Doug’s Dynamic Drivel

Canadians on Afghanistan

20 February, 2008 (17:33) | Blogging, Political

Recently, , former Liberal Deputy Prime Minister, was appointed to report to parliament on ’s role in . His panel reached the following conclusions:(94 page 2.04MB .pdf)

We recommend that:

Canada should assert a stronger and more disciplined diplomatic position regarding Afghanistan and the regional players. Specifically, Canada, in concert with key allies, should press for:

Early appointment of a high-level civilian representative of the UN Secretary-General to ensure greater coherence in the civilian and military effort in Afghanistan;

Early adoption by NATO of a comprehensive political-military plan to address security concerns and imbalances, especially the need for more troops to bolster security and expedite training and equipment for the Afghan National Security Forces;

Forceful representations with Afghanistan’s neighbours, in particular with Pakistan, to reduce the risks posed to regional stability and security by recent developments in that country; and

Concerted efforts by the Afghan government to improve governance by tackling corruption and ensuring basic services to the Afghan people, and pursuing some degree of political reconciliation in Afghanistan.

Canada should continue with its responsibility for security in Kandahar beyond February 2009, in a manner fully consistent with the UN mandate on Afghanistan, including its combat role, but with increasing emphasis on training the Afghan National Security Forces expeditiously to take lead responsibility for security in Kandahar and Afghanistan as a whole. As the Afghan National Security Forces gain capability, Canada’s combat role should be significantly reduced.

This commitment is contingent on the assignment of an additional battle group (of about 1,000 soldiers) to Kandahar by NATO and/or other allies before February 2009.

To better ensure the safety and effectiveness of the Canadian contingent, the Government should also secure medium helicopter lift capacity and high-performance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for intelligence,surveillance, and reconnaissance before February 2009.

Canada’s contribution to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan should be revamped giving higher priority than at present to direct, bilateral project assistance that addresses the immediate, practical needs of the Afghan people, especially in Kandahar province, as well as longer-term capacitybuilding.

The Government should systematically assess the effectiveness of Canadian contributions and the extent to which the benchmarks and timelines of the Afghanistan Compact have been met. Future commitments should be based on those assessments.

The Government should provide the public with franker and more frequent reporting on events in Afghanistan, offering more assessments of Canada’s role and giving greater emphasis to the diplomatic and reconstruction efforts as well as those of the military.

I regularly take part in Angus Reid online polls (for those of you outside Canada they are one of the biggest polling companies in Canada) and they have been polling Canadians fairly consistently on the topic of Canada’s role in Afghanistan for quite awhile now. Here is how those polled responded in the most recent poll (12 page .pdf)

At least 70% of Canadians agree with Manley’s recommendations
More Canadians (57%) see Afghan mission as war, not peace, comparing to last year (47%)
76% think Canada is shouldering too much of the burden of NATO’s mission
58% want mission to end in 2009
61% think Harper has not properly explained the mission to Canadians
59% believe Afghans are benefiting from Canadian efforts

Here is a list of the polls Angus Reid has taken on this subject