National Defence committee  We must not be influenced by an increase or decrease in public support for the mission. If some Canadian soldiers were to die a tragic death next week, public support for the mission will probably go down. So political decisions must not be based on public opinion or media covera

National Defence committee  The main aspect is the need to obtain intelligence from the local people who are not opposed to Canadian troops. In that context, if they can obtain intelligence, they will be able to take a more preventative approach, without pulling the trigger.

National Defence committee  Unless security on the ground is effective, the presence of NGOs is not recommended. The soldiers, the military forces should provide essential humanitarian aid. Once a kind of security perimeter has been established around a village or a region, we can start accepting the pres

National Defence committee  I think that the presence of a political adviser from Canada or elsewhere is always a good idea when a democracy has been set up, because that is not self-evident. We can understand it, because we have lived in a democracy since birth. The problem in Afghanistan is that although

National Defence committee  If we are consistent about wanting to bring democracy to them, we must let the elected officials decide what is best for their own country, unless that undermines the security of their neighbours or the international community. There are countries with governments that do not enf

National Defence committee  Personally, yes, of course. In Afghanistan, we're talking about combat operations. The situation is not at all the same as that within our country or within the United States. As long as the population in that country is not secure, we need to use the military. Then the police c

National Defence committee  I think that it's already happening. The term “security perimeter” has not been used as such, but in reality, there is collaboration between the Canadian and American security forces and political authorities that involves talking about a security perimeter. I do not think that

National Defence committee  Democracy is not something that can be forced upon, that cultural issues must be taken into account, and attempting to make Afghans fall in love with democracy is rather absurd. To my mind, the strategy must be more about allowing ordinary Afghans to benefit from the presence of

National Defence committee  The UN is the only legitimate, international and truly global decision-making body and Canada must participate actively in efforts to reform such organization. NATO can better support Canadian operations, but legitimate, international approval must be given by the Security Counci

National Defence committee  I wish to clarify that my opinion is based on an impression. It is based on Canadians' impression, and not necessarily on actual facts. During the Cold War, peacekeeping was not the must important aspect of the Canadians Forces' work. I did not state personally whether or not we

National Defence committee  A communications expert could make specific recommendations in that regard. In my opinion, that is exactly what is at stake. If the political decision is taken to indeed commit Canada to an operation like the one under Enduring Freedom in Kandahar, which is the opposite of our tr

National Defence committee  I agree with the fact that the nature of conflicts has changed and that Canadian Forces have adapted to that change. What I am saying reflects the information which is available to Canadians. But there is a certain level of misunderstanding, which is also reflected in the media a

National Defence committee  I think it's possible, but the point is to win the hearts of the Afghan population rather than eliminate the Taliban, which is impossible, all the more so because they are motivated by hate. If the local population rejects the actions of the Taliban, and if the Taliban, generall

National Defence committee  I will go first, but I should point out that I have not been out in the field in Afghanistan; I can, however, talk about media coverage. To my mind, it is perfectly understandable that there is a lot of media coverage of combat operations in Canada. Combat operations are not eve

National Defence committee  The international community has no collective extract strategy in mind. We cannot leave until the term “Failed State” no longer applies to Afghanistan; we cannot leave until the situation has been redressed. The question of an extract strategy would probably be less of an issue