The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
From The Toronto Star, August 18 Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal Leader Stphane Dion hoped to sideline Afghanistan as a hot election issue when they struck a deal last March on CanadaÕs military mission in Kandahar province. Parliament approved a motion to keep our 2,500 troops there until 2011, intending to shift their role from chasing down the Taliban to training the Afghan army. That was the idea, at any rate. But Afghanistan is sliding deeper into a turmoil that mocks that plan. The world caught a shocking glimpse of the harsh reality this past week when the Taliban murdered two Canadian aid workers and two colleagues in a brazen daylight attack. Despite the presence of 70,000 American and allied troops, the Taliban have staged 2,000 attacks this year, a 50 per cent increase. They have bombed IndiaÕs embassy in Kabul, and terrorized the relatively peaceful north and west regions. More than 3,000 people have died. Washington is stepping up the war, consolidating its 34,000 troops in Afghanistan under the U.S. Central Command, giving it greater punch in the countryÕs hot zones. Beyond that, Barack Obama is talking about adding 10,000 more troops while John McCain wants Òa lot more helpÓ from allies. Given these trends, CanadaÕs next prime minister is likely to face pressure to step up the fight. By 2011, Ottawa might conceivably be asked to shift troops from Kandahar to another hot spot. How might Harper and Dion react? People will want to know. Should Canada insist on calling it a day, militarily, in 2011, after 10 years of involvement? Or should we be open to another stint? Canada has shouldered a $7 billion military role, and has suffered 90 military deaths and hundreds of wounded. ThatÕs more than many of our allies. WeÕve also pledged $1.3 billion in aid. Canadians want to continue helping Afghanistan rebuild after 2011, but open-ended military involvement is another thing. There is no realistic prospect of a ÒbestÓ outcome in Kandahar by 2011, in which the central government would fully control the province. A ÒgoodÓ outcome would be to prepare it to manage the insurgency on its own, with backup from allied troops. Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson should provide some idea of what Ottawa thinks is achievable, in his next report on the situation there. How many combat-ready Afghan troops will be there by 2011? Just what backup are they likely to need? And for how much longer? Canadians will be asking these questions as they head to the polls. The politicians had better have answers.
