Mr. Chair, I would like to address my colleague on a couple of points that he made about consistency in policy. Our policy of combined defence, development, trade and foreign policy is encompassed in our international policy statement, which anyone can read on the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Department of National Defence websites. The international policy statement clearly articulates what Canada's overarching policies are, be they in defence or foreign affairs.
I understand the issue that he has brought forward in regard to why some countries are dealt with in certain ways and others are not, but I think I can best articulate it if I summarize what we as a government try to do when countries are in need. We try to do what we can where we can. Is he suggesting that somehow we need to have a more robust involvement in the Sudan, a country, I might add, that by any stretch of the imagination we are not neglecting? We have our diplomats involved. We have our international development arm involved. We have our military involved.
If the member is suggesting that we march troops into the Sudan to end the conflict there, let me put that into perspective. In Iraq, I think the U.S. now has slightly over 100,000 troops. It is a country much smaller than Sudan. As for the actual estimates on the part of generals who advised President Bush when he was deciding to go into Iraq, he was warned that he would need more than three times the amount of those troops in order to stabilize Iraq, a much smaller country. Let us do the math. The United States needed more than 300,000 troops to stabilize Iraq, not 100,000 troops, and it is a country that is much smaller than Sudan.
Obviously we as a country cannot put that kind of troop involvement in there, but what I am saying to the hon. member is that we are trying to use every tool in our box to bring stability to that country and prevent the killings, which the member quite rightly mentioned are occurring today. We would like the international community and particularly the African Union and those countries that are part of that to make the commitments, get involved and put the pressure on Khartoum or, quite frankly, take the actions that are required to stop the killings and the mass rapes.
They need to do that in other countries. For example, there is Zimbabwe, where Robert Mugabe is committing awful atrocities. Why is South Africa not getting involved in stopping Robert Mugabe when it could do that in a few days by simply turning off the energy tap? Why does it not choke off his supply of resources and prevent that thug from murdering his people in a country that was once very beautiful and stable? He has destroyed a country.
On the continent of Africa, we need African countries and African leaders to say goodbye to the past and hello to the future and engage some of their leaders on the continent who are engaging in such behaviour. I will add the government of Khartoum to this collection of cabals of thugs, murderers and pathological liars who are murdering their citizens for their own gain. The African Union has to get involved.
In closing, let me say that we will support them in trying to build stability on the continent. I want to emphasize for the hon. member that we have put in a significant doubling of aid to Africa.
My question for the member is quite simple. He criticizes us for our policies, which are articulated in the IPS. Since we are going into an election very soon, what is the Conservative Party's policy toward Sudan? What specifically would he do as the current foreign affairs critic? What would he and his Conservative Party do to stop the killing in Sudan if they were in government? I would like to hear specifics from the hon. Conservative foreign affairs critic. What specific solutions would he provide tomorrow as the Conservative foreign affairs minister?