First of all, colleagues, let me welcome you and those Canadians watching this meeting on television to the fifth meeting of the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan. Tonight we're honoured to have Dr. Graham Fuller with us.
Dr. Fuller is an independent writer, analyst, lecturer, and consultant on Muslim and world affairs. Dr. Fuller worked for 20 years as a CIA operations officer, 17 of them overseas, mostly in the Middle East, including time as a CIA station chief in Afghanistan from 1975 to 1978.
Once again, thank you very much for being with us, Dr. Fuller. I will now turn the microphone over to you for your opening statement.