Mr. Speaker, we must understand the context in which the Canadian armed forces went to Afghanistan.
First, following the events of September 11, there was a proclamation of article 5 of the NATO treaty. There was President Bush's declaration to the effect that this was a war against terrorism. There were actions led by the Americans, from the very beginning, on October 7, with their armed forces. It was a well understood fact between us and the United States that it was a conflict under international law. That was clear.