitarian role; one in which we have excelled. All over Afghanistan Canadian forces have helped build schools, roads, and infrastructure. Aid money is going to fund the reconstruction of Dahla Dam, and the establishment of Deh-E Bagh a town just outside of Kandahar City held up as an example of how reconstruction could be accomplished in a secure environment. If Canada stayed, it should be in the humanitarian role, begin rebuilding what has been destroyed; begin teaching Afghans how to build a sold country. Because NATO's Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was right; a stable Afghanistan is in the best interests of the world.
I think a firm No on a combat role beyond 2011 is the best answer, and the Canadian government should stick to it. Canada has done its share, it's time NATO went elsewhere for combat troops.
For more information on this issue please see:
NATO: Canada Should Stay In Afghanistan
MacKay Hints At Extending Afghanistan Commitment