Afghanistan

Public Policy Wiki Issue #2: Canada’s Role in Afghanistan

What is Canada’s role in the world? No single issue has raised this question so pointedly in recent years as our role in Afghanistan.

Many wonder what is a nation of peacekeepers is doing in a country where there is no peace to keep. Over 100 soldiers have died in the fight against Taliban insurgents, mostly in the dangerous Kandahar province.

Canada is not in Afghanistan on its own; we are there at the request of the Afghan government as part of a mission sanctioned by the United Nations. Some of Canada’s allies, such as the Netherlands, are trying to end their military presence, while President Obama has signalled that American military strength will increase.

Our presence in Afghanistan is not only as a military. Canada’s role in Afghanistan is described as defence, development and diplomacy. Canadians have helped improve education, infrastructure, health care and governance, but Afghanistan continues to rank among the world’s least developed countries.

To find out more about Canada’s role in Afghanistan since 2001, read Janice Stein’s “How Canada's Forces Went to Afghanistan” (Stein Analysis), and for one view on what Canada's military approach to Afghanistan should be, see retired Major General Lewis Mackenzie's analysis (Mackenzie Analysis).

The Wiki Challenge: What should Canada’s role in Afghanistan be?

Bringing peace and prosperity to a land has always been done as a natural side effect of economic development. One problem with Afghanistan is that, as yet, there is no natural resources for the west to develop and exploit. However, trying to secure the country, and more importantly, the vast untamed interior, simply for security's sake will never work. There are simply not enough armed forces world wide to secure a vast region that seemingly is at odds with itself. So the question remains, security for what?

In my opinion, economic development is the only way to move forward. If we lack a strategic security plan, its because we lack a strategic economic development plan. Lets put 1000 or 2000 Canadians on the ground, but lets ensure they are securing an economic development strategy that has much more support than that. If we spend a hundred million on troop support, we should be spending a billion on finding ways to develop the country. Find that untapped resource that so far eludes us. There has to be something the country can offer the world besides opium; something we can all benefit from. That is the key to bringing the country into the 21st century, the key to calming the violence and oppression, and the key to curtail the export of terrorism, the reason we went there in the first place.





In March 2008, the House of Commons voted in favour of extending the combat mission in Kandahar province until 2011. With President Obama indicating clearly that he will increase US military presence in Afghanistan, there may be pressure on Canada to do the same. In the coming weeks and months, politicians and policy-makers will be faced with this issue once again. Your ideas are needed now. We are developing briefing notes to be submitted to the Prime Minister, his Cabinet and their officials.

We are asking you to take charge. Identify and outline the policy that you think Canada should adopt in Afghanistan by either voting on or editing one of our existing List of Positions or creating your own based on our guidelines (Policy Note Guidelines) and our (Code of Conduct).

Several questions must be considered. What should Canada do between now and 2011? What should we do after 2011? Has Canada done enough already? What will be the consequence of our troops pulling out? Some will argue that we should stay until Afghanistan is truly a free and democratic society. How long will that take? Will there ever be a peace to keep in Afghanistan?

How should we answer if President Obama asks us to do more? Can our military sustain a longer combat mission? What is the proper balance between defence, development and diplomacy? How should Canadian development dollars be spent? How can we best support the democratically-elected Afghan government? How should we engage with Afghanistan’s neighbours, especially Pakistan?



Find out what two of the experts think:


1) An analysis by retired Major General Lewis MacKenzie (Mackenzie Analysis)


2) A background/overview by Janice Gross Stein (Stein Analysis)