There will be some happy Canadians in 2011 when Canada withdraws from the conflict in Afghanistan, and there will be other Canadians regretting the action.
Canada's involvement in Afghanistan's
civil war has generated controversy in Canada, and the small gains made in Afghanistan have come at a high price for the Canadian Armed Forces. In
February 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper proposed that Canada should extend its stay in Afghanistan and not withdraw until 2011. Parliament voted to approve the extension, but the Conservative party was criticized for not providing clearer direction on Canada's withdrawal. Yesterday the
CBC broke the news that the head of the Canadian Armed Forces, Chief of Defence Staff,
General Walt Natynczyk, had given the order to the army to begin preparing to pull out of Afghanistan. Natynczyk's office said the order was in line with parliaments' vote earlier this year.
"The parliamentary motion was clear, and prudent military planning has begun. That commences with orders."
Defense Minister Peter MacKay is not closing the door on Afghanistan, however, and there is a possibility that Canada could
extend its presence in Afghanistan past 2011. It is
thought that Canada might want to keep some troops in southern Afghanistan to protect rebuilding efforts. It is also expected that President Barack Obama will ask Canada to keep some troops in south Afghanistan past 2011.
Canada has nearly 3,000 soldiers in Afghanistan. Canada has been
assisting NATO in Afghanistan since 2001. 133 Canadian soldiers have
lost their lives in Afghanistan.
General Natyncyzk
said he had issued the order in August.
Afghanistan held an
election this summer, and only recently did the United Nations find that there was massive election fraud, which resulted in Hamid Karzai being declared the winner. A high profile American last year said Karzai was corrupt and predicted he would "play" the United States. Because the United States had committed additional troops to ensure democracy would unfold, it is now said
"... the United States and its NATO allies are fighting on the side of a corrupt and discredited government in a war, now in its ninth year, for which, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, there can be no purely military solution."
