Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Alexander and Mr. Appathurai, thank you for your hard work. Your putting your lives on the line for this project is not lost on Canadians, and we thank you very much for what you are doing and have done.
There are a couple of things. One is that we know the insurgency has increased. Open production has increased. The maternal mortality figures, the most sensitive indicator for the health of a population, is still the worst in the world, despite what you said and the good work you're doing.
I have three things. One is opium. Why on earth are we destroying the opium crops when this will simply drive disaffected groups into the hands of the Taliban? It's going to be an unmitigated disaster for our troops and will increase the insecurity of our troops. Why don't we take that opium and divert it toward pharmaceutical grade narcotics, for which there is a massive need in the developing world?
Second, on the insurgency, we know that the base of the Taliban is in Quetta, Pakistan. You know as well as I know that no insurgency has ever been able to be removed when the bases are outside the country in which the fighting is taking place. Do you not think that a regional working group made up of Iran, Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan would be a way to try to deal with the insurgency?
Last, with respect to the timetable, can you give us a sense as to whether we're talking about a few years or a generation with respect to ISAF troops on the ground? Obviously your answers are going to factor into our calculus in this defence committee.
Also, from your side, keep pushing that. We have a Canada fund equivalent with our embassies and high commissions, the most effective way of delivering aid, the most underused way of delivering aid. Keep pushing that for the reasons you said, Mr. Appathurai, and if you can also push for a loya jirga to bring in those disaffected groups from the Bonn Agreement, that would be greatly appreciated. Anything you could say about that would also be appreciated.
Thank you.