Sir, thank you very much for bringing that up. It's something that's been weighing on me since I've been deployed here to Afghanistan.
To back up a little bit, in previous deployments it was strictly military that I was surrounded by and that I was interacting with for the most part. The fundamental difference between my previous tours in Bosnia and the Golan Heights is that the primary way we're bringing civility to the country of Afghanistan is through building security, building governance, and working on development. Good governance, development, and true stability within the country of Afghanistan have to be done in the hands of the Afghan National Police and the Afghan National Army.
One of my staff's main goals is to support the Afghan National Police. There are a large number of international police here from many different countries throughout NATO. We had 43 different countries, and we just added a couple the other day. We have many different international police from both the federal and the municipal levels serving here in Afghanistan.
At the time I discussed this matter with Mr. Poilievre, based on my experience, I did not have insights into the policies surrounding the RCMP. I wasn't really in a position to speak honestly on what their provisions were. That's why I focused strictly on soldiers throughout the lead-up to this, but having served here in Afghanistan, I understand that their policies are very similar to ours.
Yes, I definitely think that applying it to police serving internationally would be very important.