Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, ladies, for joining us.
Your account today of what is happening on the ground confirms the fears of those who want Canada to withdraw from this region. Worse still, something is not very clear about the actions of the soldiers deployed to the region. Their actions are directly putting people's lives at risk, so much so that according to Ms. Chayes, the tactics being employed need to change completely. This shift should have occurred at the very beginning. Be that as it may, five and a half years have elapsed, nothing is working and 50% of the population believe that the Taliban will emerge victorious.
I would like you to give us one good reason why our troops should be in this country, something that I could tell people who say that we are wasting our time or making the situation even worse. You said it yourself. Conditions are worse today than when the Taliban were in power.
Unless I am missing something here, tell me why we should continue to support Canada's mission to this country, aside from the fact that Canada is a prominent nation and is providing money.
Not only are we realizing that things are not working, we are putting CIDA at risk. This Agency is extremely important to us. Some are even saying that CIDA is the problem. I really am at a loss to understand.