Ottawa Citizen - May 12, 2006
By Colin Kenny
Now that the dust has settled and Parties of all political stripes are in agreement that we, as a nation, have a responsible role to play in Afghanistan, it is time to take a good, hard look at what we need to do to ensure the success of our mission.
So far, Prime Minister Harper has done much that is right. He has firmly committed his government to this mission. His personal visit to our capable troops on the ground has immeasurably bolstered the overall morale of our Canadian forces. He has put in charge a stellar leader, CDS General Rick Hillier, to lead our armed forces including the 2,300 young men and women in Kandahar. And he has made it unequivocally clear that we are in it for the long haul; that we don’t – and we won’t – cut and run.
All good things. But the work has only just begun.
At the forefront of successfully carrying out this mission lies the pressing question: where do we go from here? First and foremost, it is up to our new government to take ownership and to lead: to outline an achievable, measurable end state, to define our victory and to get us there. And then, when the timing is right, to get us out.
One of the preconditions of sending troops overseas should be to clearly explain to the public what we are going to do … how long it will take … and how, at the end of that time, we can determine our success and leave.
Within the next few weeks, the decision to extend our country’s commitment to Afghanistan past its current February 2007 end date must be made. This is a critical decision that must be explained to the public. If the government decides to stay, the Prime Minister has a duty to tell Canadians how long is a long haul?
Canadians deserve no less and neither do the thousands of young women and men serving now and in the coming years in Kandahar. So far, neither the Martin nor the Harper government has done this.
General Hillier, as a military leader, has had to explain to his troops why they are going. As a consequence, our mission to Kandahar risks becoming General Hillier’s War – it isn’t, it is the government’s. And the rationale and the explanation must come from Ottawa.
The government must be forward looking by defining the tangible measures we need to take to ensure that our country and our troops are succeeding in the mission of making genuine improvements to the day-to-day lives of the people of Kandahar. We must weigh the effectiveness of our three-pronged strategy of defence, diplomacy and development, in terms of the impact we have made and our rate of success. We must ask the question: are the people of Afghanistan’s lives truly improved as a result of our efforts and, if not, what are we prepared to do to achieve our goals and theirs?
Our current mission in Kandahar has increased risk to Canadian forces personnel. We are now based in the ideological heartland of the Taliban. There have been increasing attacks on our troops including suicide bomber attacks on convoys, attacks of Forward Operating Bases and mortar attacks on Kandahar. We have lost 15 soldiers and a Canadian diplomat since 2002 and recently four more brave young men were, sadly, casualties of this mission.
We are there because there is political consensus that we should be. But there is not consensus among Canadians. What our government must do is tell Canadians what the end result is, why we’re in Afghanistan and, quite frankly, what constitutes, at the end of the day, victory. When Canadians are told why and wherefore, then, perhaps, will come the support and the will of a nation. But this will not happen until the Prime Minister fully explains the reality of our mission.
Canadians - and our troops on the ground - deserve nothing less than clear answers, swift action, and the decisive leadership it takes to get the job done right. It takes considerable political will to successfully carry out this mission and our new government must act – today – to take charge. However, this is not the job of our military commander, General Hillier. Rather, it is the job of our country’s political leader, Prime Minister Harper and his government.
Our forces are outstanding in their courage, training and commitment. Our military leaders are skilled and strong. It is now time for the political leadership in Ottawa to match their example and describe the endgame.
Senator Colin Kenny is Chair of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence. He can be reached via email at kennyco@sen.parl.gc.ca