National Defence committee  Personally I think that the military providing humanitarian aid is just a bad idea. NGOs were present in Afghanistan long before any foreign military personnel were there, and the NGOs' concern at seeing their efforts so politicized is a serious one, because if they're seen as biased to one party or to the other, the Taliban or whichever insurgent will say, well, the grain you're providing is for the international effort, so we'll shoot you up.

National Defence committee  I would like to add to that. As I mentioned earlier, every peace operation has three main aspects or pillars: civilian, police, and military. The more violence there is, the more the military has a role to play. Provided the situation in Kandahar improves, we will gradually see more policing activity and then, strictly, development activity, if all goes well.

National Defence committee  First, I think it has to be said that Canada has stepped up to the plate and has certainly delivered in Afghanistan. Now, if we are to compare our involvement, our commitments, to our partners in Afghanistan, they would pale in comparison. Does Canada need to send more troops to Afghanistan?

National Defence committee  It's 2,500. I spoke with the commander of the Quebec region, who explained to me some of these numbers, which for us as civilians can sometimes be puzzling.There are actually somewhat more than 60,000. You have to separate them between the naval, aerial, and ground units, which means for starters, let's say, that we're talking about 20,000, not 60,000.

National Defence committee  Obviously Pakistan will need to play a very essential role if we are to achieve any sort of peace in southern Afghanistan. Barnett Reuben, who is an imminent specialist in Afghanistan, who has been there several times--and it's not in the media--said that in order for Pakistan to control, or at least to help Pakistan to control in the long term, you have to talk about democracy.

National Defence committee  Personally, I would tend to disagree that the UN is a symbol of the past. That is not to say the UN does not have its problems. A significant overhaul was attempted last fall, and that overhaul was not generally accepted per se. But certain aspects of it were accepted and were advanced.

National Defence committee  There has been an increase in violence, but only in certain areas. The overall picture is not completely negative. It varies from place to place. We have made significant progress. A government was elected, even though some aspects of it are problematic, but overall, the election was legitimate and has been recognized by various international institutions.

National Defence committee  One of the recommendations would be to bring the debate to the Parliament. I think it was incredibly refreshing to see these issues being debated in Parliament last April. It certainly gave the Canadian public at least a chance to see some of the issues surrounding our policy in Afghanistan.

National Defence committee  That's a tough one. I don't really like having it that this is peace while this is war, with a clear line between the two. It's a continuum; at various points along it, you're rather more at war or rather more at peace. Is Canada at war on the scale of what it was in Korea? I don't think so, but there are definitely aspects of what's going on in Afghanistan that could be considered war.

National Defence committee  Terrorists do not control Afghanistan as of today.

National Defence committee  I know the attitude of the British military. I think General Richards pretty much said what was at stake for them. The British people, of course, suffered devastating attacks not so long ago, but I would be very careful comparing what's happening in Afghanistan to the Second World War.

National Defence committee  The Taliban do not control Afghanistan.

National Defence committee  I think there's a distinction to be made between the Taliban and al-Qaeda. I think they allow them to train and organize. They certainly brought the terrorists closer to statehood. But there's a major difference between interstate wars, with the resources and the way you can do it....

National Defence committee  From our different experiences in the 1990s, Justin mentioned that peacekeeping in general has evolved and that we've come to understand that there are three main actors in any peacekeeping operations. There are military, civilians, and police. We've seen conflicts in Bosnia, in Africa, and it usually takes about 10 years or so.

National Defence committee  There were recently major riots in Kabul following a car accident involving U.S. troops. I think that says a lot about the atmosphere of what's happening in Afghanistan. During my presentation, I insisted on saying “extremist elements”, but there are not only extremist elements; there are also opportunistic elements.