Madam Speaker, we can all look back on the Afghanistan mission with pride. Our people were exemplary and the sacrifices we like to believe were not in vain. But, did we do it perfectly? Of course not, and that is exactly what the minister is concerned about.
In another article, the Minister of National Defence said, “A surge of U.S. troops in Afghanistan could have been unnecessary if action had been taken at the first 'clues of corruption'”.
The minister recounted what a ground forces commander in Iraq once told him to illustrate why the West must avoid repeating mistakes of the past. He said, “Today, we are dealing with the son of al-Qaeda. If we don't get the next piece right, and the next piece is not the military piece, it's that political piece, we will be dealing with the grandson of al-Qaeda”.
That is exactly ISIS. It is the son of al-Qaeda and the minister is very concerned that--