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| ELECTORNIC EDITION |
| 2008-01-09 |
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GLOBAL CHINESE PRESS |
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Liberal Party Submits Recommendations on Afghan Mission
2008-01-09 10:10 | OTTAWA - Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion today publicly released his party's submission to the Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan, which calls for an end to the combat mission in February 2009 and deals with some vital issues that must be addressed before the federal government commits to a new military role.
"As we have been saying for the past year, Canada should notify NATO immediately that the current counter-insurgency combat mission in Kandahar will end as scheduled in February 2009," said Mr. Dion.
Mr. Dion stressed that the decision to end the combat mission does not represent an abandonment of Afghanistan.
"The Liberal Party believes that lasting peace and security can not be achieved in Afghanistan by military force alone. The ultimate purpose of any military role to which Canada commits must be to create the necessary space and conditions to allow the Afghans themselves to achieve a political solution," he said.
Mr. Dion added that Canada must remain engaged in Afghanistan, which should include diplomatic and development efforts and potential continued military presence.
"We are open to other possible military roles in Afghanistan to continue training the Afghan National Army and police, protect Afghan civilians or for reconstruction efforts. But we will not accept the simple re-branding of the current combat mission as a training mission. Any new military role must be crafted in such a way as to ensure that other significant Canadian Forces deployments in other parts of the world are possible," he said.
Other key points of Mr. Dion's submission to the Panel included:
. Canada should join with those, like Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, who question the utility and effectiveness of air and artillery strikes as a counter-insurgency technique;
. Diplomatic and development efforts in Afghanistan should focus on Canada's strengths as a nation, such as the pursuit of a "good government" strategy on the ground and addressing the chronic fresh water shortages in the country;
. The domestic management of the mission must improve, with a strengthened cross-departmental Afghan Secretariat to improve coordination among the relevant domestic government institutions;
. Canada must use its current influence within NATO to lead a necessary discussion on reform of the institution; and
. Canada must call for an immediate NATO-wide solution that ensures that detainees are not transferred into a situation where they could face torture. This may require the construction and maintenance of NATO holding facilities completely under the control and supervision of NATO personnel.
Finally, Mr. Dion called on the Harper Conservatives to show greater commitment to accountability and transparency on all aspects of the mission.
"They must abandon the practice of abusing the excuse of national security to withhold from the public politically embarrassing information," he said. |
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