Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. MacKay, for appearing before us.
You mentioned in your remarks that some of the work that we're doing in Afghanistan obviously can't be done without the boots on the ground. I agree. Under difficult circumstances, you need those boots on the ground. I would agree—and I'm sure you would agree—that they also need appropriate equipment, as identified by the military. There is the recent controversy that's been going on. I understand that there have been at least 40 drafts of defence capability plans that have gone back and forth from DND with respect to what is needed by the DND to do its job.
It appears to us, sitting at a distance, that it is impossible to reconcile the political agenda of buying the strategic lift versus the military needs of the tactical lift, which is needed right now in Afghanistan, as per General Hillier. It seems to me that the government may not be pursuing the needs of the military through the tactical airlift, which is needed in Afghanistan today, and in fact is pursuing the purchase of C-17s.
Now, can you tell us why your government isn't immediately pursuing the needs of the military and purchasing the tactical airlift that's required by the military in Afghanistan today?