This may be an unfair question, and I don't mean to cast any aspersions on any of our forces, but this is a question I'd like to have answered. Do you think the Canadian Forces are well trained and well prepared to deal with the kind of counter-insurgency we're dealing with? I don't know whether tanks are what you need in a counter-insurgency. I don't know whether fighter pilots are what you need. I'm not a military person. I'm simply a layperson who happens to be a parliamentarian, so I'm asking the questions in lay lingo. Are Canadian Forces prepared to deal with the kind of counter-insurgency that we face? Granted, we have brave soldiers doing a great job, but being trained for this kind of counter-insurgency is a different issue.
On September 27th, 2006. See this statement in context.