Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
General Henault, not only are you the pride of Saint Jean-Baptiste, but you are the pride of all Canadians. We are very proud to have you in our midst. However, I know that you have come not only as a Canadian, but also as the chairman of the military committee of NATO. I have some questions for you in that regard.
You are very proud of the current Prime Minister. In my opinion, I think that we can also be proud of the contribution made by previous prime ministers beginning with 2001 including Prime Minister Chrétien's contribution in Kabul and Prime Minister Martin's contribution in Kandahar. I think that the people in the official opposition had to support this mission, as they did when they were in power.
However, we know that this is an international mission and not a Canadian mission. Let me clearly state our position. We, in the official opposition, believe in rotation. We think that beginning with February 2009, Canadian troops should undergo rotation. We could eventually hand the torch over to another country.
Withdrawing from Afghanistan is out of the question because we have a role to play regarding diplomacy and development. In that sense, we think that rotation is necessary. The Prime Minister can make two opposite statements and paint himself into a corner by saying that he is ready to stay, but as far as we are concerned, we want to tell you exactly what we think. Therefore, you can get ready because between May 31 and February 2009, many things could be done.
Today, I want to raise three specific issues. First, let me talk about
those national caveats. I believe there's an issue of coordination and consistency among those in the alliance regarding the operation.
I'd like to talk about the civilian casualties and the detainees. Since our time is counted, I also want to make sure that everybody has their time.
We're talking a lot about national caveats. How many national caveats exist right now? Please give a short answer.