Thank you very much, Chairmen, and thank you also to my colleagues, particularly for your interest in the situation that is very important to all of us here, in Canada as well as in Afghanistan.
The areas falling under my portfolio relate to the RCMP and Correctional Service. There are nine police officers serving in Afghanistan, varying between Kabul and Kandahar. Eight are from the RCMP; one is a municipal force officer. That number is projected to move up to 22, following the Prime Minister's commitment. That will be done in the very near future.
There are two individuals from Correctional Service Canada who valiantly volunteered to work in Afghanistan to assist in capacity building in the prisons. I might add that the magnitude of the task is really something for us to consider, and also the accomplishment to date.
Historically over the last number of decades—or really, the last number of centuries—Afghanistan has been ruled variously, at the very best by a feudal type of system, but more commonly by warlords or invading armies. It has existed historically as a system of brutal revenge upon one's enemies.
Now we have a situation where detainees—that's the legal technical word—are not simply people who jaywalked and then were apprehended. These people are suspected terrorists. Most were apprehended in combat situations. They know no limits when it comes to the suicide killing of others.
In a very short period of time, we have seen the people in Afghanistan—the actual regime and those operating the prisons—go from a brutal revenge type of system to having a human rights commission, respecting our demand that even their enemies have human rights and need to be treated well in detention. There has been significant progress on that.
The reason I share that with you, as I conclude my remarks in well under 12 minutes, is that intentionally or not—and I'm not being accusatory here—the line of questioning that's been pursued over the last few months has had a certain tenor, implying that our troops were less than honourable in the apprehension, questioning, and the oversight of the so-called detainees, the suspected terrorists. I'm not saying that it was intentional, but that has been the air of the questioning, so much so that our troops tell us that they think they're being accused of doing wrong things. Yet the lengths they go to in order to show their humanitarian approach to these suspected terrorists has been noted.
I would hope that in the questioning that comes today—and I appreciate this time of questioning, I think it's valid—that is the sentiment expressed: that we are concerned about the treatment of suspected terrorists, but we are not approaching this in an accusatory tone towards our brave men and women in uniform.