Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Welcome, Mr. Mulroney. Your presentation was similar to what we generally hear. I have nothing against your optimistic nature, because it is important to be optimistic—I too am an optimist. However, at some point, optimism verges on inaccuracy. There is a failure to take into account some important facts that show we are losing the war in Afghanistan.
I have some very disturbing statistics here. For example, there were 983 attacks in August 2008, a 47% increase over August 2007. We have not met the control and security objectives. There have been 120 attacks on humanitarian aid workers and 92 kidnappings, and these figures are increasing as well. There were 1,523 civilian victims in 2007, and 2,118 in 2008. So this figure has gone up as well.
Between 40% and 50% of the country is not accessible to humanitarian aid workers. Costs are rising considerably as well. From 2001 to 2008, the war cost $10.5 billion, and from 2008 to 2011, it is expected that it will cost $7 billion. The cost of this mission is getting higher and higher. There is also been an increase in the number of Canadian and American troops who have been killed since 2001. We are losing more and more soldiers.
We have been saying for a long time now that the mission must be changed. The American plan could be released tomorrow. We have to determine how we can complement the American effort. In your last report on Afghanistan, the inter-ministerial report of the five ministers, you said that to some extent, the situation had worsened over the quarter. I think it is getting more and more serious all the time.
Have we reached a crossroads, a time when the mission in Afghanistan must absolutely be changed? Everyone says that we cannot win the military conflict, and yet we are increasing the number of soldiers there. Is the solution not to ask the forces to build some security perimeters so that schools, clinics and irrigation systems can be built? At the rate we are going, it is clear that we will be unable to control this insurrection or to win. I do not think that the situation can be turned around by 2011.
Am I too pessimistic or are you too optimistic?