Thank you.
I would like to thank all of our guests for being with us today.
Everything you said this afternoon jibes with many different reports and studies saying that the NATO mission in Afghanistan is heading for disaster. There doesn't seem to be the necessary cohesion there. Everything we have been hearing leads us to believe that the dice are loaded and that everything that we are doing now is only prolonging the disaster.
The Afghanistan Study Group, an American group, has conducted some very significant research. American diplomats and generals recently noted the following in their reports:
“weakening international resolve...and a growing lack of confidence...”.
Considering all of that, is it possible to win in Afghanistan as a whole without a new NATO strategy? Specifically, is this war winnable?
I would like to hear your thoughts on that, and perhaps you can tell me what Canada's responsibility is in that regard. Canada likes to see itself as playing a leadership role in this war. But, what responsibility does it have in the current situation, and how can the few measures suggested in the Manley report help to reverse the process? Is that possible?
My questions are addressed to Ms. Mason and to LCol Landry.