That's a great question.
As was seen on television over the last weekend, they've actually been deployed. They are currently deployed with the battle group up in the Zhari-Panjwai area assisting with Route Summit. I have to tell you that the soldiers in the battle group are attacked each and every day by the Taliban. They are attacking them with indirect fire, mortar rounds, small arms fire, and the like. It's a very dangerous environment up there.
I'll give you one example, but I could give you many. The defence with the tanks along Route Summit will allow for a beefing up of the security that will actually enable the reconstruction to occur. The Taliban attack the gravel trucks that are trying to make their way up to dump the gravel down to build the road. These tanks aren't out chasing folks, but they have been brought in. A tank provides much better protection for our soldiers. Instead of Canadian soldiers having to stand out by themselves, dismounted on the ground, there are tanks that can actually protect them.
When the Taliban attack us and those trying to construct the route, we now have a very precise way to engage the Taliban and to lessen the possibility of harm to civilians. If you have a weapon that can fire very precisely, you're not likely to cause collateral damage. You can keep it to a minimum, as opposed to what would perhaps happen with an aircraft bomb, for example.
The tanks, in a way, are there to help us push forward with the development. You need the security to do the development. With a little better security, troops are better protected, and Route Summit is an example. What I would hope to see--and I know it's the commanders' hope on the ground--is that reconstruction of Route Summit will progress even more quickly now that the tanks have been deployed.