Mr. Speaker, I will address my comments through you. Absolutely, there is no question. If the Liberals are confused because they cannot read a throne speech as clear as it is, that is not our problem. It is their problem.
In reference to telling NATO that we are going to withdraw, the Parliament of Canada has made a clear commitment until February 2009. NATO knows that. The Minister of National Defence repeats that every time he meets with NATO or speaks with the secretary general. He was there just three weeks ago and will be there again in December. NATO is very well aware of what our position is. As a matter of fact, constant dialogue is going on with other NATO members to ensure that the mission in Afghanistan is a success.
I do not understand how one can provide reconstruction when there is no security. Even Liberals understand that, but for some reason they seem to think we can do reconstruction there and leave security to somebody else. Why would we want to leave security to someone else?
We are a collective force. We are a member of NATO. A failure in Afghanistan will have ramifications right around the world. What would be NATO's role in the future? Who would trust NATO in the future? Who will trust Canada's commitment to NATO in the future, if we do not stick with our NATO commitment?
We must understand that Afghanistan is a UN mandated mission. That is what Canada has always done. I just came back from Korea. We went to war in Korea because of a UN request. We are in Afghanistan because of a UN request. The main purpose of our mission in Afghanistan is reconstruction.
I would like to tell my friend on the other side quite clearly that there is only one voice that speaks on behalf of the Government of Canada, and that is the Prime Minister or the Minister of National Defence and no one else.