Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is an honour for me to be here with you and before this committee.
I say this sincerely, this committee is very important because it provides us with advice and, at times, with criticisms, but always in a spirit of improving the mission in Afghanistan.
I know that, at times, we deal with partisan topics, but I feel that all members of the committee here present understand that this is a matter of great importance. You very often work in a non-partisan way and I respect that.
Mr. Chairman, understanding that there is some difficulty with the sound system, and knowing I have to leave at 4:30, as was previously agreed, I hope members won't be too saddened if I abbreviate my comments somewhat to allow maximum time for input from members.
I see on many of your desks the fifth quarterly report on our activities in Afghanistan. As you are probably aware, but it deserves mentioning, the quarterly report process is a result of the independent commission that was put together to give us some direction on how we as a government and members of Parliament should engage ourselves relative to Afghanistan. It recommended this series of reports. We can take some pride--using the word properly--in knowing that among NATO nations it has been said that we are the leader in transparency of reporting, tracking progress, and the degree of accountability that goes with that. So each of you is responsible for and has some share in that process, and you can take some sense of pride in being involved in that.
You'll have noticed as you read through the report that certain goals and projects are identified, and whether we are on track to attain those goals or not is clearly pointed out. We don't make excuses if goals are not attained or a certain benchmark is not achieved. That is noted, commented on, and reported. But I think we will agree that transparency is there, and that is quite the way it should be.
There are things that stand out in that report. People ask whether there has been progress in Afghanistan and what types of things have been accomplished. Unfortunately, probably because the progress is so detailed and faithfully reported on, there is often not a lot of coverage--I won't say there's not a lot of interest--on the progress report itself and the various achievements.
When I talk to people about Afghanistan, I talk about the fact that we don't make all of the benchmarks in every quarter, but I mention, for instance, that 12 schools have been completed already. We've seen in this last quarter that some 369,000 children have received vaccinations against polio. In the last quarter, more than 11,000 people went through literacy programs. We have almost achieved the 2011 goal, where it points out that almost 500 individuals have received micro-financing in certain areas. The construction of a health care centre was completed. The work that goes into preparing the roads for heavy equipment and everything that will be involved in the reconstruction of the Dahla Dam is proceeding.
None of these projects is free from risk. The Taliban/al-Qaeda extremists are out there all the time to literally kill, maim, or destroy men, women, and children who are involved in any of these construction projects.
I believe these are significant achievements. You can also see, because some of these goals have not been met, that we have significant challenges, and we have a way to go to achieve those various goals.
When I have the opportunity to speak to audiences--as I'm sure you do--and tell them that over five million children have been vaccinated against polio in Afghanistan, most people are shocked; they've never heard that. When I tell them that Canadians are involved in the reconstruction and renovation of a dam that will bring irrigation and power to thousands of people in a huge valley, they're unaware of that. When I talk about the thousands who have gone through literacy programs, when I talk about the percentage of combat missions in our area of responsibility in the Kandahar PRT area, they're surprised at the percentage of those now conducted by Afghanistan nationals, either army or policing. It says to me that although we have many communication exercises, and you will see some of them listed in your quarterly report, largely that type of information doesn't get through. It is important that we have times and opportunities to talk about those, and to talk about the challenges and the areas where we could be doing better.
As I turn the floor over to you and look to your questions and your advice and your guidance, I think it would serve us well to reflect on why we are in Afghanistan, because over time we can lose track of the fact that the United Nations asked the NATO group to be in Afghanistan. First and foremost, the Taliban had to be removed from that area; from that particular country, over 90% of all the heroin in the world was being exported. But even as horrific as that is, as equally gripping is the fact that the majority of violent terrorism was being exported from that area of the world. People were trained and exported, and their activities even reached our continent, as happened with 9/11 in New York, when Canadians also joined people from all over the world who were numbered among those slaughtered on that particular day.
Our mission there is to work towards the time and the day when the people of Afghanistan are able to provide for their own security, their own care, and their own needs. There has been progress towards that goal, though at times it's been halting and at times the security situation has not always improved, but in fact has regressed. I think it's important to keep that in mind as we look to the days and months ahead.
On the very question of the success of the mission, in other words, countries working and supporting Afghanistan to be in control of its own destiny, its own security, in my mind I think it's important to realize--and we make no mistake about this--that should that mission fail, the emboldenment of terrorist forces, especially Taliban-type, al-Qaeda-related forces, would be something that would be nerve-racking to contemplate. There's no question that if the mission fails, and if Afghanistan and the good people there who want to secure their own security are not able to do that, there would be a full-scale return to terrorism and terrorists being trained and exported from that area all over the world, as they did before there was intervention. The encouragement that would give to similar forces in other countries, some of which are failed states right now and some of which are at risk of that, would be formidable.
It is my view that often we hear, quite rightly, about the courageous job the Canadian men and women who are there are doing, but it is also the right thing that they are doing. They originally were sent there by a previous government, the Liberal government, and we supported that. Our troops need to be encouraged. Not only do we acknowledge their bravery and their courage, but in fact they are doing the right thing, and we are with them and support them in that. I like to say that, and I think it's important to say that, everywhere we go. It doesn't mean the mission itself is above analysis, by any means, but the incredible work they do should be acknowledged. Other countries point to Canada and our troops there as the troops, the men and women in uniform, who are a standout among the many nations that are engaged there, both for the sacrifice they've already paid and for the manner in which they conduct themselves. I just want to acknowledge that and have that on the record today, Mr. Chairman.
I look forward to your questions, your guidance, and any other direction you may have for us.
