Mr. Speaker, that is the abiding question. At what point in time will the Afghans be able to defend their own borders, defend their sovereignty and have sufficient national security forces to protect their population?
There is something very incongruent about the position of the NDP and others who have suggested that by withdrawing our forces, by having the international mission abandoned, development could somehow continue.
I and others who have been to the country have witnessed first-hand the appearance of roads, bridges, irrigation systems and dams, which are able to generate electricity. Programs are in place for the vaccination of children. Education is beginning to flourish. Six million more children are at school today and a large portion of those are girls, who were forbidden from an education previously.
The disconnect that exists in the minds of some is hard to understand in this day and age, given the plethora of information available showing that security is the enabler for the development that is taking place in Afghanistan.
Yes, more work has to be done. We have seen a significant increase in the capacity of the Afghan army to recruit. It is now in excess of 60,000 and growing. We see the type of professionalism that will be required within its ranks to have a lasting impact. We see a commitment to democracy that Afghans themselves will never want to abandon. We see a certain pride and purpose develop within both the Afghan security forces and the people themselves that will bode very well for their future.
We hope to see a miraculous turnaround that will lead to what I think will be quite a historic accomplishment. Not many years ago Croatia was a recipient of NATO forces in an effort to bring peace and security to that country. It is now making contributions to an international mission like what we are seeing in Afghanistan. This is a shining example of what can happen and an example of the hope that exists in the country today.