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The Conservative government and opposition Liberals appear to be on their way to reaching a deal on the Afghan mission. Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he is open to introducing a new motion on the mission that would include concerns laid out by Liberal Leader Stephane Dion.

The prime minister's comments came after Dion presented amendments Tuesday to the Conservative motion on the Afghanistan mission. The Liberal leader noted that his party had not ruled out the possibility of finding common ground with the Tories -- something Harper said was a sign of progress.

Last week, the Tories tabled a confidence motion calling for troops to stay in Afghanistan in a combat role until 2011.

"Liberals will not abandon the people of Afghanistan, but Canada's mission has to change," said Dion on Tuesday. "We remain committed to our longstanding position that Canada's combat mission in Kandahar should end as scheduled in February 2009."

However, Dion suggested that Canadian troops could be involved in combat if it meant protecting reconstruction efforts. He said it will be up to the military to decide how best to complete political objectives outlined by Ottawa.

Liberal Deputy Leader Michael Ignatieff added on Â鶹ӰÊÓnet's Mike Duffy Live on Tuesday that his party's motion would also call on Ottawa to make it clear to NATO when Canada's military role in Afghanistan would end.

"We (will) tell NATO right away (that) in 2011 we're ending the military mission, so there's no ambiguity," said Ignatieff.

"Unless we set a clear timetable, the Afghan army will never stand up."

Harper said he was encouraged that the Liberals didn't propose micro-managing the military.

"One of the things I'm encouraged about in this motion is that it backs away from any suggestion that we would dictate operational decisions to military commanders on the ground," said Harper.

"Afghanistan is an extremely dangerous environment and I don't think it is realistic that military commanders would be phoning 24 Sussex every other day to ask whether they could undertake certain operations."

Since the Tory motion is a confidence matter, the government would fall and an election would be triggered if the opposition parties united to vote it down.

Dion said he preferred not to have the mission in Afghanistan serve as an election trigger.

"We have Canadians risking their lives there, it would be good that we find a way to agree between ourselves on what we need to do," he said.

The possible rapprochement between the Liberals and Conservatives appeared to be evident during question period Tuesday. When NDP Leader Jack Layton, whose party wants to get out of Afghanistan in 2009, criticized the Liberals for wanting to keep Canadian troops in the country, Harper came to the Liberals' defence.

"Mr. Speaker, it isn't normally my habit to defend the Liberal party," he said.

"The Liberal party not only entered us into Afghanistan, but the Liberal Party directed this country through World War Two because the parties that run this country understand that in a dangerous world you sometimes have to use force to maintain peace."

CTV parliamentary correspondent David Akin said Harper's defence of the Official Opposition is not necessarily a good thing for Dion's Liberals.

"It's the NDP strategy that if we have an election they will start nipping at the left flank of the Liberals. That's where they got the gains in the last election in 2006," Akin told Â鶹ӰÊÓnet.

Combat role?

The new Liberal amendments do call for Canada's role in Afghanistan to shift. Dion said the wording of the motion has been carefully chosen to "maximize the possibility" of an agreement.

He said the Liberals would support a continuation of Canada's military presence in Afghanistan until February 2011 if the following three conditions are met:

• NATO must secure troops to rotate into Kandahar to allow Canadian troops to be deployed pursuant to the mission priorities training and reconstruction;
• The government must secure medium helicopter lift and high performance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles; and,
• The Government of Canada must immediately notify NATO that Canada will end its military presence in Kandahar as of Feb. 1, 2011 and as of that date, the deployment of the Canadian Forces troops out of Kandahar will start as soon as possible, so that it will have been completed by July 1, 2011.

The Liberal proposal also addresses issues such as the transfer of Afghan detainees and the growing narco-economy in Afghanistan.

It also calls for "greater transparency and accountability from the government on the conduct and status of the mission."

MPs are expected to vote on the issue in March.