I knew that somebody would ask that question. It is a difficult choice to make. Unfortunately, I think that a lot of Canadians perceive Canada's role in Afghanistan as having been reduced to following US leads. As such, the difference between Canadian and US involvement seems fuzzy, if not inexistent. More has to be done to put a truly Canadian stamp on our involvement. This has always been one of the problems with Canadian foreign policy. I am fortunate enough not to have to make such decisions, but I believe the Canadian presence in Afghanistan to be necessary. To my mind, the needs of the local Afghan population, the international security context and Canadian interests all mean that it would be inappropriate to consider withdrawing Canadian troops.
However, changes could be made to Canada's commitment in Afghanistan. I'm not necessarily talking about changes to the types of operation that our troops carry out, but, rather, the way in which the facts are presented. Firstly, I believe it's important to state the facts as they are, rather than simply talking about the fight against terrorism. That is not to say, however, that we should seek to provide easy solace to Canadians by saying that our mission consists of reconstruction and allowing young girls to go to school.
At the moment, the Canadian mission consists primarily of guaranteeing security, maintaining control and undertaking combat operations. To my mind, therefore, accepting to assume the command of the transition between operation Enduring Freedom and ISAF was a political decision that is not in keeping with the spirit of the symbols and myths that characterize Canadian foreign policy.
However, assuming command of the NATO operation which, if memory serves me well, is scheduled for 2008, would better reflect the Canadian myths and ideals that have made our foreign policy what it is today. This is because NATO is an international organization and the type of operations the Canadian command is likely to undertake in such a context are more likely to correspond to Canadian ideals.