Mr. Speaker, it is appalling to see the Minister of National Defence in such denial.
The U.S. Senate acknowledged in a unanimous report that the CIA systematically tortured its prisoners. This is not a fabrication or a conspiracy theory; it is from a report that was crystal clear.
Like it or not, it is a fact of history: the Americans bombed Iraq for 12 years. They occupied it militarily, and now we are seeing the result of that. Now we have to go back. Maybe some day the Conservatives will understand that bombs are not the best solution. We are proposing something altogether different.
They say that food aid is good, but that some military assistance is also needed. Instead we should be making sure that people cannot get their hands on weapons or munitions. Perhaps we should be convincing some governments to keep quiet.
We need to make sure that Turkey does not become a refuge for ISIL, that people cannot go and seek medical care or sell their oil in Turkey. That would be helpful.
These are the kinds of measures we should be taking to win the war. This is certainly not what the Conservatives did in Afghanistan.